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::EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW::   
LE Newsletter - March 8, 2007

 
  Interview with Robin Thicke

 Robin’s bio says it best - The Evolution of Robin Thicke is an imaginative and heart-felt album that you cannot help but be moved by bob your head to and smile throughout.  This CD is one of real music, good musicianship and hard-to-find talent – that special quality.  This hard-working artist – that we will call ‘Canadian’ due to his gene pool of being Allan Thicke’s son - talks about his music, the industry and his dad.

 Your CD is so great and sincerely, I’m afraid that I don’t get to say that often.  Every track offers some new measure of emotion and the lyrics just grab you too.  Very smoky, sexy and fun.  What’s been the highlight around this project for you?

 To be honest, every day there seems to be a new highlight.  Just seeing my name in USA Today, one of the top played songs in the country and getting offers from People Magazine, 50 Most Beautiful People … I mean it’s just overwhelming considering that months ago, I was just still wondering if people would ever get to hear the music.  I’ve always loved my music and believed in my music, but I didn’t believe necessarily that people would ever get to hear it. 

I had a gut feeling that if I could get it to people, I knew there’s got to be an audience.  It doesn’t even have to be huge, but there’s gotta be some people out there that want to hear this music. 

What are your thoughts about the music industry and what’s been the biggest challenge?

You know what?  Probably to my strengths and my weakness, I put too much of the pressure on myself.  When it didn’t work, I just said that the music wasn’t good enough.  I didn’t blame it on the business; I didn’t blame it on radio.  I said that I can do better.  I think that’s a good way to think of things, as long as you don’t hurt yourself, as long as you don’t bring pain upon yourself.  But what it did make me do is that it made me work harder.  It made me give more to my music as opposed to my ego saying, ‘I can just throw anything out there.  I’m so good - whatever I do will be great.’ 

I kept trying harder to connect with people as opposed to trying to be cooler than them.

Who are some of your influences – not just musically but anyone’s who’s made their mark for you?

I’ll start with the artists, the main couple of artists obviously would be Bob Marley, John Lennon, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder because they were not only incredible musicians but they spoke of righteousness and equality and hope and peace.  Also, my friend, Andre Harrell who started Uptown Records and then became a mentor to me, really opened me up to a whole other world.  My wife (Paula Patton) is really the biggest influence on my life because she has taught me compassion and she taught me understanding.  I was cocky kid and she taught me to think about other people and put myself in other people’s shoes and I think that there’s nothing in this world like compassion. 

What pieces of advice would you give to a young artist that wants to enter the business?

Go on American Idol!!  It’s the only place to get developed.  Where else would you get to get in front of an audience two times a week and have to sing – be shoved out there.  They’re going to tell you that your hair’s not good enough, it’s what we all go through.  You can’t get that kind of training anywhere anymore and I would tell people, go out for American Idol and if not, send your music to everybody, sing for everybody and do it because you love it – not because you want to be a celebrity.

The problem with what is going on right now is that everyone just wants to be a celebrity and it’s all because they want to be loved.  But they don’t actually love the work of doing it.  I love to sing.  I love to perform.  I love to make music.  I was doing for 12 hours a day when no one was listening.  So, imagine when people are actually listening, how much I’m going to enjoy it.  You have to love making it and you have to do the work. 

If you could work with any artist, living or past, who would it be?

I’d have to say to get into a room with John Lennon would be pretty special and Marvin Gaye.  Marvin, in my opinion, has the voice of God.  I think if God could sing, I think he would have Marvin Gaye’s voice.

So, what’s in your iPod player right now?

I have an iPod and I’ve never used it. 

What do you want people to remember you by?

I think that he was about, and it sounds corny and you’ve heard it before, but that he was just about love.  And that he was trying to show that we are all one in the same and that we should be celebrating each other’s differences as opposed to ‘tolerating’ them.  I hate the word ‘tolerance’ – it doesn’t make sense to me.  You tolerate evil, you tolerate children sometimes but you don’t tolerate differences.  I think that we should appreciate and love people for their differences and I just want people to open their hearts and minds and believe in magic.

I think that religion and sarcasm [have added to that].  When you’re a kid, you believe anything is possible.  You believe you can do anything and then you’re told as the years go by, that no no no, you can’t do anything and that’s not right and that’s wrong and ugly and that’s not cool.  I think that we should believe that magic is possible. 

Do you know any Canadian artists? 

I think that Nelly Furtado is Canadian.  I don’t know her personally.  Deborah Cox is Canadian – Tamia – another beautiful lady. 

We’ve always claimed your dad (Allan Thicke) as Canadian – do you feel at home here at all? 

He is Canadian to the bone!  I haven’t been in a room that I wasn’t uncomfortable in a long time.  I think you start to come to peace with yourself and when you’re at peace with yourself, you can kind of just flow.  My dad is the quintessential Canadian!  My dad and my uncle both moved to LA – and so my joke is that the Canadian dream is to move to America!  (I was joking though!) 

He has so much pride and so much love for his country.  Every opportunity he’ll point out the Canadians to me.  Steve Nash?  Canadian.  Martin Short?  Canadian.  In any given conversation, he’ll point out Canadians.


I was sincerely blessed to get this interview with soon-to-be mega superstar!  Thanks to the folks at Universal Music – Steve Nightingale and Joanna Griffiths for their generosity in setting it up!