COLLEEN Fitzpatrick, professionally know as Vitamin C, insists, “I am not a health nut.”That said, the singer, who was the subject of a question on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” is one of last year’s biggest musical success stories, with a platinum debut CD that spun off such hit singles as “Graduation (Friends Forever)” and “Smile.”
This week, Vitamin C will release her sophomore disc, “More.” She says “More” is a musical continuation of her self-titled debut, but doesn’t trade in on the same pure pop formula.
“A lot of singers want to be famous so badly that they forget to be creative,” warns the 30-year-old, New Jersey-born singer. VC has stayed creative and added to her fame as People Magazine’s “It Girl” by taking a role in Wes Craven’s horror flick, “Dracula 2000.”
She’ll also practice her acting skills in the upcoming Miramax release “Get Over It” – playing a pop singer.
Post: With the big success of “Vitamin C,” do you fear too much will be expected of your sophomore disc?
Vitamin C: No. I’m not the kind of artist who’s going to have a massive opening week. I expect the album to reach people slowly, steadily. A lot of people only know me by “Graduation.” That’s just one song, so people will need to hear the new one.
Post: That’s a patient attitude. Is that part of your nature?
Vitamin C: I’m not tremendously patient, but I have learned to have patience in regard to the music business. If you don’t learn that fast, you go insane.
Post: What are some of your other qualities?
Vitamin C: I try to stay prepared, because you never know what’s going to happen in music.
Post: Such as?
Vitamin C: You have to be prepared for opportunity. If it knocks, you have to be ready. And this doesn’t really have much to do with music, but I think to succeed, you have to have timing.
Post: “Graduation” was a spectacular hit. Obviously, the timing was right for that song. Were you ready for the opportunity when it knocked?
Vitamin C: No, not really. I liked the first two songs I released off that record, and they didn’t do all that great. By the time “Graduation” came around, I didn’t know what to expect. I hoped it would be a hit – that people would believe in it. That’s what I was hanging on for.
Post: What was special about “Graduation”?
Vitamin C: It is the kind of song that touches people and it has a basic theme that anyone can relate to it.
Post: Is there another song like that on the new album?
Vitamin C: That’s tough. There are three songs that are really special. “That Was Then, This Is Now” and “As Long As You’re Loving Me” are both ballads and the third is a unique song called “Sex Has Come Between Us,” about two friends who sleep together and how it changes their relationship. That’s the song I really like because it is a little different.
Post: What is the common bond among those songs?
Vitamin C: They all have strong emotion to them; they all have universal stories.
Post: Being as objective as you can, what are the differences between your first album and “More”?
Vitamin C: “More” is more focused. It’s a sexier record, more fun. It shows off more of my personality. I would even say it is more musical.
Post: More musical?
Vitamin C: Yeah, it is more melodic, more rhythmic. I like to describe it as an extension of the first record. My whole idea behind Vitamin C was to avoid formulaic pop.
Post: Forgive me, but I have a hard time imagining Vitamin C sitting in a room, scratching her head, contemplatively writing music.
Vitamin C: I have a bit of a split personality. The idea behind Vitamin C is that she is larger than life. To an extent, Vitamin C is a character. She gives me the luxury of taking chances musically. She lets me step outside of the what-you-see-is-what-you-get head. That helps me write songs. I write what means something to me; what pleases me, Colleen. When I start to write a song, I’m not thinking about my public persona or even the audience.
Post: From what you say, it sounds like you keep space between Vitamin C and Colleen Fitzpatrick.
Vitamin C: There is. That isn’t to say this is contrived, but there has been a lot of thought that has gone into this, especially the image part. For me, the least contrived idea was to go out there and create an identity that gave me the freedom to make the kind of music I wanted to. Otherwise, I’d get stereotyped as little pop girl. I loved the ambiguity of Vitamin C. People didn’t know if I was a band, a person – even whether I was male or female.
Post: What’s the best part of Vitamin C?
Vitamin C: I never talk about this, but it gives me an out.
Post: What do you mean?
Vitamin C: If there comes a time I don’t want to be this character, I can still be Colleen.
Post: Does anything about Vitamin C upset Colleen?
Vitamin C: That some people miss the point.
Post: What is the point?
Vitamin C: That there’s more than meets the eye here. That you can have a sense of humor and still be sincere. The songs I sing, I write from the heart. These are things that affect me, these are things that are going on in my life.
Post: You write from experience. Do you have a boyfriend?
Vitamin C: Yes.
Post: What did he think when he heard your song “The Itch,” about going out for some sexual variety?
Vitamin C: He had some trouble with it at first, but he did like it. He’s a big fan of it. That’s all I’ll say.
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