RS: After you recorded the song did you have any idea it would become so big?
Danielle Bollinger: No. I didn't know. I mean I loved it and everybody around me loved it but people that know you are biased and you can't really get a good idea it something is really good. But then one night eMails started coming through and Billboard started happening and people wanted to play it. I thought OK, cool, this is going to work. I loved the song.
RS: How did you react the first time you heard it in a nightclub?
Danielle Bollinger: I cried. Yes, it was a happy cry because I was so excited about it. I was actually at the Speak Easy in Flushing, Michigan, which is a local wonderful restaurant bar nearby my house. The DJ out there I've know for years and he was really excited to play it and he still plays it.
RS: Awesome. What was it like hearing your song on the radio?
Danielle Bollinger: It gave me chills the first time I heard it and I cried then too. I get emotional.
RS: You can tell on your music, your voice brings through the emotion of the songs.
Danielle Bollinger: Yes, I try to always portray that because I definitely feel what I sing, otherwise I don't think I can sing the songs very well.
RS: What producers did you work with on the album?
Danielle Bollinger: Chris Griffin produced the album and did all my vocals. There were a couple of different producers who mixed it - Josh Harris, Chris Cox, Peter Presta, Mike Rizzo, so was a lot of hands in it.
RS: The Nashville thing keeps coming up because Chris Griffin's from Nashville also.
Danielle Bollinger: He's wonderful. He brought out a lot of emotion in my voice that I never thought could come out. He is absolutely amazing.
RS: Listening to the album, "Don't Give Up" really stands out. Was there a story that you related to for that song?
Danielle Bollinger: That is so funny that you said that because everyone who listens to the album has the same response. That is everybody's favorite song along with Kiss The Sky. That one and You'll Always Have Me have a special meaning. Close relationships have always played a role in my life, so it was just really easy to sing and to really put through the emotions, so that's probably why. I think everybody's gone through something like that before. I like meaningful songs and I think that that shows.
RS: The rock version of "Kiss the Sky" is pretty hot, did you like hearing your voice in such a different way?
Danielle Bollinger: It was interesting because I didn't know they were going to do a rock version it at first. When I first heard it, it was cool and I liked it. It's neat how they can take the way you sing a song and then turn it into different mixes, it's amazing to me the whole process.
RS: When you first heard the complete album, what was your first thought to yourself?
Danielle Bollinger: I was numb. You never know what to expect, especially when it's yourself. I think you are your most critical person about yourself, you critique yourself the worst. Everybody does that in some way. When I first heard it, it was a relief, this is my debut album and it it kicked ass. We pulled it together in New York in three weeks and it sounds amazing. So I was ecstatic, I have a debut album coming out!
RS: I saw the video for Broken Hearted, now I've got to ask you where was that bed and everything?
Danielle Bollinger: In my house. I was asked to have somebody video tape me singing and dancing around. So I had a friend of mine film me doing that over and over again. Hopefully the video I just did works out a little bit better.
RS: What's the story behind the new video for Kiss the Sky?
Danielle Bollinger: The gist of the whole story is thinking about somebody who's not there anymore but you're wishing they were. The video's focused on me being in a house alone. It was actually set in Sonny Tippins' old house which was really cool. They had me sit up alone thinking about and reminiscing about somebody that's not there anymore, like an old boyfriend. That's what really put me in the mood to do the video, because I thought of what it would be like without my boyfriend in my life. It showed through when I saw the clips of it so. The video is still in the editing process but I saw some clips and it's turning out to be pretty cool.
RS: That's the videos. For live performances have you been gigging a lot with this music?
Danielle Bollinger: I have not done any live performances yet.
RS: Are you excited about it?
Danielle Bollinger: I am ready but I know there's a lot behind the scenes work that goes with this so I'm patient. It looks like I will be doing a show in Flint before heading down to Winter Music Conference.
RS: What do you want to say to all your fans out there?
Danielle Bollinger: Oh gosh, what do I want to say? Thanks for listening to my music and I'm just excited to get out there and hopefully they will come and see me perform.
