You know what – I haven't really written much about The Saturdays here on EQ. I've always had an appreciation for the their radio friendly electro-tinged hits (my absolute favorite being "Up"), but like Girls Aloud – they are everywhere it seems – and EQ tends to write about up-and-coming artists – and The Saturdays, well they most certainly have already arrived now haven't they.
I did ponder if I should do the interview or not, but I thought it would be a real hoot to talk to Frankie about current girl pop and get the scoop on their upcoming album "Wordshaker" which is coming out in October. I'm glad I did the interview though – I liked their first album and Frankie is a lovely girl. It's always a pleasure to speak to someone whose had some success in the industry and to get their perspective on the current music scene.
So what happened when EQ met Frankie from The Saturdays – read on and enjoy…
EQ: Well hello Frankie…how are you today?
Frankie: I'm good thank you!
So I must ask, how are you holding up with all this commotion about Keisha being kicked out of the Sugababes? Is it a sad day for girlband pop?
Um, I don't know really. It's kinda fair enough I guess. Keisha has been in Sugababes for like 11 years or something like that. Now that she's left, all the original members now are gone. So it's like, "Are they Sugababes anymore?". I don't know – it's just weird…
So I've been dying to ask you actually, how do The Saturdays coordinate their multi-coloured outfits ie: your dresses, tights, umbrellas etc. Do you get into arguments like "I want to be blue, no I want to be blue" or is there some complex sort of system that you use to pick out your colours for the music videos and artwork…
No – the first time we did it – it just ended up being that way. We didn't chose colours or anything – it was just what colours our dresses were. Now it's kinda whoever wants to wear what really. I try to wear red as much as I can and the same with the other girls. But we don't keep the same colour, we kinda mix it around.
So tell me about your new single – "Forever Is Over". It's a bit of an angsty one isn't it?…
Yeah – it was written by James Bourne. He's written so many hits so it was cool to work with him. It's a breakup song. It's a "go-off I'm leaving and I don't care – see you later" type of song. Not really a tearjerker at all – it's more of an empowering song I think. It's got such a good chorus, it's catchy and it's just a big song. We love it – it's awesome. When we heard it, we said "we have to have it".
What can we expect from your new album coming out in October – more sweet electro-pop or is it a new kind of sound you've been working on?
We've got a real mixture actually – that's the good thing about being in a pop band is that we can mix it up. I think "Forever Is Over" is a good example of the quality of songs that are on the album. I think it's a little bit more mature, but it's still The Saturdays. We've become The Saturdays now, we've matured together and that is our sound. It's just really good songs – we got flown to LA and recorded some of it over there. We've worked with some massive people on this one and we're really proud of it.
How is it different from your debut?
It's the next step really. The new album is still just as catchy as the last one – but we think it's a bit better now…
So you've recorded the album in London, LA and Sweden – how was the album recording process for you this time as it seems you were jet-setting around the globe during the recording process…
It's no different from doing it London really. No studio is any different from another. A studio is a studio. But, the LA studio we recorded in was great. People like Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson and Mariah Carey recorded there. I guess the biggest difference though was when you weren't recording and singing, you could just go outside and sit in the sun!
You've also been playing some new songs "Wordshaker" and "One Shot" on tour which seems to have your fans going a bit crazy. Tell me about these songs…
"Wordshaker" is actually the title track of our album. It's a word that has been kinda been made up for us. If you put it into Google, you won't come back with anything – it doesn't actually mean anything to anyone else. [Laughs]. "Wordshaker" is about when someone really talks rubbish. That's kinda the definition of it. "One Shot" is self-explainatory – it just basically means you have one shot to make it right and if you don't that – then you're out…[laughs]
I hear you've been out to Asia recently and have been wowing the fans out there. How are the Asian audiences different to your English speaking audiences…any funny stories to share?
All our fans are really nice and supportive really. When we went over to Asia, it was really cool because we didn't think they would know who we were. But they were all really excited and SO polite. It's was so nice and so cool to have fans who are over on the other side of the world. The heat though was so different. It was so humid when you go outside, then you were freezing when you go inside!
So let's talk girl pop at the moment – tell me your thoughts on the following…first up, Bananarama recording a comeback album…
Cool – I don't know. I'm a bit young to be into Bananarama or to take that much interest. I think someone a little bit older than me might be really excited, but that's cool – I know they were a massive girlband before – so it's cool! [laughs]
Next up – Dolly Rockers debuting at number 46 on the charts with their first single…
Dolly Rockers – um, I don't know. It's a shame that they charted quite low. But you know, it's quite difficult for pop acts to do quite well nowadays and we were just really lucky that people supported us. I guess for them, it must be a bit of a let-down when you've worked so hard…
Paradiso Girls singing about getting drunk on tequila?
Uh, I guess they are a different kinda girlband to us. Getting drunk on tequila is not something The Saturdays would sing about probably…but we really like the song actually and the video is quite cool. Maybe they are a little more Pussycat Dolls than us…
Girls Can't Catch filming their music video in a dump – brilliant or nasty?
The filmed it in a rubbish dump did they?!! Wow – I thought the video was really good – we really like Girls Can't Catch. I'm sure it wasn't fun being in a rubbish dump, but it looked good! [laughs]
Cheryl Cole breaking away from Girls Aloud and being a judge on X Factor and making her own music…
I think it's quite cool – she's in the perfect position to do her own thing. She's become this huge celebrity and I think Girls Aloud were gonna go their own way anyway. So I think good luck to her. Her song is really good and everyone likes her so I can't see it going wrong…Good luck to her.
What do you want people to think about who are new to The Saturdays or haven't heard your previous material yet.
I'd say they should check out the music. It speaks for itself. It's feel-good, singalong, catchy music. I think you can listen to it in any mood, boy or girl, or at any age. We just want to have a good time – if you listen to our new album, you'll get that…
Make sure you visit The Saturday's official website to get all the info you need!
The new album "Wordshaker" is out on October 12th.