That pic is just
QUOTE
'I really don't like music,' says Anastacia (who happens to have sold 20million albums)
By Jon Wilde
Last updated at 11:20 PM on 27th December 2008
Anastacia's response to Crohn's Disease, cancer and musical oblivion? Get a makeover and sell millions of albums
To fully appreciate why Anastacia is called ‘the little lady with the big voice’ you just need to meet her. Nothing prepares you for how tiny she is, but her minute stature – a mere 5ft 2in – is the only understated thing about her.
Make no mistake, this girl is loud. Long before she’s entered the room, you can hear her voice booming down the corridor. When she laughs, which is often, it’s like the sound of a military band warming up.
Having overcome a mountain of adversity en route to selling 20 million records, it’s as if she’s developed a heightened sense of being alive and has long since decided to milk every moment for what it’s worth.
She was born Anastacia Lyn Newkirk in Chicago in 1968. Her father, a cruise-ship singer, left when she was three, and she and her two siblings were raised by their actress mother in New York.
At 13, she was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, an intestinal disorder she still has to keep in check. In 2003, suffering from back trouble and seeking surgery to reduce her breasts, a routine mammogram revealed a particularly virulent form of breast cancer. Months of radiation therapy followed and she has since experienced a further biopsy scare, but has remained cancer-free for the past five years.
Now 40 and married to her former bodyguard Wayne Newton for the past 18 months, she divides her time between homes in Los Angeles and Richmond, Surrey.
This might sound unbelievable but I really don’t like music.
I like writing and performing but I prefer silence to putting on a CD. Listening to music doesn’t relax me and I find it hard to think straight when it’s on. I have an iPod but I can’t recall the last time I used it. I’ve never bought a record in my life. I bought a Janet Jackson cassette once but that’s it. Music has never moved me. It doesn’t do anything for me. To be honest I find it irritating.
The credit crunch isn’t affecting me one little bit.
I haven’t changed my spending patterns at all. I know people who have become more careful about what they buy. They’re more likely to look for bargains in the shops. Not me. I’m not out there looking to save a few pence on a bag of pasta. When I shop I tend to shop like it’s my last day on Earth. I don’t worry about the credit crunch. The economy is in a downturn now. Before long it will be heading up again. I’m not losing any sleep over it. I’ll find something else to worry about.
There are things about Britain I’ll never understand.
I spend half my time here now but I still can’t get my head around fish and chips. Also, I can’t understand the British obsession with the weather. What gets me is that you Brits are always shocked when it’s cold and wet in the winter. Like it’s completely unexpected. And you all love to complain about the weather. It’s a national obsession. Hey, it’s weather. There’s nothing you can do to change it. Get over it. Also, I find driving on your roads completely baffling. Roundabouts freak me out. I’ve given up driving in Britain. It does my head in.
Cancer nearly killed me.
My luckiest break was discovering that I had cancer while there was still time
to treat it. If it had been found any later, it would have spread through my entire body and I wouldn’t be alive today. Since I’ve fought off cancer, there’s nothing in this world that scares me. I’m completely fearless. I’ve got cancer to thank for that. It was an extreme life lesson but an invaluable one.
The worst chat-up line I ever got was, ‘Your breasts are so beautiful – are they real?’
I was in a club at the time. This guy just walked up to me and came straight out with it. My response was, ‘That’s so moronic. Please walk away, because I don’t want to breathe the same air as you.’ Perhaps this was his standard line with women. And maybe there have been times when it’s worked for him. Who knows? But you’d have to wonder about the kind of women who would welcome a line as dumb as that.
I lied about my age for a decade.
At the time my record company made it sound like an attractive proposition. ‘Pretend you’re six years younger and you’ll get a bigger audience.’ But it didn’t make me a better singer and it was something I had to lie about for ten years. It was a struggle to remember when I was born and how old that made my brother and sister. It was impossible to be consistent. But I don’t blame anyone but myself. Yes, I was young and naive, but I certainly wasn’t a victim. I agreed to those things because I wanted my career to happen and I was aware there were a thousand and one other singers waiting to take my place if I were to stumble.
The name Anastacia means ‘rise up again’.
It’s Greek and rising up in the face of adversity has been the story of my life. I’ve had so many resurrections I’ve lost count. The harder things hit me, the harder I’ll fight back. My husband calls me Analstacia because I’m so anally fixated on tidying up around the house.
There are few things more horrifying than discovering you have Crohn’s disease.
I was just about to enter my teens, getting used to the fact that my body was changing. Then I found out that I’d got this serious digestive condition. It took all my femininity away. Even when I started my music career, it was difficult for me to celebrate my sexuality. I didn’t feel glamorous or remotely girlie. That’s probably why I came over as tough-looking. It’s only now that I feel completely at ease as a woman. This latest album is the first one where I’ve properly celebrated that part of myself.
I sang at Arnold Schwarzenegger’s birthday party.
To make ends meet in my mid-twenties, I’d regularly sing at parties and weddings. I performed an old En Vogue number for Schwarzenegger and he loved it so much
he made me sing it seven times.
Forty is the new twenty. That’s how it feels to me.
My thirties were spent in a pop whirlpool. It was work, work, work. There was hardly time to catch my breath. Looking back, I spent those ten years trying to please other people without caring whether I was enjoying myself. I’m still a people-pleaser. That’s a part of my character that’s never likely to change. But now I make a point of pleasing myself, too. I no longer feel the need to control situations. I’ve learned to go with the flow more. I’m happy to let the boat sail along and see where it takes me. It makes for a more surprising life and I prefer it that way.
Elton John kissed my navel in front of 20,000 people.
It happened at Madison Square Garden in New York in 2001. Elton had invited me on stage to do a duet on Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting. We’d just finished the song and he walked over to me. Instead of kissing my hand, he dropped to his knees and kissed my navel. It was such an awesome moment that I didn’t know how
to react. I stood there thinking, ‘Should I kiss his navel now?’ It was such a special moment for me because my mum was always a huge Elton John fan and I grew
up with his music. Now he’s a friend and I get to be his house guest. I stay in his ‘princess’ bedroom, surrounded by all these porcelain kittens. I have the most amazing dreams in his big canopy bed. There’s no better start to a day than waking up in that bed and Elton bringing you a cup of breakfast tea.
I understand why people steal music.
If you’re a teenager and all your friends are getting music for free, you’re not going to be inclined to pay for it. Why would you? I’d prefer it if people bought my music, but I understand why they might take it illegally. We’ve got a whole generation who believe it’s fine to take music without paying for it. How do we begin to reprogramme the way they think?
The new album ‘Heavy Rotation’ is out now; a new single, ‘Absolutely Positively’, is out on January 26.
By Jon Wilde
Last updated at 11:20 PM on 27th December 2008
Anastacia's response to Crohn's Disease, cancer and musical oblivion? Get a makeover and sell millions of albums
To fully appreciate why Anastacia is called ‘the little lady with the big voice’ you just need to meet her. Nothing prepares you for how tiny she is, but her minute stature – a mere 5ft 2in – is the only understated thing about her.
Make no mistake, this girl is loud. Long before she’s entered the room, you can hear her voice booming down the corridor. When she laughs, which is often, it’s like the sound of a military band warming up.
Having overcome a mountain of adversity en route to selling 20 million records, it’s as if she’s developed a heightened sense of being alive and has long since decided to milk every moment for what it’s worth.
She was born Anastacia Lyn Newkirk in Chicago in 1968. Her father, a cruise-ship singer, left when she was three, and she and her two siblings were raised by their actress mother in New York.
At 13, she was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, an intestinal disorder she still has to keep in check. In 2003, suffering from back trouble and seeking surgery to reduce her breasts, a routine mammogram revealed a particularly virulent form of breast cancer. Months of radiation therapy followed and she has since experienced a further biopsy scare, but has remained cancer-free for the past five years.
Now 40 and married to her former bodyguard Wayne Newton for the past 18 months, she divides her time between homes in Los Angeles and Richmond, Surrey.
This might sound unbelievable but I really don’t like music.
I like writing and performing but I prefer silence to putting on a CD. Listening to music doesn’t relax me and I find it hard to think straight when it’s on. I have an iPod but I can’t recall the last time I used it. I’ve never bought a record in my life. I bought a Janet Jackson cassette once but that’s it. Music has never moved me. It doesn’t do anything for me. To be honest I find it irritating.
The credit crunch isn’t affecting me one little bit.
I haven’t changed my spending patterns at all. I know people who have become more careful about what they buy. They’re more likely to look for bargains in the shops. Not me. I’m not out there looking to save a few pence on a bag of pasta. When I shop I tend to shop like it’s my last day on Earth. I don’t worry about the credit crunch. The economy is in a downturn now. Before long it will be heading up again. I’m not losing any sleep over it. I’ll find something else to worry about.
There are things about Britain I’ll never understand.
I spend half my time here now but I still can’t get my head around fish and chips. Also, I can’t understand the British obsession with the weather. What gets me is that you Brits are always shocked when it’s cold and wet in the winter. Like it’s completely unexpected. And you all love to complain about the weather. It’s a national obsession. Hey, it’s weather. There’s nothing you can do to change it. Get over it. Also, I find driving on your roads completely baffling. Roundabouts freak me out. I’ve given up driving in Britain. It does my head in.
Cancer nearly killed me.
My luckiest break was discovering that I had cancer while there was still time
to treat it. If it had been found any later, it would have spread through my entire body and I wouldn’t be alive today. Since I’ve fought off cancer, there’s nothing in this world that scares me. I’m completely fearless. I’ve got cancer to thank for that. It was an extreme life lesson but an invaluable one.
The worst chat-up line I ever got was, ‘Your breasts are so beautiful – are they real?’
I was in a club at the time. This guy just walked up to me and came straight out with it. My response was, ‘That’s so moronic. Please walk away, because I don’t want to breathe the same air as you.’ Perhaps this was his standard line with women. And maybe there have been times when it’s worked for him. Who knows? But you’d have to wonder about the kind of women who would welcome a line as dumb as that.
I lied about my age for a decade.
At the time my record company made it sound like an attractive proposition. ‘Pretend you’re six years younger and you’ll get a bigger audience.’ But it didn’t make me a better singer and it was something I had to lie about for ten years. It was a struggle to remember when I was born and how old that made my brother and sister. It was impossible to be consistent. But I don’t blame anyone but myself. Yes, I was young and naive, but I certainly wasn’t a victim. I agreed to those things because I wanted my career to happen and I was aware there were a thousand and one other singers waiting to take my place if I were to stumble.
The name Anastacia means ‘rise up again’.
It’s Greek and rising up in the face of adversity has been the story of my life. I’ve had so many resurrections I’ve lost count. The harder things hit me, the harder I’ll fight back. My husband calls me Analstacia because I’m so anally fixated on tidying up around the house.
There are few things more horrifying than discovering you have Crohn’s disease.
I was just about to enter my teens, getting used to the fact that my body was changing. Then I found out that I’d got this serious digestive condition. It took all my femininity away. Even when I started my music career, it was difficult for me to celebrate my sexuality. I didn’t feel glamorous or remotely girlie. That’s probably why I came over as tough-looking. It’s only now that I feel completely at ease as a woman. This latest album is the first one where I’ve properly celebrated that part of myself.
I sang at Arnold Schwarzenegger’s birthday party.
To make ends meet in my mid-twenties, I’d regularly sing at parties and weddings. I performed an old En Vogue number for Schwarzenegger and he loved it so much
he made me sing it seven times.
Forty is the new twenty. That’s how it feels to me.
My thirties were spent in a pop whirlpool. It was work, work, work. There was hardly time to catch my breath. Looking back, I spent those ten years trying to please other people without caring whether I was enjoying myself. I’m still a people-pleaser. That’s a part of my character that’s never likely to change. But now I make a point of pleasing myself, too. I no longer feel the need to control situations. I’ve learned to go with the flow more. I’m happy to let the boat sail along and see where it takes me. It makes for a more surprising life and I prefer it that way.
Elton John kissed my navel in front of 20,000 people.
It happened at Madison Square Garden in New York in 2001. Elton had invited me on stage to do a duet on Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting. We’d just finished the song and he walked over to me. Instead of kissing my hand, he dropped to his knees and kissed my navel. It was such an awesome moment that I didn’t know how
to react. I stood there thinking, ‘Should I kiss his navel now?’ It was such a special moment for me because my mum was always a huge Elton John fan and I grew
up with his music. Now he’s a friend and I get to be his house guest. I stay in his ‘princess’ bedroom, surrounded by all these porcelain kittens. I have the most amazing dreams in his big canopy bed. There’s no better start to a day than waking up in that bed and Elton bringing you a cup of breakfast tea.
I understand why people steal music.
If you’re a teenager and all your friends are getting music for free, you’re not going to be inclined to pay for it. Why would you? I’d prefer it if people bought my music, but I understand why they might take it illegally. We’ve got a whole generation who believe it’s fine to take music without paying for it. How do we begin to reprogramme the way they think?
The new album ‘Heavy Rotation’ is out now; a new single, ‘Absolutely Positively’, is out on January 26.
...as u can probably tell 
what's it called?? Do u even have one of those socks for it and everything?? 
She may not know it, but its such a turn-off!! 
