Carmen Electra Has a New EDM Single
In case you haven’t heard, EDM is really popular at the moment. So popular, in fact, that musicians who never previously produced music in the dance genre are now releasing a plethora of EDM tracks. This group of electronic immigrants includes Poison’s Bret Michaels, Korn’s Jonathan Davis, the internet’s Paris Hilton, and now, actress/model/singer/television host/and noted sexy person Carmen Electra. Electra’s newest song is called “Around the World,” and no, the title was not intended to be a Daft Punk reference. Electra started going to clubs when she moved from Cincinnati to Los Angeles in the early ‘90s, after she traveled Europe opening for Prince on his Diamonds and Pearls tour. While she’s acted, modeled, and married a few famous dudes, she says her first love has always been singing and dancing. She’s previously released a few dance-oriented singles—notably, a 2013 track called “Bigger Dick”—and recently performed at the venerable club Avalon Hollywood. She has never attended Electric Daisy Carnival, although she says she’s dying to go.
We talked with Electra about her current ride on the EDM bandwagon.
First of all, is your “Around the World” any sort of homage to Daft Punk’s “Around the World”?
I thought of that, too! I’m a huge fan, but it wasn’t intentional. It didn’t cross my mind until I finished recording and I was exhausted and I went to bed. As I was trying to go to sleep, [Daft Punk’s] “around the world, around the world” was going through my head. I thought maybe it could be cool, because the DJ could mix my song right into that.
Basically, though, my “Around the World” was inspired by all the places I get to travel to, going from Ibiza to New York, Miami and London. It’s a fun, lighthearted song. I have always been the girl… who would get up and dance on the table, and every once in a while, I still do. I think this one all the clubbers can relate to.
This is your first song that’s been explicitly labeled EDM.
Yeah.
So why embrace the genre now?
You know what I say? Why not. If it’s something you love and you have a support system… sometimes the things we love the most, we fear. I started off in the beginning—five years old—performing and dancing. That is a strong passion of mine.
Paris Hilton has recently become a very highly paid DJ. You’re both women who were famous for having other careers before making a foray into music. Do you feel like there was skepticism?
There’s a generation who knows me as an actress or a model or for doing other things. [Maybe there’s skepticism] from the generation that doesn’t know me as a singer. Working with Prince—he has such a strong following, and I opened for him on the Diamonds and Pearls tour all over Europe—so I have a small fanbase. My videos were on MTV, and I did a lot of commercials. They would always play my [1993 single] “Go Go Dancer” on the [music video network] the Box, so a lot of people remember me from that.
How do you shut down haters?
I don’t think like that. I give it my all and know that each and every time I’m onstage, I’m going to perform my ass off and give it my all, because it’s my passion. And you know what? Not everyone likes everything. If you pay attention to it, it could bother you, and the next thing you know you’re not doing what you want to do. If you have the opportunity to do something you want to, don’t let it pass you by. And stick with the love.
Being young in Los Angeles in the early ‘90s, did club culture have an effect on you?
I just thought it was the best thing ever. Obviously, I came here to start a career and a life and be an independent woman and work really hard; but you just can’t resist it. If I knew there was a club I loved that was really happening that night, I just had to go. Even if I had an audition the next day, it wouldn’t matter.
Any particularly wild nights?
This club in L.A. that I used to go to with my friends, it was called Jamaica House. They played really good hip-hop, and everyone would dance. One night I was there with my crew. I went to stand in line for the restroom, and I heard gunshots go off. I had never been in a situation like that before. Everyone was screaming and petrified. The women’s bathroom was packed, but the men’s room was empty, so I ran in there. My best friend was standing [in the club], and I guess the person that shot the gun was shooting her way. She was standing next to Tupac. She didn’t know him, but he was standing right there, and he jumped on her and saved her life. L.A. was the Wild West back in those days.
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