By Clay Cane ~ Who doesn't love
Vanessa Williams? Black, white, straight, gay, country,
or suburban, Vanessa Williams transcends every group. This
could be the reason why she has survived the
entertainment industry for over 26 years and has the
résumé to prove it: 14 Grammy nominations; a Tony
Award nomination; tons of hit singles, including her
legendary pop ballad "Save the Best for Last"; and the
2007 "Ally for Equality" award from the Human Rights
Campaign.The former beauty
queen has been a friend and honorary member of the gay
community from the start of her career. Her performance as
Wilhelmina Slater on Ugly Betty has only
catapulted her popularity among gays -- many of whom
will protest if she doesn't win an Emmy for the role.Now, Miss V is
taking it back to the music with The Real Thing, in
stores now. Here, Vanessa talks about the new album,
her history with the gay community, exhaustion with
Carrie Prejean (take notes from one of the original beauty
queens, Miss Carrie!), and more.Advocate.com:
What is your approach when you go back to the
recording studio?
Vanessa Williams: It's kind of like jumping
back on a bicycle -- once you know how to ride it, it's
easy. Luckily, I only worked with one new producer
that I had not worked with before. Keith Thomas, he
did "Save the Best for Last" and "Colors of the Wind,"
he is a dear friend. Babyface produced two songs, I've
worked with him before and he is a friend as well. Getting
into the studio was the easy part, it's just making
the time, picking the right material, and the
direction the CD was going to be.You mentioned Babyface. Is it true that while
working on the two songs you did with him you were
running a gay wedding?
Oh yeah! I went to two gay weddings actually. I
went into the studio and finished both songs then went
to my dear friend Daniel and Rick's wedding, who had
gotten married about 10 years ago but made it legal.
October was the end date in California. The next day I went
to Christopher and Mark's wedding, who was the costume
designer for the Hannah Montana movie. They had a
beautiful ceremony; Alan Cumming sang a song and Loni
Anderson was there. Lovely couple. Quite a weekend!
What can your gay fans expect from the album The Real Thing?
It's about as perky as a jazz album can possibly
be! [Laughs] My original intent was to do a
Brazilian album because I love the feel and sensuality
of Brazil and the music. It morphed into some jazz songs.
One song we did was a Lena Horne song "Come on
Strong," kind of an homage to Wilhelmina, where I am
living at every day on the set. It went through a
bunch of directions and I think we came out with a taste of
everything.CONTINUE READING...
