With all of your success in writing for film and TV, do you have any interest in recording yourself again?
When I was out of music for a while, my normalcy was being in L.A. I disappeared off the map and stayed away from everybody. Then in 1998, I ended up meeting Johnny Wright, who was managing Backstreet Boys at the time. My niece was a huge fan, and said, "You have to get me in." So, I made a few calls, flew into Toronto where they were performing, and got her in backstage. She said, "I can't help but think that you and Johnny should work together." Sure enough, he ended up taking me on. I went to Orlando and started to record. But I didn't like the recording process. I didn't want to sing about something that had nothing to do with me. It was lyrically what went on to become Britney Spears' hand-me-downs. I didn't want to do it. I still wanted to just write and give my songs to other people.
A few years later, Roy Lott, who had been one of my biggest supporters at Arista, had just left Capitol Records. I had sent him some of my music, and he loved it. But he was moving over to Virgin, and couldn't take that music with him. So, I wrote more and sent it to him. I decided that I was going to start fresh and come back to the business. I put everything in storage. By the time I got to New York, he had just been let go. Suddenly, my whole world turned upside down. But that's how I met my husband—at the airport!
My big dream throughout all this has been to discover other talent. I've been in talks with a couple of companies that want to sponsor me to create my own talent search and develop other artists that truly have that ability and that "it" factor. Many young girls and guys want that; but they get bombarded with other opportunities. They scatter themselves and they don't stay focused and real. My curse as an artist may have been that I was so loyal to one manager and producer that I didn't allow anything else. But guess what? At the end of the day, I had loyalty. I believe in karma. I do the right thing and hope that it comes back the other way.
Article comments
1 - Carly
A M A Z I N G ! I loved the article! What an outstanding interview! I learned so much about Cindy! Makes me love her that much more! I can't believe Cindy sang her heart out to that jerk Jellybean for four hours only to find out that he wasn't even listening! The nerve of him. Cindy is still as gorgeous as ever and she's really got an awesome look on life! Thumbs WAY up Justin! Thanks for this!