Beach days. K-Town karaoke nights. Outdoor movies. Vintage flea markets. This past weekend was a lesson in what the perfect L.A. summer weekend looks like. It was made even more perfect by the presence of my college friends, who all happened to be in town from NorCal.
This is what we did. You should do all of it. Seriously. What are you waiting for? Get out there!
I get this question a lot from strangers and old family friends that I haven’t seen in a decade or more. The short answer: I do voiceovers. This usually gets one of three reactions: a look of confusion followed by “what is that?”; a look of surprise followed by curiosity, and my all-time favorite, “but would you ever want to do real acting?”
I’m gonna be honest: the “real acting” comments bug me. Real acting? Could they mean the art of performing a fictional role? Or acting in a movie, or TV production? Well… I’ve done all of that. Voice acting or performing voiceovers, whatever you want to call it, is “real acting.” Yes, even those one-liner radio commercials require acting skills and are considered acting in my book. It’s not like I’m just being myself all the time behind the mic. No, that would be called hosting. Or, perhaps, with a certain suspension of disbelief, reality TV.
Anyway, I’m an actor. I’ve done TV pilots, film, commercials and plays, but I’ve had the most success with voiceovers. Just like some actors are most well-known for a certain TV or film role, I’m most well-known for a few characters that I’ve voiced. So people like to call me a “voice actor.”
I have always been a style chameleon. My wardrobe ebbs and flows with the seasons, but a few things always remain the same: earthy influences, lots of texture, loose garments and accessories that make people stop and ask to see them up close.
Lately I’ve been majorly influenced by the Gypset books, my Hawaii, Bali and Big Sur trips, crystals and rocks, and classic Hollywood. What a hodgepodge! Mix them all together, and you get something like this outfit…
“What do you think of this song?”
My boyfriend, songwriter/producer extraordinaire, hits play on Carly Rae Jepsen’s new single, “I Really Like You.” Even before she starts singing, I want to like it. I have been secretly hoping that Carly Rae will break free of the “One Hit Wonder?” question mark curse that seemed to be looming over her head in every red carpet photo she’s taken since “Call Me Maybe.” But after hearing the second chorus, I know that I won’t have to force myself to listen to it again. Because it’s really (really really really really really) good.
And the video? The video sealed the deal for me. A lip-synching Tom Hanks playing… himself! A mature-looking Bieber! A dance routine in the Manhattan streets reminiscent of Rent/West Side Story! An adorable Carly Rae wearing adorable street clothes! Behold. It’s a pop video sans cleavage, sexy mouth close ups, half naked ladies jumping/shaking/wiggling/bending, wind machines, shiny things and slick lighting. It’s honestly more “a day in the life of Tom Hanks” than anything else. It’s simple and it’s genius and it’s genius in its simplicity. I’ve watched it four times in the last hour.
I have a thing for Carly Rae Jepsen. I probably listened to “Call Me Maybe” more times in a row than one should publicly admit, but aside from that, I feel like she’s a kindred spirit. She did the Canadian Idol thing and placed third, slogged it out for five years doing the Idol tour and releasing EPs in Canada, and then finally struck platinum when Bieber heard her song on Canadian radio (five months after it had been released) and referred her to Scooter Braun. Five years! When do we ever hear of American Idol contestants making a huge splash five years after they do the show? Ne-ver. So, huge points to Carly Rae for sticking with it and keeping the dream alive.
Secondly, maybe one week after “Call Me Maybe” hit the U.S. in a major way, every entertainment, gossip and media site was crying “One Hit Wonder!” Ugh. Shut. Up. Let the girl bask in her success for a bit before you cast her aside in the leftover pile of post-millennium pop stars and attempt to make her irrelevant. Give the girl a chance! She wrote the song and can sing the hell out of it live; she’s not a manufactured lip-synching pretty glitter face with hair extensions. She has talent. I will defend you, Carly. But, it’s not like I could ignore the fact that post-Call Me, she also had a huge burden: a really successful first international single.
Seemingly-overnight success is a blessing and a curse. How was she going to top “Call Me Maybe?” Her second single, “This Kiss,” was not as catchy (I bet you can’t even remember how it goes. I can’t.) “Good Time” was pretty good, but it was technically a duet with Owl City. No, Carly! I thought. Don’t fade into pop star oblivion! You are adorable and talented and you look way younger than you actually are (just like me!) Pull through! You can do it!
Folks, I’m ready to declare victory for her. She did it. “I Really Like You” is the song that will allow Carly to shed her “Call Me Maybe-ness” and be reborn. Instead of thinking “oh yeah, she had that one song,” when you hear her name, you’ll instead just think “pop star.” The song is really (really really really really really) good, but the video is the icing on the triple-tiered cake of sweet success. You done good, girl. I still really (really really really really really) like you.
Or, to put it in the words of my boyfriend, “I think she out-Taylor Swifted Taylor Swift.”