By: Sindy
Paula DeAnda's hit single, Walk Away, has been certified Gold and her album is working its way up the charts. But it wasn't long ago that she was just a fan at her very first concert.
Sindy: What was the first concert you ever went to?
Paula DeAnda: I guess it was 98 Degrees. Ha! Yeah, it was.
Sindy: Where was it?
Paula DeAnda: I was in my hometown, where I used to live. It's in West Texas.
Sindy: Cool. How was the show?
Paula DeAnda: It was really good. I liked it. All the dancing was cool. They came out looking like astronauts. I was pretty young when I saw it.
Sindy: Who did you go with?
Paula DeAnda: Me and my cousins and my sisters, we all went - and we had a really good time.
Sindy: Did that first show inspire you to want to become a musician?
Paula DeAnda: No, not really. I had always wanted to perform. I was in choir and, for some reason, it was always something I wanted to do. So I think I was inspired long before I went to that concert. I listened to a lot of music - Christina Aguilera was one of my favorites. Mariah Carey as well... a little bit of Selena as well.
Sindy: Cool. How about your performances? Did that 98 Degrees concert influence what kind of shows you put on?
Paula DeAnda: I guess I've seen so many performers over the years - I've been to a lot of concerts - that I've taked a lot from all of them. I think actually when I was at the Clive Davis pre-party and Christina Aguilera came on - and Jennifer Hudson came on - it was just amazing to see how they really know how to entertain a crowd. I always watch that, you know, and try to take pointers from everybody.
Sindy: So can you tell me about your album that came out last year?
Paula DeAnda: Well it was my first album ever, so it was really cool for me to be a part of it as much as I was. They really let me have a lot of leeway. I wrote pretty much all the songs on my album, which was pretty amazing for a first-time artist. It's got a lot of love songs on it, but also just happy, good-feeling kind of songs.
Sindy: So what are you up to these days?
Paula DeAnda: I'm actually doing a lot of Spanish remixes. I'm Latin, and I want to embrace my roots - I started off singing in English first, but I'm really enjoying doing this as well.
Sindy: Cool. And what was the most recent concert you went to?
Paula DeAnda: I think that would have to have been in Vegas. It was a lot of hip hop artists - Mims, Chamillionaire... there were a lot of groups; I don't want to forget anybody. Oh, and I played there, of course.
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