“We’re always very nervous,” he says in regards to playing new music live for fans. He then proceeds to thank YouTube for leaking music since fans seem to know some of the songs already. With so many years behind them as a band, the Goo Goo Dolls have seen both the industry and their fans evolve.

“We’re older now,” explains Robby on the band’s own evolution. “We’ve experienced some things. The planet has experienced things. Music can help. We’re just trying to make good music.” With over ten million albums sold, we’d say that mission is accomplished. So what’s the band’s trick for longevity? “…To be open enough to the fans, being able to look at people’s music consuming habit and contribute to their lives.”

The Goo Goo Dolls don’t want to just contribute to their fans’ lives, but those less fortunate as well. Through the band’s street team, their fans can donate canned goods for USAHarvest.org. Besides it being a wonderful cause, the fan who brings the most canned goods to a Goo Goo Dolls show will receive a backstage pass!

With so many albums, so many years and accumulating so many fans over those years, the Goo Goo Dolls’ fan base has certainly grown and changed. Robby told us a story about a recent show they did where he was able to see fans coming in. “It was the weirdest thing,” he laughed. “Kids, goth, emo, older people that you would never see at a concert.” It looks like the Goo Goo Dolls aren’t just Something For The Rest Of Us, but something for all of us. Who doesn’t like at least one of their hit songs like “Iris”, “Name” or “Slide”?

Something For The Rest Of Us is now available on iTunes, which features the brand new single “Home”, the upbeat track “The Sweetest Lie”, and the lyrically-relatable “Soldier”.

To conclude our interview with Robby, we asked him to say something to the Goo Goo Dolls’ fans.
“In 1986, when there were only 40 of them,” Robby began. “I appreciate them and the gaggle of folks who will be singing ‘Iris’ with us tonight.”

For tour dates and more information: www.googoodolls.com
Follow the Goo Goo Dolls on Twitter: www.twitter.com/googoodolls.

Throughout the years in the industry, Mandi explored different genres of music. Although her musical inspirations were R&B influenced, unfortunately she was categorized as simply a pop artist. Mandi went on to work on music for movie and TV soundtracks which led her into a more pop/rock direction. “It wasn’t me,” she says. When she signed with NVE, which is an all hip-hop label except for herself, she decided to lose the uptempo-rock songs and go for something truer to her R&B love.

Mandi had a hand at writing all the tracks on BLVD. except for “Girls Out”, which rapper Med Schola wrote and is also featured on the track. “She’s Missy Elliot in a 15-year-old’s body,” Mandi says.

Unlike most people today, Mandi surprisingly wasn’t a fan of Michael Jackson’s growing up. She loved Janet Jackson instead. However, later on, she came to appreciate him as an artist, which inspired her to write “Shadow Dancer”—a tribute to Jackson.

The song that’s most personal and one of Mandi’s favorite on her debut album is “Home Suite Home”. “I always knew I would write a song about being homesick,” she says, explaining that being on the road takes its toll on you. That doesn’t stop her from wanting to tour, though. She hopes to go overseas to military bases and perform. In November, she’s doing a show in Hollywood for the families of deployed military.

“Onederful” is another one of Mandi’s personal favorites on the album. “I like the wordplay of it. I hope it inspires other girls to go out to Hollywood to chase the dream,” she explains.

While chasing her own dream, Mandi has had the opportunity to perform at various events. Her most memorable experience was while she was doing a few shows in St. Thomas . A family with two young girls came to every show. “They would dance the whole time,” Mandi tells us. “The girls, who were four and five wanted to do what I did when they grow up and wanted to be just like me,” she gushed and said she was extremely flattered.

We asked Mandi if she could dedicate any song in the world to her fans, which song would she pick and why. She chose “Just The Way You Are” by Bruno Mars. “Just listening to that song makes me happy and I totally believe that everyone is beautiful just the way they are.”

Aside from promoting her album and single “Hotter Than Fire”, Mandi is also working on a fiction novel about a pop star and the cattiness of Hollywood called “The Cat Club”.

You can find out more about Mandi Leigh at: www.mandileigh.com and buy BLVD. on iTunes!

Follow on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sandysquaredshow.

Contest deadline is midnight Eastern Standard Time on September 1st.  GOOD LUCK!

Photo by Sandy Lo

Hey guys! It’s Matisse (aka Brit from Brit and Alex). Some of you may
know a lil’ of my story already, but for those of you who don’t I
thought I’d tell you a bit about myself.

I have a twin sister named Alex who is fifteen minutes older than me. I was born in Connecticut but spent about half my childhood in London because of my Mom’s job. I was so lucky to experience living in Europe, but I also did all the things most girls do, dabbled in soccer, tennis, etc…but I knew from the age of 4 that I wanted to be a singer.

I used to go downstairs in my basement everyday after school with Alex for hours and hours and sing into the microphone that my dad used in his band. We would judge and critique our performances and push each other to get better.

Photo by Sandy Lo

We got our first break when we sang the jingle in a hair commercial for John Frieda Sheer Blonde. Producers started to take notice and were giving us a shot! We wrote and recorded songs in London for 2 years and then moved to Atlanta to work with our favorite producer at the time, Dallas Austin.

That was a really nervous time for us because we were still really young and working with someone at the highest level in the music
industry (Dallas produced for Monica, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Pink,
Gwen Stefani plus lots more). Our time in Atlanta went really well and
we eventually got a record deal with Interscope in L.A. with the songs
we wrote with Dallas and Tricky Stewart (who produced for Rihanna,
Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Usher and more). We were ecstatic! It seemed like our dream was coming true… as cliche as it sounds. Haha. Then we got the opportunity to be on the Step Up 2 soundtrack and we were asked to promote it over in the UK. We made a music video, we were performing and doing radio – it was a whirlwind.

I was having a blast, but Alex was really unhappy. She wasn’t inspired and motivated like she used to be so after our work in the UK was done, she decided to leave the group. I was really worried at first because she and I were always singing together and I wondered if people would still care about me as a solo artist. And the thought of getting up on stage all alone and traveling all over by myself!!! I didn’t know what to do. I was scared that she was going to be moving ahead in her life going to Columbia University and maybe I wouldn’t even be able to get signed again on my own. It was definitely nerve wracking. But now it has turned out to be the best
thing that could have happened to us!

Photo by Sandy Lo. Matisse performing in Medford, NY.

I got myself right back in the studio and recorded three new songs that I took right to Sony for a showcase. I performed the songs in a conference room full of all the top label executives and finished by singing one of my favorite songs for them a capella – “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt (so they could see that I can really sing). I signed to Jive Records and now have my first single out called, “Better Than Her”!

I am so thankful to everyone who stuck with me and believed I could do this! I grew up in a musical family and music definitely runs through my veins. If I couldn’t be doing what I am doing, I don’t know what I would do. I hope all of you stick with me on my new journey! I promise I have some incredible songs on my album!! Follow me on twitter @matissemusic!! Big Kiss. Xx

“I love the opportunities running StarShine Magazine has brought me–I wouldn’t be where I am today without it,” Lo says.  “But I have decided to focus more on my writing career as well as working as a publicist.”  Lo debated on putting StarShine Magazine to bed, but she knew that was out of the question.  “It would be like giving up a child for me.”

Instead, StarShine Magazine will live on via Sandy Lo’s personal website: www.sandy-lo.com.  StarShine will be a section on the site where articles, interviews, and entertainment news will still be posted, but will give Lo a chance to focus on promoting her own artistry as well, such as her novels as well as her songwriting.

To find out more about StarShine’s editor and novelist, Sandy Lo, visit: www.sandy-lo.com and follow her on Twitter: www.twitter.com/authorsandylo.

Photo by Theresa Prisco

Not to sound cliché, but the Crazy Donkey venue in Farmingdale, New York on Friday night was indeed crazy. As for the donkey part, well—Aaron Carter sure isn’t a jack ass. StarShine has worked with him time and again. We watched him grow from that bouncing teenage ball of energy we met back in 2002 to the bouncing 22-year-old ball of energy that he is today!

Some people say he’s cocky. Some people say his career is over. We disagree. Well, maybe he’s a bit cocky—he’ll even admit to that, but to sell yourself as artist, you have the right to be cocky on some level. Underneath all of that, Aaron is a humble, gracious young man who loves his fans—especially his 70, 000 followers on Twitter! Now that’s impressive—especially considering he hasn’t released an album in years!

We caught up with Aaron at his hotel before the show. He was so psyched to be performing again and reconnect with his fans face-to-face. It was the most genuine we have seen any artist in a while. We were happy to see that famous smile of his again!

Arriving at the Crazy Donkey, the sold-out crowd was wall-to-wall with a surprising amount of males mixed in. Soon the chanting began. “We want Aaron! We want Aaron!” Suddenly, I felt like I had gone back in time when I heard those same words at Jones Beach. Back then, Aaron’s stage show was much more elaborate with a slew of back-up dancers and set props.

Photo by Theresa Prisco

This was not the case now. The Crazy Donkey show felt like a test to see how a crowd would respond to the all grown-up Aaron, who’s not singing about fictitiously beating Shaq anymore. There was no band, no props, and only two back-up dancers, but Aaron out danced them by a large margin.

When Aaron appeared on stage, the crowd crunched tightly while screaming and waving hands in the air like maniacal tweens—though most of them are well into their twenties now. With his spiked up blond hair, a cool jacket reminiscent of Michael Jackson’s style and smooth moves, Aaron belonged on stage. He always has.

Keeping away from his childhood hits like “Aaron’s Party (Come Get It)”, “I Want Candy” and “Shake It”, instead Aaron introduced new music to the Crazy Donkey audience. Although, some of us—me included—were singing along to tracks like “Planet Rock”, “Perfect Storm” and “Dance With Me”, which are all available for purchase through CDBaby.com or iTunes.com.

Aaron’s new sound is dance-infused pop with a bit of R&B flavor. Old fans are sure to love his new music because it still sounds like Aaron, just matured. And new fans will find themselves enjoying the beats and surprised by the growth of Aaron’s vocal ability. Which leaves us to the only complaint from Aaron’s show that night. We did not hear enough of his live vocals. We hope in the future he will show off his voice more–he has the talent, now’s the time to use it to his full extent! Otherwise, he put on a great interactive, energetic show that even featured a tribute to his friend and idol Michael Jackson.

Photo by Sandy Lo

After he left the stage, Aaron hung around to meet & greet fans, but due to illness he had to cut his night short and head back to the hotel. Fans were disappointed, but knowing how stoked Aaron was to hang out with all of his New York supporters—we know he was just as upset as they were that he couldn’t stay longer.

Hopefully, this is only the beginning for the comeback of Aaron Carter. With new concert dates in the works as well as an album, the kid is still trucking and doing his thing! Why not help him out by following him on Twitter, purchasing his music or buying a ticket to his next show?

Support Aaron Carter:
Twitter: www.twitter.com/aaroncarter7
Website: www.aaroncartermusic.com
Buy “Planet Rock” and “Perfect Storm”: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/AaronCarter
Buy “Dance With Me” featuring Flo Rida: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dance-with-me-feat-flo-rida/id339651043

MORE PHOTOS OF AARON CARTER at the Crazy Donkey! (Click to Enlarge / Photos below + article by Sandy Lo.)

For more celeb interviews, reviews and more, follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/starshinemag and Twitter: www.twitter.com/starshinemag.  Thanks!

After our interview, she invited us to check out her show at Mega Jam in Medford, NY the weekend after.  Matisse performed like a seasoned pro and had the crowd singing and dancing along in the blistering heat to her single “Better Than Her”.

Now, enough of us rambling on how wonderful she is–find out for yourself in our interview with Matisse!

Sandy Lo (StarShine Magazine): We’ve been introducing you to StarShine readers, but for people who don’t know who you are…In your own words, what would you say sums you up best?

Matisse: Wow, there’s a lot. [laughs] This might take a while. I’ve basically been singing my whole life. I’ve spent half my life in Connecticut and half my life in London. I have a twin sister who I sang with up until two years ago. I come from a very musical family. My father was in bands and as we got older we would go to the pubs and weddings and sing with him. Ever since I’ve been 4-years-old, this is what I’ve known. I can’t see myself doing anything else. So we started writing over in the UK and we finished high school there. We decided we weren’t getting enough of the American sound that we wanted and we moved down to Atlanta where I spent three years working with people like Dallas Austin who discovered TLC and worked with Madonna. And then Tricky Stewart who did “Single Ladies” [by Beyonce]. We had a song on the Step Up 2 soundtrack after signing with Interscope Records in L.A. And we’re over in the UK promoting that, did a video for it, touring, and my sister decides that she doesn’t want to do it anymore. She wants to leave the group and go back to school. She was inspired by Obama and wanted to get an education. [laughs] So I was left on my own, which has actually been the best thing. Things have just fallen into place. It’s been an adjustment, but it’s been good. I actually worked with the same people on this album—Dallas Austin, Tricky Stewart, Ne-Yo. My sound is pop/R&B basically, but my first single “Better Than Her” has a little bit of a dance element, which is kinda strange…

SS: That was written by Kevin Rudolf, right?

Matisse: Yup, mm-hmm. So yeah, now I’m just out there—finally out of the studio. I’m finally doing it after all of these years.

SS: Who are some of your inspirations?

Matisse: Definitely Madonna, Blondie, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Bonnie Rait, Michael Jackson, Prince, Tina Turner—you know, the big ones!

SS: Now where do you see your music fitting in amongst those inspirations?

Matisse: I don’t know—I always say I listen to so many different genres and I think everybody—this generation—does, with i-Pods and everything. So I feel like I have a fusion of everything. I loved Aerosmith and Bon Jovi as a kid and actually even Michael Jackson—with electric guitars—I try to incorporate that into my music. It’s definitely melodic. I feel R&B music the most out of everything. But I don’t know—it’s hard to compare myself to other people out there. I’m just doing music that I feel and trying to stay in my own lane and not compare myself to others.

SS: Have you written any of your own songs yet?

Matisse: I have—with my sister, we wrote everything together. Then when she left, I had never written by myself—we were always a team. The A&R person I was working with had worked with Whitney Houston, Leona Lewis and Jennifer Hudson, so his style was to give songs and I definitely wanted to be a part of it. So it’s been a combination. Like Ne-Yo wrote a couple of songs, Claude Kelly…

SS: It must be cool to get songs from Ne-Yo especially.

Matisse: Definitely! My priority is good songs. If Ne-Yo wants to write me a song, I’ll take it. [laughs]

SS: When is the debut album coming out?

Matisse: Probably fall, I would say. We’re just working on this first single. Akon just got on “Better Than Her”. I thought he was going to do a little part, but it’s really become a duet. He’s got two verses, so I think that’s going to be the new single. We’re just waiting for that to be mixed. So yeah, for the album—hopefully fall.

SS: Now what are you going to be doing leading up to the release? Of course, press…

Matisse: Press. I’ve been doing a lot of shows. Really a lot of radio stuff. Just promoting the single.

SS: Has there been a moment so far in your career that you’ve said “Oh my God, I can’t believe this is happening!”?

Matisse: Um…hearing my song on the radio, of course was definitely a surreal experience. I always heard artists saying “Oh my God, I heard my song on the radio!” I imagined what it would be like. I was in the car with my dad. I never listen to the radio now when I’m in New York unless I’m in the car. It was weird—I almost didn’t even react, like it didn’t seem like me or something! And then definitely having Akon on my song. I’ve loved Akon for so long. When he told me, I thought he would just say like [sings] “Akon!” [laughs] He said he wanted to be on the whole project. So hearing our two voices on the song was definitely a cool thing.

SS: Do you have a favorite song on the album so far?

Matisse: Hmm…I really like “Selfish”, which is one of the Ne-Yo songs. It’s a ballad. I like singing it the most. I’m a ballad girl. It’s a different twist. My whole objective has been to come from a strong perspective as a girl. I feel like there’s a little bit missing—especially for young girls. So even in the ballad—nothing is coming from a victim place. That was the important thing for me—to be empowering. This song—I feel it the most.

SS: Did anyone ever give you a really good piece of advice?

Matisse: I grew up with LuLu—who’s big in the UK. She’s older now. She has just kind of led by example. She’s huge and has been around for years. Everywhere she goes around Europe, everybody knows who she is, but she’s still so thoughtful. I think the key is to not believe your own hype. It’s a job and that’s what I’ve seen in her. She separates her work from her personal life. And I think to realize that we’re all the same. Just because people know you doesn’t make you any better. My sister had open heart surgery and I’d look at the surgeons and think “God, they’re doing amazing things everyday”. They’re the most humble people. They would never be “Well, I’m amazing because I just saved someone’s life”. Whereas sometimes in this business you get people with huge egos, and I think we are not the ones who should have that attitude. They should, but they don’t. So I’m certainly not going to get like that.

SS: And for my last question, if you could dedicate any song in the world to your fans, which song would you choose and why?

Matisse: Oh my God…

SS: That’s my hard-hitting question. [laughs]

Matisse: That is hard. I always loved…”Because You Loved Me”. Like your strength. My voice when I couldn’t speak. Eyes when I couldn’t see…yeah! I think that would be good! Hopefully I’ll have more who will love me as time goes on. [laughs]

Follow Matisse on Twitter: www.twitter.com/matissemusic!