Alyson Stoner released her single Woman last month and now she’s ready to take the music world by storm. She’s grown up on our screens and we recognise her from shows on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. Then, her dancing took us by surprise and last year she made a tribute to Missy Elliott which went viral. While she’s currently known as a dancer, actress and singer, 2016 is the year for Alyson to embark on a new journey as a musician and a performer, changing her style and making it reflect who she is now.
“My true identity, the messiness, the scattered thoughts, the human emotion and experience… that’s all documented in my music and it’s going to leave people probably surprised.”
Taylor Magazine: Hey Alyson. What’s been happening for you recently? Tell us what you’ve been working on!
Alyson Stoner: It’s been a whirlwind year and a half! At the end of last year, I filmed a new movie Mr Invincible which will be out this spring or summer. Most importantly I’ve been in the studio finishing my songs including the single Woman.
Taylor Magazine: You’ve always been into dancing, singing, acting. How comes you’ve now decided to make this transition into music?
Alyson Stoner: It’s a mixture of things. On some level it’s a little bit of ‘if not now, when?’ On another level it’s me coming into my own skin and realising I was the only person holding myself back from exceeding in music. It wasn’t the competition, it wasn’t the industry, it wasn’t that I didn’t have a big machine. I just needed to grow and additionally, I think it’s the perfect age to make a statement. As my friends are graduating from college and figuring out what they want to do with their lives I too am pursuing something new on my own accord and taking responsibility for how I’m investing my time instead of just piggybacking success that I’ve gotten from childhood. Now I’m taking hold of my dreams by myself and I feel like it’s the perfect time for it.
Taylor Magazine: Who inspires you musically?
Alyson Stoner: As an entertainer, I love Janet Jackson and I love Jennifer Lopez. They are larger than life on stage and they combine dance, and vocal and just the whole package.
Taylor Magazine: Do you now want to focus more on your singing or will there still be a mix of both singing and acting?
Alyson Stoner: For now, I want to go absolutely full throttle towards music. I’ve put it on the back burner for so many years so I want to give it a fair chance but it takes time to develop. With those working behind the scenes we’re ready to see where the journey will take us. Of course acting will always be a major passion, same as dance but I think ideally right now acting is sort of my 9-5 that pays the bills so I can pursue my passion project which is music.
Taylor Magazine: How would you describe your musical style for someone that hasn’t heard of you before as a musician?
Alyson Stoner: I would describe my sound as percussion, rhythmic. It has an international groove melody and rhythm is very important to me. There’s not a lot of vocal effects and if there are, you can still hear the authenticity.
Taylor Magazine: How is your growth as a person going to be reflected in your music?
Alyson Stoner: To be honest, people have gotten to know me through other companies and other large machines like Disney and Nickelodeon and now I feel like my voice is being shared for the first time. My true identity, the messiness, the scattered thoughts, the human emotion and experience… that’s all documented in my music and it’s going to leave people probably surprised. I can anticipate my audience a little bit, because I’m sure people think that they know me. They may know some of me but they don’t know all of me and so my music can really voice that. I’m really looking forward to it because no matter what the response is I know that I’m being true to me and that is the most important thing to me.
Taylor Magazine: So what have been your most challenging experiences so far, either in acting or more recently as you’re branching out into music?
Alyson Stoner: The list goes on. I once pitched a very special idea to a certain company and they ended up taking the idea and making it into a multi-million dollar project. I learned that I have to protect my ideas. I also learned not to write myself off because they ended up including me in a very small way, even though I was the creator of it all. I learned about power trips and money and legal battles and I was a young teen at the time so it was overwhelming to play with the big dogs. It taught me a lot of wisdom really quickly about producing my own content and protecting my ideas but also believing in myself to be a part of my idea and not just relinquish all control and let someone else take my place. A lot of the lessons I’ve been learning recently have been ‘if you know you’re meant to be there, do not shrink back anymore.’ You cannot afford to wait for someone else to give you permission, otherwise they will overlook and they will undermine.
Taylor Magazine: That sounds like a really tough thing to go through, it must have been really hard for you. How did you get through that?
Alyson Stoner: It’s hard to describe perfectly when you’re in the middle of it because it’s important when you’re going through a difficult period to have a lot of compassion for yourself and a lot of patience. I wish I had been a little less self-critical because I was very hard on myself but what I learned is that if other people are beating me down it’s no good for me to also beat myself down. It opened up new opportunities and produced a lot of joy. A huge thing that I’ve been learning is pursuing vitality in the midst of strife and struggle. That’s usually where your heart comes to life and there’s peace, promise and excitement. That’s a positive direction for me.
Taylor Magazine: That’s really good advice. On to something a little more positive and happy, what’s been your most positive or rewarding experience?
Alyson Stoner: I think the Missy Elliot tribute last year has to be the highlight of my career. It was the first time that I had an idea to do something instead of letting it pass by hoping that somebody else will do it for me. I put all of my efforts and energy and knowledge from 15 years of entertainment, business, marketing and creativity into it really really quickly. It was a stressful three day adventure. Then suddenly it was so gratifying to see it to completion but then to release it to the world and have the world respond in such a huge way was so encouraging. It shows me what I do does matter and what I offer, people do want to see. There were no companies, no fancy tricks, no gimmicks, nothing except a pure idea that set me off.
Taylor Magazine: I remember when that came out. There was a massive buzz around it. It must have been such a good feeling and such a confidence boost for you to look at what you had accomplished.
Alyson Stoner: Yes, absolutely! I don’t know how often you can ever predict or repeat something at that calibre but it activated something in me that is never going to go away. Like you said, it’s going to be an example whenever I’m going through a very stressful situation in production. I can always remember, “Hey, you pushed through those days before and look at what the result was, you can do this!”
Taylor Magazine: Let’s talk a little bit about you and your acting when you were younger. What have you taken from those projects now that you can look back on them?
Alyson Stoner: So from Disney, I learned a lot about work ethic. They really demand a lot… so much dedication and focus. It was a safe place for me to grow up and not feel pressured to do certain kind of roles and I will forever be grateful for the environment that they provided. I never felt pressured to break the mould because I believed in what they supported. I believed in wholesome content for families but there comes a time when you do grow up so I’m glad that I have more than a decade of that under my belt.
Taylor Magazine: Do you ever think, “I look young, I played loads of young roles and I just want people to take me seriously now that I’m growing up and doing new things?”
Alyson Stoner: Absolutely. The best way I can accomplish that is to walk the walk. I learned that trying to prove myself shows immaturity. I walk forward with confidence and I’m proud and grateful of my growth. I’m not afraid anymore to walk in my womanhood. For a while it really was intimidating to be open and walk with your shoulders back but I’m finally ready for that and it’s started to be reflected in how people respond around me.
Taylor Magazine: Let’s talk a little bit about the film Sugarbabies. How different was your experience doing Sugarbabies than your previous work and what was it like filming it?
Alyson Stoner: I really enjoyed it because it was a social commentary of a very relevant topic and I chose to do the role because my friend was actually approached by a sugar daddy. She felt the pressure and the temptation and the vulnerability of not having proper finances for herself and needing some assistance and wondering what he expected in return. And I thought, “it’s hitting home and it’s hitting my community, why would I want to overlook this opportunity?” It was lots of work, lots of long hours but so worth it and it started a dialogue and that’s what’s most important.
Taylor Magazine: Do you think working on an independent film is something you’d be open to doing again?
Alyson Stoner: Yes! The last 7 films I’ve done have been independent and I love the indie world. I love the rawness and I have another potential film coming up this year and that will be independent. I actually think I prefer the indie world at the moment.
Taylor Magazine: What do you look for in the characters you play?
Alyson Stoner: I look for what’s beyond the page. My job is to bring to life, to put flesh to a skeleton. My job is to see what’s beyond the paper, alongside the good writing. I actually see my job as an actor as I’m a sculptor of this human being and it’s my responsibility to honour their biography by living it honestly. I usually read through the lines a few times and once I memorise, it’s all about body language, it’s about very subtle. So really it’s anything that allows me the freedom and space to do that.
Taylor Magazine: Is there a genre of maybe film or music that you haven’t explored that you would definitely like to get into at some point?
Alyson Stoner: Yes musically, you’ll hear the evolution as I release my songs, it’ll have different colours. But acting wise I want to explore more drama, I love drama. I really like stripped content, so more of that hopefully.
Taylor Magazine: Do you have other secret hobbies or skills?
Alyson Stoner: I guess my nickname is dictionary queen, I happen to have a fondness for learning new words and I’m very much a nerd. I don’t know if it could be a good skill or talent but I tend to confuse people when I use certain vocab.
Taylor Magazine: Best way to spend a day off?
Alyson Stoner: If anyone can force me to slow down long enough, I usually need a day-long massage. Typically, it ends up being a freestyle dance session and music jam session though. I love what I do.
Taylor Magazine: How do you de-stress if a day is really crazy?
Alyson Stoner: As someone with severe anxiety, I’ve learned to work on calming my mind, deep breathing and getting grounded in my body. That way I have a better sense of what my body really needs: sometimes it’s sleep, sometimes it’s tea, sometimes it’s a conversation with a friend.
Taylor Magazine: Do you have any guilty pleasures?
Alyson Stoner: If eating pints of Cashew Milk Snickerdoodle ice cream makes me guilty, I don’t want to be innocent.
