Auld Lang sings
Her sultry croon can make the toughest dyke swoon. Andrew Georgiou chats with the irreplaceable KD Lang and discovers her one true fear
Ms Lang returns to Sydney with tunes, croons and a few full moons
Firstly I'd like to say that you look so damn good in a suit whereas I look like a hairy gay undertaker. It's not right. Maybe you should try a dress?
I have and it's even worse. Do you have an army of stylists or do you get yourself looking that hot? Really? That's nice. I don't feel I have a hot look. Sometimes I have a stylist and sometimes I just throw some clothes on.
You seem very fond of Sydney and let's be frank, the feeling is mutual. What exactly is it about the place that resonates with you so strongly? I don't know, it's something about the sense of humour, and the culinary scene. It's sophisticated and it's easy going, and I really, really appreciate that. I value it a lot.
Your latest offering is Watershed. How would you best describe the new baby? It's just a culmination of genres over the past 25 years and to me it's just songs, just pure KD Lang. It's how I feel songs, and how I hear music I guess.
You've done pop, country and ballads so well throughout your career, and I've noticed with Watershed, that real classic Lang sultry croon is right back in the mix. Is that where your heart is? Well, it's how I like to sing, I like to be kind of lazy and use my lower voice and how I'm singing on Watershed is really how I sing when I'm just playing the guitar at home. It's very easy, very understated. I really wanted to capture sort of the very personal intimate style.
You were the poster girl for all things gay at a time when not many artists were. Was that a lot of pressure for you? Yeah, it felt like a lot of pressure, although I tried to really let people know that in no way I represented the whole culture because it's very diverse and I'm just a tiny person. When I came out in '92 I knew it was going to be the focus for a while. Now I think the focus has returned to my music. I also take a great sense of pride in being someone who has helped, sort of, cultivate the acceptance of gay and lesbian lifestyle.
Do you think more closeted artists and celebrities should stand up and be counted? I think that it's really an individual thing. There's a part of me that laments the good old day of the cryptic aspect of being a homosexual where you had to like go down the back alley and then up the stairs and around into this club, until you reached this secret place. There's this part of me that sort of misses that sort of underground lifestyle aspect of being gay. It's been a very easy go for me, but it's not easy for everybody.
You broke the mould with the infamous Vanity Fair cover with Cindy Crawford in 1993. A decade later Madonna decides to give Britney a tonsillectomy at the VMAs. Do you think that's an attempt at shock value more than anything else? I think it's all just sort of pop culture and how it affects society. It takes time to really suss it out. I think the Vanity Fair cover still to this day has an intriguing provocative sort of sense to it and I'm very proud of it, I think it stands up to the test of time.
At 31 you had three Grammies and the world's attention. How did you deal with that? I think I kinda got swept up in it back then a little bit. I kind of lost my self control a little and got sucked into it.
You were never a wanker about it though. My biggest fear is to be a wanker! I think growing up in a small town was a good thing, you know, that it sort of prepared me for the exposure of being a public person.
I know the tour has been going great. What can KD obsessed fans with restraining orders expect to see from your Sydney shows in May? Well it's really very Watershed-centric and it's rounded out by back catalogue stuff. The band is very cute, talented and very enthusiastic and it makes for a really nice energy on stage. The boys can be excited about the show because there's lots to look at.
Really? A bit of boy eye-candy? Yep, definitely boy-candy.
KD Lang's new album Watershed is out now through Warner Music. More on KD at www.kdlang.com
Listen to the complete Interview with KD Lang right now!
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