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10 Questions with ... Redfoo
December 10, 2013
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
Formed LMFAO with his nephew SkyBlu in 2006. His best friend, will.i.am, introduced them to Interscope head Jimmy Iovine, and they were signed. He put LMFAO on "hiatus" in September '12, and launched a solo career.
1) Thanks, on behalf of radio for giving us massive hits that will not die! Did you have any idea that these songs were gonna blow up like that?
I had a feeling that they would, and I wanted them to blow up big, and the combination of having that feeling and that desire ... it was a dream. It wasn't shocking, but it was the result of a lot of focus and hard work and doing dates. I really wanted to be #1 with these songs, because I felt that these songs could just make the world dance and feel really good.
2) Your new single, "Let's Get Ridiculous," sounds like it follows in the footsteps of your other smash hits. Tell us about this new single.
I recorded the single in Australia, when I was taping the Australian X-Factor. For what would be the first song on my solo album, I wanted a song that would describe me, and describe my attitude, and that's just being ridiculous, and being fun and silly. My parents and teachers used to say, "You're ridiculous," and I thought to myself, what's wrong with being ridiculous? That's what you do at a party. You stand up on a chair and spray some champagne. That's ridiculous! You strip down to your speedo. That's ridiculous. So that's where I wanted the vibe to be at ... the party, the club.
3) So there's going to be an album to follow? Can we expect more songs shortly?
Yeah, I'm working on them right now. Hopefully I'll finish it up by the end of the year. I'm back in L.A., and I have a couple of dates here and there, but my main focus is to stay in the studio and just make more feel good music.
4) The LMFAO hiatus was a surprise for a lot of us. It seemed that you split at the top of your game. What was the thinking behind the move to go solo?
Me and Sky have very strong personalities. We just wanted to slightly go in different directions. So it was like, okay, let's just take a break and go in these directions, and then we'll come back later and be stronger than ever.
5) Give us an example of something that you wanted to do differently. Where did you want to go music or performance-wise that you felt could be better accomplished on your own?
After the first album we were experimenting with a lot of stuff, and I don't know what happens with artists, but they always want to do a Rock album. All the rappers eventually want to do Rock stuff. We were experimenting with other types of music. We have things like Rock and '80s Pop in our blood. With LMFAO, people are expecting Electropop and Dance stuff. So instead of changing LMFAO and putting out a Rock album or a Hip-Hop album, we felt that by splitting up we could experiment with different sounds on our own.
6) Who are some of the coolest people you have worked with, and what made them special?
Will.i.am is amazing. I actually grew up with him, so remembering him from 7th grade 'til now in the studio ... he works so fast and off-the-cuff. He's so musical. I work with Afrojack in the studio, and he's like a genius with the beats and the computer. He's really fun to work with. Lil' Jon is crazy! We watch a lot of YouTube together and have fun, and then the music comes from there ... just having fun in the studio. Pitbull is awesome. He'll invite the girls over to the studio, and we'll get some drinks and stuff, and it's like a party in the studio.
7) You've been hosting X-Factor, performing on Australian TV, droppin' a new single, performing in Vegas, and hosting the MTV Euro Music Awards with Miley Cyrus ... the very next night after you performed in Vegas. Do you ever slow down?
When you gotta do it, you gotta do it. The business can be very demanding because there are award shows and end-of-the-year radio shows and you have your tour ... and I like to cover the world. I'm always flying. I'm off to France next, to do a radio show there. But at the end of the year, luckily the holidays come around, and people kind of slow down in the business ... but then it's New Year's Eve and you gotta perform! Sometimes I have to perform on holidays because they like to hire entertainment people then. But this year I'm carving more time out to work on the album. So I'm always working. If it's vacation time, I usually spend it in the studio.
8) What artists influenced you growing up?
Michael Jackson, Rick James ... even Eddie Murphy, because he did stand-up comedy and he did music. Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Run DMC, LL Cool J, Tina Turner, Tina Marie!
9) What are some of your favorite places to perform?
At the festivals. There are a lot of crazy people in the crowd. I like Vegas, in the club, because everybody goes to Vegas to party. I like Ibiza for the same reason. The Gold Coast in Australia is pretty sexy. And I like to just tour in general. I like going on the buses and hitting a place and getting back on the bus and going to the next place. You kind of create this bubble ... this "world." And you have your crew with you, and the dancers, and all of the stuff that you need, and we just make skits and have fun and post stuff to Instagram or YouTube. We just keep it going!
10) What's next? You're working on some songs now for an album. What's going to follow that? Looking down the road, what do you want to get into?
I think more film and TV, because there's something about my personality that's suited for hosting. I really enjoy being physical in front of the camera, and having fun. I really like the movies and TV and playing a certain role. That's really fun to me. And you can always add music to that. You can sing and dance in a movie. It's the closest thing to reproducing life. I think that's where I'm headed.
Bonus Questions
What would we be surprised to find on your iPod?
Some of the X-Factor performances from Australia. Taylor Henderson's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." Stuff from Joelle and Jordan. Those are my girls who I mentored on the show. A lot of those songs stuck in my head. And Jai Waetford, who has a new single.
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