If you lived under a rock during the 90s let me tell you about the Hi-NRG Euro-disco legend of Corona: originally sung by Sandy Chambers who was
locked in a cupboard for 5 years whilst the gorgeous and charismatic Brazillian model Olga De Souza, with
the legs as tall as sky-crapers and the shit-gritting grin that stretched as
far as the equator, fronted the act, lip-synced for her life and had everyone's
eye out with her enviable dreadlocks whilst spinning round on stage in a
cackling frenzy (she's famous for laughing at pretty much everything, and has
actually been banned from funerals in her native Brazil and adopted home of
Italy). She has been dining out on the batch of hits taken from the landmark
debut album ever since (these are the slightly unknown minor worldwide hit
Rhythm of The Night, the more pugnacious Baby Baby, the open-to-offers anthem Try Me Out, and the disco-drunk funk of I Don't Want To Be A Star). High ranking
album tracks include the heavy demands of I Gotta Keep Dancing, When I Give My
Love, I Want Your Love and Don't Go Breaking My Heart.
In 2000, Olga released an album called And Me U under the
alias of Corona X, but the material was slightly rock influenced and every bit
as appealing to fans of their vintage style as that sounds (Diva Incarnate scored it a reasonable 6 out of 10): hidden delights included the Donna Summer-esque I
Only Came To Dance, with its timeless marriage of disco yearning and plaintive exhiliration, and the single Good Love, which was accompanied by a slightly more accessible dance remix. Olga also sang all the songs herself and even sounds a bit like that faceless bird Sandy Chambers who
had fled for her life by this point.
Hi Olga, thanks for agreeing to interviewed.
Following the mostly pop-rock sounds of And Me U, Y
Generation was something of a return to dance music – although it also successfully
pursues new sounds, was it a conscious decision to go back to your roots as it
were?
Yes, because i love dance music, the dance with good
melodies and so I deciced to went back to my roots
The single Angel's video seemed to be inspired by
shows such as True Blood with its elements of folklore - what was the overall
meaning behind it?
You also sing a Capella different lyrics to the recorded version...
[Olga did not answer this question]
A lot of people didn't quite understand the product
placement for the hair product.
But in this case jean louis Italy just help to do my
hairstyle in the video, so we just put a fast show of their products.
It took more then 3 hours to do my hairstyle in the
video, so its was just a thank
The Corona project has endured many changes with
regards to the machinery behind it (different producers, record labels, etc):
did you ever consider giving up the name and releasing music under your own
name? Olga de Souza is an amazing name...
No, I LOVE Corona. . I like changing labels and producers, but
CORONA is always my name.
You have been using your own vocals for well over a
decade, starting with 2000's And Me U, and I must say I absolutely love hearing
it on the new album - it's so expressive and I love the cackles of laughter on
Angel. It seems to have improved - is this due to practicing?
Yes, i always study and improve
Will there ever be a chance of working with original
Corona songwriters and producers and songwriters ever again?
No, they are old now and i am
still young . .ahhh ahhh
Are there any plans to perform, release and promote in
the UK again? The UK record label
AATW seems like a good company to release Angel with.
We contated
my labels in UK , there was some interest but after . . nothing happen, but we
will keep pushing
What has been the success of the Y Generation album in
Italy, and what other countries has it been released in?
After ITALY where we had a # 1 on I TUNES DANCE ALBUM
IN ITALY , we did Germany, Austria and Swiss, Singapore, Malasya, Greece and we
exported some copies in France, Benelux and many other countries.
And Angel the single, with some new remixes, will be
released soon in France.
My knowledge of Italian pop is limited to the singers
Alexia (Uh La La La), Gala (Tough Love, Freed From Desire and Lose Yourself In Me) and Sabrina Salerno (A Flower's Broken)
- they seem to have a huge appetite for female
dance-driven music - what has been the key to Corona
finding its most enduring success there?
I think the
songs, ITALIAN DANCE means always good melodies, and the italian producers are
perfect for the good melodies
It's very hard for international fans to keep up to
date with the latest Corona news - will there be
plans to keep fans more up to date on your website?
All please look my new official you tube . . http://www.youtube.com/CORONAOFFICIAL.
.
All the updates will be there. There will be a good
news soon, with a collaboration with an important dj.
There were so many dance acts and female dance divas
in the 90s - do you ever keep in touch with any?
Yes, Alexia, ice mc, Spagna
are good friends
My favourite song from Y Generation is the euphoric
Hi-NRG trance temperatures of Gimme Love (the productions is ecstatic and very
fresh) - are there any plans to release it as a single? And will there be more
videos for the project?
I am not
sure Gimme Love can be a single. Thanks for your compliments.
What is your favourite song from the new album and
why?
Angel and
Saturday. I think we create a good groove ! and the new single ( not in the
album) is hot.
Does it ever feel strange when people mention songs
from the first two albums as being their favourites when you never actually
sung on them? For example, I love the song I Belong To You (80s) as it is so
glitzy and glossy, and also sounds like a Donna Summer song from her
PWL-produced Another Time album (1989), but sadly would never expect you to
perform it...
[Olga did not answer this question]
Speaking of Donna Summer, my favourite And Me U song
was I Only Came To Dance, which is VERY Donna Summer. Who exactly are your
musical influences, past and present?
My influence is all the 70’
disco and also the new wave of the ‘80s and of course the brasilian music.
Have you ever met Sandy Chambers, and how did the
agreement to be the face of Corona come
about, and what
were your overall feelings about the arrangement over time?
We were all a big team and big
friends
You have successfully fronted the Corona project for
almost 20 years - without naming names,
what is the most scandalous, jaw-dropping story about another celebrity you can
tell me?
Top secret.
Who is your most famous friend?
Top Secret about the most
famous. . my real friends are my fans
Angel was my blog's 'Best Single of 2010' and Y
Generation was an artistic triumph. What plans are next? Will you record a new
album soon?
The new single . .and a new edition of Y Generation . . stay tunes. . Thank
you everybody.
Thanks for your answers Olga x
