Randy Cordova
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 26, 2008 05:31 PM
These days, she splits most of her time between the States and England, where the press is engaged in a love-hate relationship with her. A chatty, fast-talking Stone talked about the situation while taking a breather in LA.
QUESTION: Are you on the road right now?
ANSWER: No, I’m not. (giggling). I’m just here. I have secret things going on.
Q: You do have a lot coming up.
A: I was touring all last year. Now I’ve got a South American tour coming up, and America and Europe. Other than that, I’m chilling. 
Q: Do you like life on the road?
A: I love playing my songs and getting a good reaction from the crowd. But traveling? Yeah, that sucks (expletive). What can you really do about it? It’s not really something you can change. I sleep a lot, so maybe it’s to pretend I’m not on the road? (giggling). Sleeping takes up a lot of time.
Q: Do you do anything to make hotels feel more like home?
A: I light candles. If I’m allowed, I take my dogs. I’ve got a Rottweiler and a poodle. I love animals.
Q: You’re back and forth between the United States and England so much. Are the two countries that different?
A: Oh yeah! English people are very polite. Americans are very straightforward – not rude, but they just have different manners and a different way of speaking. If somebody knocks into you on the street in New York, it’s ‘What the (expletive)?’ In England, it’s ‘I’m so sorry that you knocked into me.’ They’re both great. One side is just overly honest, and being overly honest is like my favorite thing in the world. I have a truth obsession and I can’t say lies. But I also love politeness, so there.
Q: I know our food portions our bigger than the British.
A: You all eat so much food! (giggling) Oh, yeah. And, you can’t make tea. It’s not hard, but it’s like you all can’t wait for the kettle to boil all the way through. You must let it warm through the tea bag.
Q: And the British don’t like iced tea.
A: No, they hate it. But I love it. I love iced teas and iced coffees. I’m turning into a Yank.
Q: Now, don’t the British media hate when British celebrities come to the United States and get American-ized?
A: Oh, they hate that! They spit on that! The funny thing is there is a difference in England and America when it comes to success. In America, people congratulate you and applaud it. In England, when you’re successful in another country that isn’t England, they don’t applaud you. They bring you down. That did shock me about England. My father brought me up to be a very loyal English woman. I’m very proud of being English, but the tabloid press . . .
Q: It’s different than our press, isn’t it?
A: They just have a lot more fun making fun of you. Like, for instance, my album came in at No. 2 on the American charts. I was so happy. I was like, (expletive), that is amazing. They didn’t even report it in England. They didn’t even say it happened. I don’t know. It’s just a completely different mentality.
Q: Do you know why that is?
A: I don’t know. All I want to do is make a lot of music and work a lot. The world is bigger than England, but it still gets to you. When the album came out, I tried to do all the press in England. As soon as the tabloids started having a go (at me), my record company, being the big fat (expletive) that they are, cancelled all press. Then the tabloids come after me for not doing press!
Q: Happier stuff: You’re doing a chocolate advertisement in England?
A: Oh yes. I love Cadbury’s chocolate. We should all eat more chocolate. And it’s a really flakey, delicate kind of thing. It’s kind of cool – I’m the new “flake” girl. I was really happy to do it for an English company.
Q: You give the audience flowers?
A: Yes, I like to give them a gift. They’ve come all the way out to see me. It’s a cool thing. I like to thank them.
Q: Your audience is cool, because it’s a little bit of everything.
A: I don’t know how that happened, but it’s the biggest blessing I’ve ever received. Music should never be put into boxes. It’s such a beautiful thing to have it spread as far as it can possibly spread. It’s just something that happened.
Q: Now that you’re 20, are you glad that all the “young White soul prodigy” stories are behind you?
A: That was very weird. In England, it wasn’t an issue. That’s another difference – England is more classist than racist. But here, it was about this little White girl with blonde hair (who sounds like she’s Black). And I never saw color.
This month on Quest, a modern insight into our enduring bond with man’s best friend… the humble dog. It’s the “Quest for man’s best friend” show.
