Before Dark – Interview

Before Dark -one-on-one-with-Mia

After we got comfortable in conversation, it was time to get down to business.

Are you relieved that the album is finally being released?

Yes. I’m really excited.

You’ve had it done for a while.

Yeah. I think we actually finished it in ’98, and then we went back in the summer of ’99 and took off a few tracks and did a few new ones.

So some of these songs are two years old. Wow. That is even scarier because when I listened to the album I had no idea that everyone in the group was so young.

(laughs)

Do you get that a lot? Like people think you are much older?

Yeah. Usually it’s because of the way we look. It’s not usually that way with Arike and Jeni, but with myself. I’m the youngest at fifteen. Arike and Jeni usually get comments that they look young and sometimes they think I’m older. We try to dress age appropriate and put out a good image because we don’t want to grow up too fast. We always say that we want to pattern our career the way Brandy has because she grew up with the industry. She grew up with her audience.

It isn’t that the songs are so mature, but your voices sound much more aged and confident.

That is weird. My voice still sounds young. Jeni is older, so her voice does sound more mature, and Arike has always had a strong voice.

It’s probably a mixture of the voices that put off such an air of maturity.

I think that is it.

Since you are the youngest, are you like the younger sister or does age go out the window when you are together?

I think it’s equal only because Jeni and I balance out. I’m more mature than most people my age and Jeni acts really young sometimes. She’s not really immature, but she is definitely the goofball of the group. Most people think I am because I’m the youngest, but Jeni is. So we balance out to Arike’s age. (laughs)

You’ve all had experience in the industry for some time, right?

Arike was in a group called Voices when she was nine and my mom was their manager, so [Jeni and I] would always be around. We pretty much knew the process, but didn’t know the sacrifices they made. Me and Jeni just thought it was fun. We wanted to be singers, but Arike had to miss out on a lot.

How do you balance school, the group, and having a life?

It balances out well. RCA wants us to get our education, so they’ll plan stuff around our school vacations, but I’ve decided to take home studies just because it will be easier on me. I’ve decided on that because it gets really hard to miss classes and sometimes the teachers don’t understand. They just think I’m ditching. Some teachers are supportive, so I guess it does go both ways. As for Arike and Jeni, they are both in college now so they can’t have tutors, so they just have to do it on their own. It’s harder for them.

Do you find that friends treat you differently?

You’ve got to expect that from people. I knew that was going to happen when the video came out. When I first started high school, nobody knew me. All my friends were at a different high school. I knew only like two people and then they saw the video and all of the sudden I have all these new friends. I’ve always had my same close friends since elementary. I don’t think I’m being used though. And the great thing is they know that we have a ways to go. They know all the insides of the career, where other people see we have a video and think we are rich and on Mtv every day. They are really supportive.

How does it feel to be opening up for artists Destiny’s Child and Christina Aguilera?

I feel really special. It’s amazing. I remember watching these same people perform as a fan going to their concerts.

Who would you really like to tour with?

I’d love to be on the Sisqo and *NSYNC tour. Besides the fact that I love Sisqo, I think it’d be really fun.

Your mom is your manager and also co-produced the album. Is it both good and bad having your mom around so much and involved?

Sometimes it can go both ways. Because I’m still a teenager, I have times where I just want to be by myself. It’s tough sometimes, always being around your mom. Sometimes it’s good, because I always have someone there who will have my back. She loves all of us and she treats Arike and Jeni exactly the same.

When you have time off, what do you like to do?

I just like to hang with my friends and go to the movies. The last movie I saw was Scary Movie . I like shopping too.

I was wondering, when you dream about your future, what do you see?

Wow. I dream of success, like a TLC or Janet Jackson. I just want to share our music with everyone. I know we are a really talented group, but sometimes talent isn’t enough. I just hope that our talent shines through.

+ charlie craine