Good evening girls, it's great to have you on the show. How are you all doing?Danielle: Great, thank you! It's pretty awesome sat here with you.
Bianca: Pretty good, thanks for asking.
Lacy: I'm a bit tired, it's pretty late.
Aubrei: Lacy, it's not that late, oh my god.
First of all, congratulations on the recent success. I said it at the time and I still believe that your debut E.P was the best thing released in the industry in 2016. How did it feel to finally release those songs after what feels like a very long wait?Danielle: Thank you, sweetie. It was like a huge relief for us. The new music was a long time coming and I know that fans were itching to hear it. I was desperate to release it too. We would see daily reminders on our Twitter feeds about the lack of music so to finally release it was a big moment for us. We had lived with the songs for a while and releasing the E.P was like finally setting them free into the world to be enjoyed.
Lacy: Thank you! That's a huge honor to hear when there were so many amazing releases last year, so thank you. Honestly, we've been working on music for the longest but we were fighting with ourselves and our label back then to get it released and then we got to be signed on a new label and...here we are!
Aubrei: I thought it was a breath of air, like we could finally breathe. Social media NEVER lets you forget when you're missing (Laughs).
Bianca: Right? I'm just glad we could satisfy our fans and finally get our music out.
Did you expect the E.P and it's singles to be so well received?Danielle: Well I knew that there would be some sort of fanfare behind it because people were constantly asking for it and our fans are such a loyal bunch so they'd snatch it up as soon as it dropped but for it to sell that much, go to number one and still be charting and selling strong after like...3 months...is pretty insane.
Aubrei: I think we were all a little nervous. Sometimes if you wait too long, you miss your chance. You hear it all the time from artists or celebrities. They'll be like "Oh the timing was perfect, the stars aligned, the full moon was showing.."
Lacy: What? (Laughs) Who says that?
Aubrei: I don't know! I'm just saying! (Laughs)
Bianca: She literally just made that up, forgive her. (Giggles)
What are you personal favourite tracks from the E.P?Danielle: Not being biased because I co-wrote it but I do love "On The Rocks". That's probably the most "pop" moment on the E.P. I worked with Christopher Hudson on it and he is like a musical genius. Definitely not given enough credit for his work. He just turns up and within five minutes he's got a hit on his hands. Oh and BEFORE one of the girls cut in with a chance to poke fun at me, yes I do think he's hot but no we aren't dating. Only in my mind. I think my favorite switches back and forth between that one and Did You Know? It's just so stripped back production wise and it focuses more on the emotional lyrics. It's a moment when we all really get to SING.
Lacy: They are so in love, I love it! Aww.
Bianca: My favorites were "Breakthrough" and "Did You Know?" I loved the feel for both of the songs and thought they were amazing. They all are amazing but those two are special in my heart.
Aubrei: I think my favorite is "How To Build a Man" like I think the production was something different than what's on the radio or being played and I loved the whole concept when we were recording and writing it.
Lacy: Mine was "On The Rocks" because it sounds so fun and sassy.
You've also recently just finished a small tour, a bunch of dates in the US and a couple of dates in the UK. When can we next see you girls performing live? Aubrei: No idea. (Laughs)
Bianca: Probably our next tour or maybe an awards show? We're actually working on our album so you never know.
Lacy: We might just record a performance for our fans and upload it to Youtube. Does that count?
And can we expect a full-length album to come very soon? I know the fans are going crazy for it.Danielle: We are working towards it and it will be with you in the near future. I don't want to give a rough mark because people will hold me to it! It is definitely on its way though. I honestly hate waiting and I'd happily just give the fans the album right now if I could but we want it to be perfect and at the end of the day, we also have a team and a label behind us and they have to make all the important decisions about release dates and all that jazz.
Aubrei: Dani won't say it but I will; probably before the year is over.
Bianca: And we'll get mobbed if we don't deliver so we'll work our asses off to make sure it happens. (Laughs)
When that album does eventually arrive, what sort of sound can we expect to hear from it? More of the same from the E.P, or an even more varied mix?Danielle: I think it's more of a continuation of the E.P with a little more experimenting going on. With an album, there is more room to play around and dabble with different sounds. We're growing and developing as artists and women so the album won't be a carbon copy of our E.P but it won't be anything drastically different either. We're not going to hit you with a heavy metal record or anything like that!
Bianca: Although, for the record, I'd be on board for a heavy metal album. But seriously, it's gonna be a mixture of different sounds and themes. We love challenging ourselves as writers and performers so we'll probably try not to just give the E.P all over again.
Lacy: If we do heavy metal then I wanna do ska.
Aubrei: Our album is gonna be a huge experiment, as you can see. We all have different ideas and opinions, so it's going to be great to see it come together.
Are we likely to hear any collaborations in your near future or is it more important to show us fully who you are before expanding your sound and style with features and guest spots?Danielle: Hmmm...I'm keeping hush-hush on the one for now.
Bianca: We can't really confirm nor deny right now but...
Lacy: Possibly!
And what about your own personal music tastes. Who are your current favourite artists or groups?Danielle: I really love Cassie Valentine. That voice is just...uh, heaven sent! She's a real R&B artist and such a lovely, humble lady. Her album Matrimony is one of my favorite records in my collection. I love some Miami and Andrea - real fierce ladies right there. Who else? Uh...LUXX! I'd really love to meet them. They're so talented and a fellow female group so I'm all about that girl power. I also love Deneil but who doesn't? His flow, his style, that accent, personality - so unique.
Bianca: I've always been a huge Vanity stan so I would die if she offered to do a song with us or something happened where we both could work together. I also love Cristina Lake, she's one of my absolute favorites! I'm an indie/rock girl so she definitely does it for me.
Lacy: I really love everything Mandy has been putting out. She's such a trooper and she turns her life into some of the best songs ever! Also love LUXX as well. They are different and really creative. Their album was so amazing. I also have been getting into KPop which is like heaven! So many great songs.
Aubrei: Definitely love Rum & Coke. Those ladies are just completely on another level as far as I'm concerned. Cassie is also amazing! Tisha is one of my guilty pleasures. She's just- I just love her!
For girls so young, you seem to have handled the difficulties of the entertainment industry very well. How have you managed to cope with the extra attention and is it something that ever bothers you?Danielle: Afternoon drinking. No but seriously, I'm blessed to be surrounded by my three sisters here. I probably struggle the most in terms of handling the negative comments. Part of being in the industry is that you're seen as public property and everyone wants to have their say and THINK that their opinions matter. These people don't go to random strangers' pages and post hurtful comments but because you're a "celebrity", I hate that word, they think that you're exempt and your feelings don't matter. I don't think I could handle it if I were a solo act. My girls protect me and help pick me up whenever I'm down. I live quite a simple, sheltered life so not many people physically interfere like the paparazzi and stuff. It's mainly online where it all gets a little chaotic.
Lacy: Yeah, there's some nasty people out there. Quite honestly, we just try not to pay attention to it. We love showing love to those who supports us and show love back.
Aubrei: We're always going to have each other's back so you mess with one of us, you pretty much mess with all of us. Luckily, we have a great support system among ourselves and we try to stir from engaging in trolls or mean people online.
Bianca: At the end of the day, we just want to make music and have fun. So we're just enjoying ourselves and focusing on the music.
And finally what about your personal lives. Are you all currently single?Danielle: Yes and I swear to you even Tinder has given up on me. I can't even bag myself a total weirdo! That was a joke by the way, I realized that I sounded so desperate there! I mean, yeah I am single and dating would be nice but in this industry it's really hard to find someone and then maintain it.
Lacy: As single as a pringle.
Aubrei: I'm done with you today Lacy. (Laughs)
Bianca: We're all single. I think we've all pretty much been focusing on actually putting out music before flirting.
Aubrei: Now that it's out, we'll accept all proposals!
Alright, AfterDark questions. This is where it gets a little fun. Are you girls ready?Danielle: Yes, babe!
Lacy: Always!
Bianca: Go for it.
Weirdest moment since being in the music industry?Danielle: I think it was at the last FCA afterparty...or maybe it was The GOLDIES? It was an award show party anyway. I remember being on the phone to one of my friends and giving her all the juice on what was going at this glamorous party and the names I was dropping were ridiculous. I was saying things like "Oh yeah, I was just talking to Kato. Such a nice guy!" and "I was talking to Eilidh about her outfit and she loved my shoes" and it only just clicked, after saying it out loud, that this was my reality. I was at this party with all these stars. Me. Little Danielle Sparke. You know, you work so hard for months on end and it's like you're on autopilot that you are just sort of disconnected from a lot of things. I was just mingling and gliding through the party up until that moment and then I just got starstruck all of a sudden. My knees started shaking right in the middle of the place and it was like I just realized how far we've all come as a band and that I am actually living this life. Riley from Weekend then came up to ask me if I was OK and that near enough sent me over the edge. Who gets approached by a member of Weekend so casually like that? It was like an outer body experience. So yeah, that was my weirdest moment.
Aubrei: I think the weirdest moment for me has been some of the fans try to flirt in my DM's and they go all in, like, they're sending pictures and it's just so weird! Sending nudes, oh my god. I would totally call them out for it because most of them have girlfriends or in some cases, boyfriends!
Bianca: Probably being photographed in the streets now. It's so crazy, paparazzi follow you everywhere and I've never experienced that until now.
Lacy: I tried to flirt with one of The Stat Nerds and it didn't really go well. (Laughs) I just followed him and liked his picture, is that flirting? I don't know how to do it. But yeah, that's weird I guess.
If you had to remove one member of your group and replace them with somebody else. Who would you remove and who would you replace them with?Danielle: Bianca. She's not in my good books right now and she knows exactly why. Ms Hughes here opened up the fridge in our dressing room, picked up MY sandwich, held it up in broad daylight and ate it for herself. The sandwich which was wrapped and labelled "DANI" in capital letters all across it. I'm very picky with my sandwiches. I can't eat half of the spreads and fillings that these girls do. I'm very simple and precise. I like to arrange mine perfectly, just the way I like. This one here just ate it without a second thought. I had to have a wrap instead...and I spent more time picking out the tomatoes than I did eating and enjoying it! Sorry B, you're on my list now!
Bianca: Dani! I love you!
Aubrei: She sounds like a nutcase, right? Like just eat the sandwich!
Lacy: I wouldn't remove anyone because then we wouldn't be us and I love us!
Bianca: Oh I'd totally remove Dani now. We officially have beef now, you heard it here first. Now you'll understand when she has less solo's on our album.
Who do you think will be the first one to go solo?Danielle: Hopefully it's a while before we start having that talk! Uh, I think that our main focus is the group and working on our album. If we ever do venture into solo stuff I'm sure we'd all still be very much part of the band too. I can actually imagine Aubrei in a music video getting all hot and steamy while grinding up against Kidd Amaze or Deneil, though. That sounded kinda wrong. I don't actually sit and imagine you grinding up against rappers, hun!
Lacy: We're never going solo, like never. Nope.
Aubrei: Ooh, Dani. I love that visual though. I need a rapper to grind up against now.
Bianca: Lord, stop it. But yeah, we're pretty much not even entertaining the idea of solo music right now. We have so much more work to do as a group, with writing food labels and whatnot.
What are your worst habits?Danielle: For me it's doing my hair and make-up and then deciding that I don't like it when it's done. I mess it up and start all over. It's not so bad when we have a stylist on hand but if it's just a regular girls night out, I think they want to kill me because I hold them up.
Bianca: We do, we so do. I think mines is I'm a horrible texter. I will read a text and then never reply and forget I even had a text. Nobody texts me anymore because of it.
Lacy: I'm very playful and hardly ever serious. It's especially bad during tense situations.
Aubrei: I spend a lot on clothes and material things. I just love looking good and feeling good but I don't know what a budget is.
What do you hate most about the music industry?Danielle: The negative comments like I said before are one thing that I hate. Another would be how childish it can be. You have grown men and women being "petty" as they call it. There are too many shady comments and people being pitted against one another. We should be doing this for the love of music and not for the retweets and drama. There's room for everyone. There's no limit to art. I don't know why people feel the need to tear others down and create wars with other musicians. You should do your own thing and quit focusing on someone else. I really don't like when people try to start things. Not needed. It's all love, people!
Bianca: I think I got a lot of flack for our last interview for CU when I said I was tired of interviewers asking female artists or celebrities who they think is hot or who they would date or whatever. So it seemed like I was being rude when I wasn't. I don't like when my words get misconstrued. I also hate the sexism. I think women should be able to wear and say what they like and not be labeled as a 'whore' or whatever. It's 2017 people.
Lacy: I definitely don't like the closed mindedness. I feel like we should be able to express our views and opinions without getting backlash. Most artists have to be so meticulous about what they say and they come off as fake.
Aubrei: I hate how everything is so public these days, like nothing can be private unless you work really hard to keep it that way. You can't enjoy life trying to hide all the time.
If you could perform with one other person from the industry, who would you choose?Danielle: Oooh, I'd love to do something with Cassie Valentine. I've expressed my love for her already so I'm not going to repeat myself and sound like a total psycho but yeah, she'd be great. I think that her soulful style would work well with us as a group. She's a REAL singer too and that's something all four of us look for and truly support.
Bianca: Vanity. I think it would be epic. I imagine a big dance break and crazy visuals.
Aubrei: Tisha definitely. Her live shows are on another planet! She's my favorite live artist.
Lacy: I'd love to do like a fun, colorful performance with Mi•Mi or Synco. Can you imagine all those women on one stage?
And finally, who would be bottom of that list?Danielle: Now that's mean, babe! I'm just going to twist this one and say The Stat Nerds because they're all really hot and I just wouldn't be able to concentrate. That's my reasoning!
Bianca: I'd probably say Synco. I love them and they're amazing women but I think our styles might be too...different?
Lacy: Anyone in the industry that is mean. I don't like mean people so they can just sit in the corner or something.
Aubrei: I don't think I could perform on the same stage as Payton. I don't think I need to further....explain myself.
Bianca: (Giggles) We're gonna get a ton of sh*t for that, just wait!
Alright, I think this was a lot of fun. Hopefully you enjoyed it too. Hopefully we'll see you back here again soon.Danielle: Thank you, Cara! This was fun!
Aubrei: Thank you for having us!
Lacy: See you again, hopefully!
Bianca: BUY "LUSH" ON ITUNES IF YOU HAVEN'T!
