You first saw her records on Christian bookstore shelves and this year she can be seen everywhere. Since the release of her self-titled sophomore release,
Stacie Orrico has shot to stardom with attention from MTV, Best Buy, and even Rolling Stone. But all this attention has also brought much scrutiny from the Christian fans and public. This in-depth interview was conducted by ForeFront Records this Summer. We've decided it needs to be shared with you guys. So check it out and get to know the real Stacie a little better...(1) Stauros (1) Steel Prophet (1) Steve Green. (1) Stryper (1) Suellen Lima. (1) Suellyn Moraes (1) Sula Miranda (1) Tania e Telma (1) Tatiane Lopes (1) Tempero do Mundo (1) Templo Soul (1) Tenth Avenue North (1) Tercer Cielo. (1) The Afters (1) The Black Noise Party Boys (1) The Chronicles Of Narnia. Today's song comes from the limited edition single they issued prior to the release of their 2003 concurrently unleashed albums 『ゆらゆら帝国のしびれ』 and 『ゆらゆら帝国のめまい』. The former was their most out-there album yet, while the latter expressed their softer pop side. Open-ended Interview With Stacie Orrico. GENERAL INFO/COMMENTS ON MAINSTREAM SUCCESS. 2) Q: Well, we’re here chatting with Stacie Orrico whose latest self-titled album is just running wild all over the airwaves these dayslet’s just go ahead and get started. You are indeed all over the place Stacie, I mean you’re on MTV, you’re in. 26.3k Followers, 81 Following, 35 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Stacie Orrico (@stacieorrico). Stacie Joy Orrico (born March 3, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter and occasional actress. In 1998, she signed to ForeFront Records when she was 12 years old, and recorded her first album, Genuine (2000), which sold 13,000 units in its first week of release.
This interview took place on: June, 2003
GENERAL INFO/COMMENTS ON MAINSTREAM SUCCESS
2)Q: Well, we’re here chatting with Stacie Orrico whose latest self-titled album is just running wild all over the airwaves these days…let’s just go ahead and get started. You are indeed all over the place Stacie, I mean you’re on MTV, you’re in Rolling Stone magazine, and you’ve been on the American Dreams TV show and everything. What’s your goal…I mean what are you trying to accomplish with all of that?
3)A: I think that my goal ever since I started making music over 5 years ago has just been to make music in a way where I’m writing honestly about the things that I’m dealing with as a teenager, and in a way that’s relatable to other teenagers who are going to pick up the record and go, “Wow, I’m dealing with that.” And from a positive perspective. From a perspective of, either this is what I’ve struggled with, this is what I’ve gone through, and this is what I’ve learned from it, or maybe it’s even just this is what I’m going through right now, I haven’t figured it out yet, but there has to be an answer so lets try and figure it out together. So that’s definitely the goal, and working in all the different markets, trying to reach kids from all walks of life.
4)Q: There have been concerns from listeners who find out that mainstream stations are playing your song “Stuck” – they ask if you are still a Christian artist. I’ve offered my explanations; let’s hear it from you. So, I guess, do you still consider yourself a Christian artist?
5)A: You know it’s difficult for me because I grew up listening to all types of music. I grew up listening to Christian music and mainstream music, and I remember always thinking, “Why do we put artists in all these different categories? She’s a Christian artist, and she’s a Christian woman, but her music could be really cool on this station. And maybe by putting a title on herself, maybe it’s keeping her from going here.” I remember even when I was 6 and 7 thinking about this trying to figure out why there were all these little titles. I am a Christian, I have been raised in a Christian home, when I was 4 years old I prayed in my own little innocent heart and prayed to ask Christ to come into my life, and I cannot do anything without Him. He is the base of everything that I do every single day. I would love it if we could take off all the titles. I wish I could be just an artist. I am an artist who is a Christian, who sings R&B music, who sings honestly about the things I’m dealing with in my life – whether its my faith or the mistakes that I’ve made or the things that I’m questioning or the things that I’m discovering for the first time. And, yes, I am a Christian – I have not deserted that. Yes, I would love to take all the titles off of every type of genre of music. I would love to hear all types of Christian artists played all over the world. I’d love to hear good, positive mainstream music played all over the place. I’d love to be able to bring music together. But I have not deserted Christ. I have not deserted my faith.
6)Q: Well, talk to us about the whole salt and light approach and how it relates to the mainstream opportunities that you’ve been getting.
7)A: I’ve had so many cool opportunities in the last year especially of just getting to spend time with people who have experienced things in their lives that I would have never imagined. People who have grown up in such different family situations from mine, and different cultural backgrounds. People who have literally never been around or had somebody in their life who told them anything about God. And I think I just think that since we’re living in America that everybody’s been to church a few times, everybody knows somebody who is Christian. And there are some people who just don’t. They weren’t raised with any of that around them. So everything from doing the shows and getting to hang out with the kids afterwards, after the shows or before, to all the volunteers who work at the big festivals during the summer, to the people who do your hair and makeup – that’s always an interesting group of people to work with that I’ve just really enjoyed. I’ve had some really cool opportunities. Like with a video producer, the first time I met her she just seemed really cold and really like she had been through the ringer in her life and had seen and done everything, and was just not ready to mess around with anybody and was just like “let’s get my stuff done”. And we ended up sitting and talking, and she got to sit and talk with my mom and our whole team, and we just make it a priority to treat people well. If we can do anything during the situation, we want them to leave going “wow, we were treated well by them”. So even just taking the time to be nice, this whole wall came down. And we ended up being good friends and talking all the time. She’ll call and tell me about stuff she’s dealing with. It’s just really cool. Things like that just make it really worth it.
COMMENTS REGARDING “STUCK”
8)Q: You know a lot of people are saying, “What’s the deal with “Stuck”? What’s the song mean?” And we’re wondering if you could explain it for us. Why is it relevant to address those issues in that song?
9)A: “Stuck” I wrote with a guy named Kevin Kadish and we were just talking about what seventeen year old girls or fifteen year old girls or whatever, are dealing with in their relationships. And Kevin said to me, “Stacie, when girls are dealing in a hard relationship, where do you think it comes from? Why do you think it’s hard? Why do you think they feel hurt? Why do you think they make bad decisions?” And I just said I think that a lot of young girls end up in relationships where they are not being treated very well. And they haven’t had a healthy relationship in their life to look to know how they are supposed to do it. They don’t know exactly how they are supposed to be treated, or how they are supposed to do it to make it all work out right and to feel good in a relationship. And so they end up on this emotional roller coaster. It’s like on one side it’s like “I know this relationship isn’t good for me, I know it’s not healthy, I know I need something more”. But on the other hand “I don’t know what I’m going to do if I don’t have him in my life. And I’m afraid of being lonely and losing security. And I’m afraid of, as sad as it is of “just not having a boyfriend. Because that does something to my self-esteem, and sometimes you end up feeling really extreme emotions in that situation. You can be really angry, you can be really sad; you can go up and down in one day. You can go “oh my gosh, he makes me feel so good” and then “ah, I hate this.” It’s the reality of what young women go through.
10)Q: Cool. Yeah, I agree. I think it’s very important to address those issues. Very cool. Hey, what excites you about having a video all over MTV and a song all over pop radio?
11)A: It is exciting. I think that I’ve had this goal deep inside of me ever since I’ve started to get to bring the music to kids who might not otherwise ever here it. The kids who would never come to a church to see a concert, or never turn on Christian radio to just see what’s going on in the Christian world. I have definitely had that goal and passion. But just because you decide you’re going to try and do that doesn’t mean it’s always going to work. I honestly just have to say that I think that God’s hands have been all over it and as much as everybody kind of runs around and gives each other high fives and says “Stacie, all your hard work is paying off” and everybody at the labels are going “wow, I’m glad we did it this way because it’s all working just how we wanted and just how we planned” – and as much as, yes, everybody has worked so hard and this never would have happened without the whole machine cranking – but at the same time you just have to sit back and laugh sometimes and just go, God is so much bigger than all of this. His plan is so much huger than we could ever try and make it. I had somebody say to me one time, this pastor that I was talking to, and I was asking them, “I don’t know if I should be involved with this or not. What do you think about associating yourself with things that you don’t completely agree with” whether it’s a magazine, or television show, or whatever. He said, “You know what Stacie? If God wants this to work for you, if God has planned for this to work and go and be the hugest thing ever, then you can never not do enough to make it work. And if God is planning for this not to work and for you to go on and do something else, you can never do enough to make it work.” And I just though that’s so true. It’s totally in God’s hands.
FUN QUESTIONS
12)Q: Ok, I want to ask you some light-hearted questions, too. I hear that you don’t really like onions – is that true?
13)A: I do not like onions. It’s so funny because I am probably one of the least picky eaters ever. Pretty much any type of new food, I’ll try it, I’ll eat it. But onions, and pork. Pork and onions. Even from the time I was just starting to eat regular food, from baby food, my mom would put a hot dog or onion in my mouth and I would spit it out. She said anything else I would eat. I would eat my peas and I would eat my broccoli. But pork and onions – I just can’t do it.
14)Q: Ok, other than the people you are with now, if you could perform with any musician, living or dead, who would be in your “dream band”?
15)A: I’ll give one living and one dead. I would say Ella Fitzgerald would be one. I think that she has shaped R&B music for female artists and I just love her. And if it were more modern day, I would definitely say Lauren Hill. She’s my favorite artist of all times.
16)Q: Well, do you have any funny stories you could tell us? Like a most embarrassing moment, or anything like that you wouldn’t mind everybody knowing about, Stacie Orrico?
17)A: It’s hard because I don’t get embarrassed very easily. But, there was one show I was doing one time and everything ended up just being a mess. I was traveling with dancers and we had tracks. And, first of all, I come out and say the wrong city. It was one of those where either I was in Chicago and I said “Hey Atlanta” or something like that. And everybody just…I was at this festival and there were probably between 10 and 12 thousand people there and, seriously, it just got silent. I just looked around and thought, I just said the wrong city. I’m not even going to attempt it again because I don’t know where I am. So then, my brother, who was my road manager at the time, starts playing the tracks. Well, my dancers have to be in certain places and they start in different positions for different songs, and some songs I don’t have dancers. Well, he puts on the ballad first, which of course the dancers don’t dance on, so their standing there in these really dramatic positions getting ready to dance. And the songs comes on, so I start singing it, and they kind of float of the stage pretending like it was meant to be. So that happened about five times, and they’re running on and off the stage at the wrong times, and then finally I sit down to play the piano. Well, I had checked the piano, we’d done a sound check and everything was great, well, from the time I had sound checked until the show started, they had decided to turn off the piano, for whatever reason. So I get there and the piano is turned off. I play on several different keyboards, and usually the power button is in one of two places. So, I’m looking all over, and literally I was on the stage, I kid you not, for five minutes – and nobody came to help me. So I’m just sitting there and I’m like “the piano won’t turn on…maybe somebody could help me” and like nobody would come. It was just a big disaster…it was not good.
TRAVELING/PROMO TOURS
18)Q: So, Stacie, tell us what has been taking up the bulk of your time lately.
19)A: It’s been a lot of promotional travel, lots of radio shows, and now that we’re getting into the summer months, all the radio stations are having their big summer shows, so that’s been taking up a lot of time. We’ve been doing lots of photo shoots for different magazines. I just got done doing to video shoot for the song “More to Life”. So it feels like we’ve been doing a lot of film and photography stuff lately. Then I’m leaving here in a few days to go travel overseas. I’m going to be in Europe, and Japan, and I’m going to Australia pretty soon – so I’m really kind of hitting the world.
20)Q: So what’s it exactly like on a promo tour? What’s a day in the life of Stacie Orrico on the road?
21)A: Promo tours are…if you ask any artist, it’s like the craziest thing you have to do. And it is, it’s promo tours. Because you start with the radio station in the early morning, and you usually do the morning drive, so you’re there by 6:30 or 7:00. And between get ready time, and meet in the lobby fifteen minutes early, and drive to the station – you’re usually up at 4:30 that morning. And then you do the radio station, and then you hang out and have breakfast, you drive to 2 or 3 random little meetings that you have with publications or something media, and then you drop by a couple bookstores to say hey to everybody and check in – we meet them, whether it’s at CBA, we’ve done in-stores with them and we just make a lot of friends all over the place – so we go check in with everybody and go say hi, and usually we’ll have lunch with some of those people. Then we go and we do the in-store, so you sound check for the in-store or you get ready, sign a bunch of stuff, sing for a little bit, do a signing, and then you’re done. Then you have a dinner. And right now for me, I’ll visit 3 or 4 different stations in each city we’ll go to, because we’ll go to the AC Christian station, the CHR Christian station, and then usually two Top 40 pop stations. So then we go to dinner with a couple of the stations, and then after that we’ll go have desert or coffee with the other pop station, and we’ll sign all their stuff. So usually the night ends between 11:30 and 12:00. And you get back to the hotel and get 3 or 4 hours of sleep, and then you keep going. It involves a lot of coffee a lot of candy. But it’s fun. And it’s funny because you kind of get in a mode. The first couple of days you’re like “oh my gosh, I’m not going to be able to make it through these couple weeks.” And then you just get over it. It’s like, I’m going to be tired, I’m going to be eating the whole time, and we’re just going to go with it.
22)Q: What about overseas travel? Do you get anxious about traveling overseas, or do you get excited? What’s it like just know you have a lot of overseas stuff going on and coming up in the future?
23)A: Overseas travel is fine for me. I grew up traveling a lot. My family, we were missionaries in the Ukraine when I was little, and we did lots of mission work to Mexico, and then my dad was the international director for his company, so we would spend our summers in Europe, and so I’ve traveled overseas a lot. There was a point for a few weeks right when the war started and right when the whole SARS thing came up, I was supposed to be in Hong Kong. And that freaked me out a little bit, just because I was just like,” I don’t think this is smart. I don’t think it is natural to be wanting to do this.” And so we ended up canceling and it was fine. But I think that now that the war has subsided a little bit and everything seems to be more under control, I’m feeling good about it. And I have friends who are going to be traveling with me, and I get a break in when I’m in Europe for about a week for my brother’s wedding, so I’ll get to be with lots of friends and family. My mom will be traveling with me, so I feel good.
FUN QUESTIONS
24)Q: Well, you’re 17 years old. Talk to us about what it’s like to be 17 years old – about what kinds of stuff you do for fun, what’s it like in 2003 to be 17?
25)A: Yeah, when I have time. It’s so hard because I think being 17 and doing all this right now – it doesn’t feel like work. You know, I’m not 35 and having to travel because I have to support my family. I do it because I love it. My hobbies are music and writing and travel and things like that. But in my spare time I’m very in to fashion and things like that, so I love to go to really cheap places and dig through all their stuff and try to put things together. And I’ll come home and my mom is like “Stacie, you just bought those jeans, why did you cut them up?” And I’m going to make it into a skirt, sewing stuff together, and putting it all together. And in all these years, and being with Forefront for 5 years, I have never done a scrapbook, and I’m finally starting a scrapbook. So I’ve pulled out boxes of pictures and I’m starting to do that. So that’s been fun, a new little hobby.
26)Q: Alright Stacie, if you could do anything, anything you’ve never done before, what would it be?
27)A: Skydiving. And I think I’m actually going to go in the next couple of months – I’m real excited.
FAMILY QUESTIONS
28)Q: Ok, here’s something fun to talk about. Talk a little bit about your family – just like their support role from the beginning and their support role now. Just talk in general a little bit about your family.
29)A: My family is so amazing. I just did MTV TRL again, and my dad and my sister flew up and came. I have a hair and makeup artist that I use a bunch, and there were a couple of people there from Virgin, and the hair and makeup team hadn’t met my family, except for my mom. And my dad and sister came and they were just like, “Oh my gosh, we’d me your mom, we knew she was sweet, but your dad and your sister – you really lucky. I don’t know if you know how lucky you are to come from such a really sweet, kind, fun, happy family.” And I just felt so fortunate, and I think I am fortunate. I am so thankful for my family, but sometimes I forget how incredible it is to be in a healthy, functioning family. And beyond that, they are just so supportive.
30)Q: Well, you and your family are about to move into a new house. And did I hear you right earlier, that your Mom bought the house before your Dad even saw it? What’s the story there?
31)A: My parents went together they didn’t find anything they liked, and my dad came home and my mom went back up and she found this house. And she actually signed on it without my dad ever even seeing because she just loved it so much. He was like, “well, if she likes it” …so she signed for it and we got the house.
32)Q: So, how much time do you actually get to spend with your family these days?
33)A: Lately, it’s been very minimal. I’ve been traveling a lot. I was just gone for about two weeks, and I got home last night, I’m home today, I leave tomorrow, I’m gone…what’s tomorrow? Tomorrow’s like Friday? Something? Tomorrow’s Friday so I’m gone Friday, Saturday, and then I leave for Europe on Sunday and I’m gone for about 3 and half weeks, or something like that. In the last couple of months, I’m home maybe like 5 or 6 days a month – which is more than I usually do. We’re coming up to a point where I’m going to try to limit it to 15 or 20 days a month that I’m gone and then can be home. Especially now that my family is going to be in Seattle, it’s not like every time I have a day or two off I’m going to be coming back to Nashville, so I’ll have to actually have big amounts of time to fly back to Seattle. So, we’ve added more drama to the mix.
THE NEW ALBUM & “(THERE’S GOTTA BE) MORE TO LIFE”
34)Q: Well Stacie, what is one of the messages that your new album conveys?
35)A: I think one thing I’ve really tried to focus on in this is talked about in a couple different songs, like maybe I won’t look back and instead it’s just prioritizing and evaluating your life where you are, even as a teenager, and looking at the big picture and I think sometimes we are so focused on what it is that we’re doing right now, what is my situation right now, what are my relationships right now, the issues I’m dealing with right now, and we don’t put it into perspective so that we go, I don’t ever take the time to go “alright, you know, when I’m 40 years old, how are these things going to affect me later,” you know, what are the things that I’m spending way too much time worrying about that aren’t going to matter, and then what are the things that I’m putting no focus on, that are going to direct the course of my life for as long as I live. Like in this time right now, with my family moving, and just realizing this is going to take more work to really stay close with my family, and that’s something I really need to make a priority. I don’t want to look back when I’m 50 and go “I wasted so much time doing my own stuff and being selfish and that maybe has hurt my relationship with my sisters and my brothers or my parents,” or just things like that and making wise decisions about where I go and who I spend my time with and what I put into my body and how I treat other people. All those things and remembering that those are going to affect us for the rest of our lives and we really can make our lives better down the road by being smart now, and that’s something I’ve really put focus on.”
36)Q: Well, your single, “(There’s Gotta Be) More To Life,” that’s hitting radio right now…what makes you like this song so much?
37)A: More to Life is a song that I fell in love with from the first time I heard it. Kevin Kadish, who I wrote the song ‘”Stuck” with, brought me this song and said, “I wrote this song with another artist, Lucy Woodward. It might be going on her record, it might not, I don’t know. And he said, “it kind of reminded me of you or something you would sing, so I just wanted to play it for you.” I heard it and I said “why did you play that for me if I can’t have it? Can you find out if I can have it, if Lucy’s really using it,” because I just loved it…melodically and musically, and everything, but the lyrics were just so strong. It talks about searching for satisfaction and fulfillment in the wrong places and how we try to fill our lives with money or relationships or love or whatever to satisfy us, and those things aren’t lasting. So I just thought “oh, it would be so amazing if we could get this song played on pop radio,” everyone can relate to this but if I could be at concerts having thousands of people singing these lyrics, that would be the most incredible thing ever. So I played it for the label and at first nobody was really that excited about it. I was like “guys come on,” …and like “we don’t think it’s a single,” and “we don’t hear it, we think it needs a new chorus,” I was like “Help! It’s so good!” So we kept pushing it and kept pushing it, and at the end, we still needed one more song, and ‘More to Life’ had kinda been pushed to the side, and I said “please listen to ‘More to Life’ one more time” and everyone said “this is it,” and so I’m really excited. We actually just shot the video for it, and it’s really cool. It’s based on the lyrics of the song and I’m playing 12 different characters. I think it’s 12, something like that; different characters…very extreme different characters. It’s like I’m a wealthy businesswoman, I’m a bum on the street, I’m a supermodel, I’m a young mom, I’m like a really poor woman, and it’s like me and my husband and my baby and we’re living in this home and the government is taking all our things away, and just showing me, I’m like an overzealous athlete, I’m playing all these different characters and how we’re all searching in the wrong places. And no matter how rich or poor, if we seem to have this perfect job, those things still aren’t what is the lasting fulfillment. It’s really cool; I’m excited about it.
38)Q: So have you guys got to play “More to Life” live yet…or not yet?
39)A: Yes. We played “More to Life” live, we just started actually a couple of weeks ago, actually playing it live, and it’s funny, it’s a hard one to sing, because it modulates at the end. But the chorus is already really low, and no, the verses are low and the chorus is kinda high, and then we modulate so it’s been kind of a challenge but the more I sing it it’s gotten better, but people seem to like it.
40)Q: How would you respond to the statement, if someone were to make it to you, “…there’s got to be more to life.” What would you say to them?
41)A: If they were asking me, I think why I’m so excited about this song is for people to people to come and ask me, “Okay, so you’re talking about more to life, so what is it? What do you think it is?” And getting to express the only thing I’ve found in life that is lasting. And as much as on one hand, you know, I think people might go “of course you can talk about, oh yeah we can have everything in the world, and still not be satisfied, because you’ve got everything going for you.” But I think at the same time, it shows that much more to say “yeah I have had, incredible opportunities, gotten to travel to wonderful places, I was at a show last week and I got to walk through this room and people handed me free stuff and, yes, I am very fortunate and at the same time just being able to know at the end of the day that those things aren’t all fulfilling and the only thing that I’ve found in my life that you know, is ultimate peace and ultimate comfort, that I’ve found the true love and fulfillment in is in my relationship with Jesus Christ and being able to share that with people. With “Stuck,” I got to share some of…talk about something really relatable in our relationships and be able to encourage girls to make good decisions in their relationships and stuff and now I’ll have the chance to really present the Gospel and I’m really excited about that.
PRAYER REQUEST/ENCOURAGEMENT
42)Q: Well Stacie, obviously there is a ton going on in your life right now, is there anything that we can pray about for you?
43)A: I think that prayer is always needed with travel lately and being surrounded by people who aren’t Christians and you know, traveling in the mainstream market, you realize how much you miss just going into bookstores everyday where the whole staff comes and sits and prays with you, you know, you don’t get that. So, it can suck you dry a little bit, and be hard at the end of the day where you’ve just run yourself ragged and you wanna spend 30 minutes in your 2 hours of time that you’re going to get to sleep to like sit and pray and talk to God, you know, just asking him for continued, I guess excitement, and continued motivation to just really pursue my relationship with Him just because I know that without it, it’s pointless, you know? It’s pointless for me to be out there doing anything, so yeah, just continued encouragement from the people around me and that I would stay plugged in and have the right spiritual support.
44)Q: Alright. Talk about the Christian radio family out there Stacie, just about the support that they’ve been to you and everything.
45)A: Christian radio, from the very beginning of my career even before anything happened with Virgin, I’ve loved working with, because they’ve always been willing to support what I was doing. Even though it was a little out of the box and a little bit different even starting with “Don’t Look At Me.” You know it was a little bit of a stretch, it was like “are we gonna follow this whole new teen-pop-R&B movement thing and bring it in to the Christian industry, and how do we feel about it?” And they, that they went ahead and decided to really keep…I felt so much like the people at the stations and all the moms who were listening and everything thought…“Okay whether or not I like this song or not, I know my kids like it and I really have them in mind.” And I thought that was really cool, and I’ve actually been so impressed as I have been traveling a lot in the pop market lately. I’ve been so amazed just in comparing like the pop and the Christian in-stores that I’ve done and the mainstream and the Christian interviews that I’ve done, and things like that, how well Christian radio and the Christian stations really do. I mean, I’ve had at all the Christian in-stores I’ve done, I always have like double or triple of what I have at the pop stations, and that says a lot for Christian radio. So I’ve just, in all the traveling and everything found how well they really do, how good they really are at what they do, and I really just appreciate them a lot.
46)Q: Do you remember someone in radio who’s been a real encourager and supporter of you? I mean starting way back in the beginning even up through all the new stuff that’s been blowing up?
47)A: Yeah, actually, it’s been so cool. Jon Hull, who works at KSBJ – I’m sure probably everybody listening knows who Jon Hull is and knows about his station and everything they are up against being in a conservative market and all those things – over the years, every time I’ve gone to that station he’s been so sweet about taking the time to pray for me and encourage me, making sure that my parents are sticking close. I think even when there were times where the song I was putting out at the time wasn’t fitting on the format or wasn’t working with what was going on, he was like, “Stacie, please understand this is what’s going on, but we love you and we’re supporting you and we’re praying for you.” And in the last couple of months, it’s been so neat because I’ve come through Houston several times and been supporting “Stuck” and also “Security” and “Strong Enough” and had all this music out and have had some conflicting ideas of how people feel about what I’m doing – some people are totally supportive, some people don’t like it at all. I think that being able to have Jon Hull…there was one time I came through town and wasn’t able to stop at his station, we went to the pop stations, and he was on his radio station telling people that I was on the other pop station and was telling them “Stacie wasn’t able to drop by this morning, but she’s here in town, support her, she’s got a show going on.” He called me and we talked on the phone and he just prayed with me – it was just so neat. It was so beyond what would have been expected or what would have been asked of a Christian radio programmer. And that just meant so much to me, and I’ve felt that all over the place, everywhere I’ve gone. People just going out of their way to let me know that, regardless of how busy I am, regardless of how many things I have to do, its not like, “ok, we’ll pray with you or we’ll support you if you come by our station.” They’ve just loved on me and that’s meant a lot.
FINAL COMMENTS
48)Q: Alright. Another little inside peek at Stacie Orrico. Tell us what kind of stuff in general really encourages you and makes you feel better.
49)A: I’m a little note person. Yeah, every once in a while getting a phone message is really cool. But sometimes I’ll open my suitcase and my mom will have left a little letter, or my little sister – she’s so cute – she has those dry erase markers and she’ll - because a lot of times I have to leave town before she gets up or I get back after she’s gone to bed – and so she’ll leave me messages on the mirror, like she’ll leave me little notes. And things like that mean a lot to me. Because I know I’m such a bad letter writer and I know, even though you can do it in 3 minutes, it seems so hard to get the letter, and get it done, and send it in the mail, and all that, so just the fact that somebody took their time to do that means a lot to me.
50)Q: Stacie there are a lot of Christian folks out there that love your music and have bought it on a regular basis and continue to support you in each and every thing you undertake. And there are also many of those who are wondering if you’ve deserted them somehow. Do you have anything to say to those groups of fans?
51)A: Yes, I would definitely like to say thank you very much to the Christian market. It saddens my heart when I ever feel like the Christian market feels like I would be deserting them or moving away from them. If anything, they are the foundation of what I’m doing. And their encouragement and their prayer and their phone calls, and letters from 6-year-old girls who color me pictures, and letters from either kids or moms saying, “you’re challenging me in my faith” or “I became a Christian when I listened to your record” and things like that – that’s what keeps me going, that’s the fuel for what I do. I get the question all the time, “If you knew you wanted to do stuff in the pop market, why did you even sign with a Christian label?” And I cannot imagine doing this if I did not have the foundation and support of Christians and believers around me. I could not do it, not knowing and having the peace that there are thousands of people out there who are following what I’m doing and praying for me and thinking of me. So thank you for that, PLEASE continue to do that. It does mean the world to me and does not go unnoticed. I just look forward to getting out there and getting to spend more time with you guys after we finish up all this promo craziness and getting to come around and do the shows and everything, I look forward to catching up with everybody.
| Stacie Orrico | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 25, 2003 | |||
| Recorded | 2002–2003 | |||
| Genre | CCM, teen pop, R&B[1] | |||
| Length | 43:43 | |||
| Label | ForeFront, Virgin | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Stacie Orrico chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Stacie Orrico | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [2] |
| Rolling Stone | [3] |
| musicOMH | (Positive)[4] |
Stacie Orrico is the self-titled second studio album by American singer and songwriter Stacie Orrico, which was released on March 25, 2003, by ForeFront Records and Virgin Records. The album mixed Orrico's native contemporary Christian music with more pop and R&B styles, but also featured incorporation of teen pop and dance music.
Stacie Orrico received generally favorable reviews from music critics, many calling Orrico the new 'diva' of music, and praised the songs, but some said that it really was mixed with different genres. The album received charting success, peaking at the top spot on some charts. It peaked at number fifty-nine on the US Billboard 200. It also peaked at the top spot on the BillboardTop Christian Albums, and was certified Gold by the RIAA. It peaked in the top ten in different countries, including Japan, Norway and the United States, and the top twenty in Switzerland, New Zealand, Austria and Germany. The album was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album, but lost to Michael W. Smith.
Background[edit]
When Orrico released her debut album, Genuine, she released only one mainstream single which was 'Everything'. It was announced that she would record another album with her record label Forefront Records.
Orrico had recorded an album entitled Say It Again, which was originally intended solely for Christian pop radio, with a release date of April 2002. However, when Virgin Records saw mainstream potential with Stacie, the album was postponed and then cancelled while it was retooled. Four tracks from Say It Again were removed, although two were later released as single B-sides and Japanese bonus tracks on the album. 'Bounce Back', Say It Again's first single, was completely re-recorded and 'Security' and 'Maybe I Won't Look Back' received major alterations. The songs 'Stuck', '(There's Gotta Be) More to Life', 'I Promise', 'I Could Be the One', 'Instead', and 'Strong Enough' were added to the track listing.
Many songs from the album, which were not released as singles, were released through Christian radio stations. It included 'Security', 'Strong Enough' and 'Instead', which were released as promotional singles.
Critical reception[edit]
Stacie Orrico received generally favorable reviews from music critics. Steve Losey from Allmusic gave it a favorable review, giving it three stars out of five. He pointed out about Orrico 'Vocally the opus stretches her talents by delving into several tempo and mood changes that the 17-year-old embraces like a seasoned veteran.' He also said 'The astounding thing about the disc is that the grooves drip of dance floor sweat, maturity, and soulfulness while maintaining integrity and purity from America's newest diva/role model.'[5] Bill Lehane from MusicOMH gave it a positive review. He said 'This record, Orrico's second despite her tender years, is a beautiful album, and it packs a spiritual punch without alienating the average Aguilera fan. At least I hope it won't, because this contains some of the best solo female urban material in years. Does it matter that she's not singing about sex?'[4]
Commercial response[edit]
Stacie Orrico peaked at number fifty-nine on the US Billboard 200, and was certified Gold by the RIAA. It also peaked at number one of the Top Christian Albums, and was certificated Gold there, selling over 500,000 copies. The album also debuted at number thirty-seven on the UK Albums Chart, but did not pass its peak of thirty-seven, and it slipped down and rose several weeks, staying in the charts for sixteen weeks.[6] Elsewhere, the album was a success.
Stacie Orrico Instagram
The album peaked at number forty-three on the Australian Albums Chart. The album peakes at number sixteen on the New Zealand Albums Chart, where it stayed in the charts for a total of sixteen weeks.[7] The album peaked at number twenty-seven on the Dutch Top 40 albums chart, where it became a chart success spending twenty-two weeks on the chart.
Singles[edit]
The first single from Stacie Orrico was 'Stuck'. The song was a worldwide success, however, critical reception was mixed. Critics praised it for its pop rock influences, but did not see it as a strong single. The song peaked at number 52 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and received worldwide success. It peaked at number three in Australia and New Zealand, and number nine in the UK. The second single from the album was '(There's Gotta Be) More to Life'. The song was dubbed as Orrico's signature song, as it peaked at number three in New Zealand, and number two in Norway. It also peaked at number twelve in the United Kingdom and number thirty in the US, making it Orrico's highest charting single in the United States. A music video was released in 2003 for the single.
The third single from the album was 'I Promise'. The song did not receive much attention and did not do as well as her previous singles, but it did make the top thirty in the UK, although it was not successful elsewhere. The song peaked at number twenty-two in the UK, and number forty-eight in Australia. The song was not released in the US. The fourth and final single from the album was 'I Could Be the One'; the song had a music video, but it was not released. 'I Could Be the One' had limited charting success, only peaking at number 34 in the UK.
Other songs[edit]
'Security', 'Instead' and 'Strong Enough' served as promotional singles, as they had produced airplay through Christian radio stations. None of the songs charted.
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 'Stuck' | Stacie Orrico, Kevin Kadish | Dallas Austin, Matt Serletic | 3:41 |
| 2. | '(There's Gotta Be) More to Life' |
| Damon Thomas, Harvey Mason Jr. | 3:20 |
| 3. | 'Bounce Back' |
| Dent | 3:01 |
| 4. | 'I Promise' | Diane Warren | Thomas, Mason Jr. | 4:17 |
| 5. | 'Security' | Orrico, Tedd Tjornhom, Britt Huston | Tjornhom | 3:17 |
| 6. | 'Instead' |
| Dane Deviller, Sean Hosein | 3:24 |
| 7. | 'Hesitation' |
| Tjornhom, Orrico | 3:14 |
| 8. | 'Strong Enough' | Orrico | Matt Rollings | 3:56 |
| 9. | 'I Could Be the One' | Tjornhom | 3:38 | |
| 10. | 'Maybe I Won't Look Back' | Orrico, T. Tjornhom | Tjornhom | 4:04 |
| 11. | 'Tight' | Michael-Anthony Taylor | Mooki | 2:29 |
| 12. | 'That's What Love's About' | Orrico, Taylor | Mooki | 5:16 |
| Total length: | 43:43 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | 'Until I Found You' | Taylor, Ford, Todd Collins | Mooki | 3:03 |
| 14. | 'Star of My Story' | Gary Brown, Ira Schickman, Steven Wolf | Mooki | 3:36 |
| 15. | 'Stuck' (Thunderpuss Radio Remix) | Orrico, Kadish | Thunderpuss | 3:05 |
| Total length: | 53:27 | |||
Notes[edit]
- Signifies a co-producer
- 'Tight' contains a sample from 'Dance With Me' as performed by 112
- 'Hesitation' contains a sample from 'Genuine' off her first album Genuine
Stacie Orrico 2003
Personnel[edit]
- Anthony Anderson – guitar, MIDI programming
- David Angell – violin
- Dallas Austin – producer
- Ken Bell – guitar, MIDI programming
- Teddy Campbell – drums
- Melody Chambers – vocals
- Kyle Cook – guitar
- Eric Darken – percussion
- David Davidson – violin
- Eddie DeGarmo – executive producer
- Dave Deviller – producer
- Aaron Featherstone – acoustic guitar
- Greg Ham – executive producer
- Sean Hosien – producer
- Victor Indrizzo – drums
- Kenya Ivey – vocals
- Corky James – guitar, bass
- Kevin Kadish – MIDI programming
- Anthony LaMarchina – cello
- Harvey Mason Jr. – producer
- David May – Acoustic guitar
- Mooki – drums, keyboards, vocals, producer, drum programming, MIDI programming
- Marcelo Pennell – engineer, mixer
- Nashville String Machine – strings
- Lynn Nichols – guitar
- Stacie Orrico – vocals, producer
- Carlos Pennell – guitar
- Tony Reyes – guitar
- Matt Rollings – piano, producer
- Matt Serletic – producer
- Neil Stubenhaus – bass
Stacie Orrico Stuck
Charts[edit]
| Chart (2003) | Peak position | Sales | Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[8] | 59 | 500,000+ | Gold[9] |
| US Billboard Top Contemporary Christian[10] | 1 | ||
| US BillboardTop Christian Albums[11] | 1 | ||
| Australian ARIA Albums Chart[12] | 43 | ||
| Austrian Albums Chart[13] | 15 | ||
| Danish Albums Chart[14] | 21 | ||
| French Top 200 Albums Chart[15] | 145 | ||
| German Top 40 Albums Chart[16] | 13 | ||
| Irish Albums Chart[17] | 23 | ||
| Japanese Albums Chart[18] | 3 | 500,000+ | 2× Platinum[19] |
| Netherlands Albums Chart[20] | 27 | ||
| New Zealand RIANZ Albums Chart[21] | 16 | ||
| Norwegian Albums Top 40[22] | 7 | 15,000+ | Gold |
| Switzerland Albums Top 100[23] | 11 | ||
| UK Albums Chart[24] | 37 | 150,000+ | Gold |
References[edit]
- ^'Stacie Orrico - Stacie Orrico | AllMusic'. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
- ^AllMusic review
- ^Rolling Stone reviewArchived January 25, 2009, at Archive.today
- ^ ab'Stacie Orrico - Stacie Orrico'. MusicOMH. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
- ^Losey, Steve. 'Stacie Orrico - Stacie Orrico : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards'. AllMusic. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
- ^'Official Charts Company'. Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
- ^'Stacie Orrico - Stacie Orrico'. charts.nz. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
- ^'Stacie Orrico'. Billboard. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
- ^'American certifications – Stacie Orrico – Stacie Orrico'. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- ^'Stacie Orrico - Stacie Orrico - Awards'. AllMusic. Archived from the original on January 9, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
- ^'Stacie Orrico'. Billboard. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
- ^'australian-charts.com - Stacie Orrico - Stacie Orrico'. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
- ^'austriancharts.at - Stacie Orrico - Stacie Orrico'. Archived from the original on June 22, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
- ^'danishcharts.dk – Stacie Orrico – Stacie Orrico'. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
- ^'lescharts.com - Stacie Orrico - Stacie Orrico'. Archived from the original on June 14, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
- ^'germancharts.com - Stacie Orrico - Stacie Orrico'. Archived from the original on June 8, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
- ^'irishcharts.com - Stacie Orrico - Stacie Orrico'. Archived from the original on June 8, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
- ^'IRT CDAoLO 2015N0525`2015N0531'. ORICON STYLE. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
- ^ゴールド等認定作品一覧 2003年9月. RIAJ (in Japanese). October 10, 2003. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
- ^'Stacie Orrico - Stacie Orrico - dutchcharts.nl'. Archived from the original on September 16, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
- ^'charts.nz - Stacie Orrico - Stacie Orrico'. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
- ^'norwegiancharts.com - Stacie Orrico - Stacie Orrico'. Archived from the original on June 30, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
- ^'Stacie Orrico - Stacie Orrico - hitparade.ch'. Archived from the original on August 6, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
- ^'Stacie Orrico | full Official Chart history'. Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 14, 2017.