Kaci Battaglia is Back and in Your Face

Photo by Sandra Cerrone

Kaci Battaglia is no stranger to this business. At the young age of thirteen, she found herself being thrust into the spotlight due to the extreme success of her hit single “Paradise”. Now at twenty-one, she’s back on the scene with her new smash “Crazy Possessive”. For those of you who may remember Battaglia, who used to just go by her first name Kaci, you’ll remember her debut album, I’m Not Anybody’s Girl, a mix of youthful pop tunes like “Paradise” and a cute cover of David Cassidy’s “I Think I Love You.” When StarShine saw Kaci perform in New York City a few weeks ago, she definitely didn’t look like the young girl we used to know! Clad in a skintight black bodysuit with thigh high boots, Kaci is definitely not a little girl anymore. And if you listen to the chorus of “Crazy Possessive,” “Call my man again and I will **** you up!” you’ll know she’s definitely all grown up!

When we asked her about the change, she attributed it to simply growing up. After the success of I’m Not Anybody’s Girl, Kaci took a hiatus from the music industry to be a regular teenager again. She came back in 2005 with the single “I Will Learn to Love Again” for the soundtrack to the Hilary Duff/Heather Locklear film “The Perfect Man” and released a single entitled “I Can’t Help Myself” in 2007. And what was Kaci really doing when she was away from the music scene? We had to ask. “I was frustrated; especially after 9/11…you couldn’t get money from anybody. I had a great run and I was like, ‘Great! Now I’m gonna go to law school. I’m going to become an attorney and that’s it.’” But then one night, it all changed. “I was by myself all evening and I kept looking in the mirror and trying to think about the future and how I saw myself; what I’d be wearing and what I’d be doing and it became such an emotional experience. I was driving in my car after that and I just broke down and I was like ‘I can’t live without music’.” She was afraid to give up the security of knowing that she would be taken care of financially through her law career but she couldn’t deny her first love and passion, which is music.

Aside from just growing up age wise, Kaci has grown artistically as well; she writes her own music now. “It makes a huge difference. Before you’re almost playing a role and now I’m showing everyone my diary. Big difference!! Going through the experiences I had when I was thirteen and having so much success at the time…coming off of that, learning who I am…going through relationships and life and drama. Both worlds contribute to who you see today.” As a person, Kaci is excited, animated and a very sweet person who loves to talk about what’s happening in her career. On stage? She’s a total sex kitten, dancing and gyrating to songs like “Bodyshots.” When asked about what influenced her new style she didn’t look very far. “This may sound cheesy but I actually listen to Top 40 radio a lot…I’ve been through country, musicals, rock, hip-hop…I could go on and on. I’ve done every other style. Right now I’m honestly into Top 40. I love what’s going on and it’s definitely influenced the sound, which is great.” Kaci is very quick to add that what sets her music apart is the fact that it is based in real themes. “I think people can see through phony now.” She says. “You really just have to keep it real.” When asked about what she wants from her new album, which will hopefully be released in time for Christmas she says, “What I really want it to be is to make some of it funny and make sure it’s really great music that you want to dance to!”

By the looks of “Crazy Possessive,” there will definitely be a lot to dance to! The song was written by Kaci about a friend who got a little too friendly with her boyfriend. Kaci felt betrayed and used songwriting to help her deal with all of the raw emotions she was feeling at the time. Well, her anger made for one really great song! When we asked her about her career, she tells us that positive thinking is what’s getting her through. “They say that positive thought makes a big difference, well it’s that thought of ‘I am doing this’ and setting goals is making it happen.” This could also be applied to her fans who she has great love for. She is incredibly accessible, whether it’s through Twitter (twitter.com/kacibattaglia) and MySpace (myspace.com/kacibattaglia). And don’t forget to check out her single “Crazy Possessive” on iTunes!