LMF: Why don't we start off with you introducing yourself?
M: My name is Micah (pronounced my-ca). I grew up with all kinds of music. I am an up-and-coming artist out of Orlando, Florida. I am originally from Texas. I recently won the 95.3 Party Idol 2 contest that they were having at 95.3 Party, which is a local radio station and after that I signed with Hidden Image Entertainment and am trying to stay as busy ever since.
LMF: What made you decide to audition for 95.3 party Idol?
M: The way that happened was that we were downtown for a birthday party at a club called Tabu. We went in there just to kill time and they announced that they were having the second half of auditions for the 95.3 Party Idol 2 contest. When I heard that, I decided to give it a try. I went in and kind of won the whole thing!
LMF: Was this similar to American Idol?
M: Yea, one of the judges was AJ Gil from the first American Idol. They had him, Gloria, one of the DJ’s from the radio station, and Jamaica, a local producer for Interlude productions. So we got up there and sang a little bit and they gave us their comments and then they told us if they wanted us to come back the following week or not. I went from auditions to the semi finals, then to being a finalists, and then being declared the winner.
LMF: Did people call and vote for you?
M: No, they were just doing it with the Judges. The Judges decided who they wanted to come back and win.
LMF: How did you feel when you won?
M: It felt kind of like the twilight zone. It was really weird, cause I've done shows before, and you know it was a big deal and in my mind if I didn't win it wasn't going to stop me from singing. So when they called my name, I didn't even know they where calling my name. My friends were like you won! You won!
LMF: How would you describe your music?
M: My music is like a collection of everything I grew up with, from Sam Cooke, Stevie Ray Vaughan, to James Brown. Basically all that wrapped up into one package. There's no particular type I try to write to. I just write it and whatever comes out is the way it comes out. So some of them will come out R&B, some come out hip-hop and some will be a mix of all of them together. It's kind of just a collection of stuff.
LMF: Who would you say is your role model?
M: Sam Cooke, because he was the first to have his own record label. He was the first to own his own publishing. He wrote a number of hits. And it's just the way he describes the way he wrote a song. People asked him, “Where do you get your idea's for songs?”, and he'd just say that he can go to the store and just listen to people, like waiting in line paying for his groceries and somebody would say something and it would catch his attention. And he would kind of eavesdrop into conversations and then just go home and write about them. It would give him an idea of what to write about. He is a phenomenal singer. I mean you can't take that away from him. That's what make's an idol of mine.
LMF: If you could do a duet with any artist out there right now, who would it be and why?
M: Pink. That girl has a phenomenal voice. I love the way she writes & love the way she sings. I was lucky to see her in concert in Tampa and she just took it everywhere. She was singing her stuff, then she did Janice Joplin, did some 4 Non Blondes, then back to her stuff. It was just amazing! She has an amazing voice and I think that the way I sing would be a good collaboration between my voice and hers. If we collaborated in the writing then you know it would just be an awesome collaboration.
LMF: Describe a day for you, from waking up to going to bed.
M: An average day for me is waking up at 8 am in the morning. I train for a couple of hours then work on ideas for music, like new songs. I try to think of melodies, and stuff. Later, I play around in the studio to see what I can come up with. Many times we have meetings with my team. We talk about where things are going and then see what is up on the calendar. After that I go in the studio and work on tracks. I lay down some vocals on one track and if get burned out on that one, then we'll start working on another song. We have so many songs to choose from that if we get tired of one then we will just go on to another. We'll do that ‘till we get burned out which is about 10-11 at night. Then we'll go get something to eat or go see a movie or something just to try to relax for the remainder of the evening. Then we all go to bed and wake up the next day and do the same thing over again. That is a typical Micah day.
LMF: Where do you see yourself in five years from now?
M: Touring. Doing a world tour would be nice. Just performing as much as possible cause I love performing. Doing a couple of VMA shows, doing a couple of Billboard awards, and accepting a few which would be really nice to have a couple under my belt. And having a few albums under my belt. So hopefully that would be nice.
LMF: If you could share the stage with any artist, who would it be?
M: Besides Pink. that would be a cross between the types of music I do. Something like a cross between Aerosmith and Nas. I think that would be nice and Prince, that would be one. Because I saw one of his live shows in Las Vegas and the man is phenomenal, he always has been. So I’d like to share the stage with them.
LMF: What CD would we find in your CD player right now?
M: Purple Rain I was listening to that.
LMF: If you weren't singing, is there something else you could see yourself doing?
M: If I wasn't singing I would probably do computers, like programming or computer animation, because I really love doing that. I really love Japanimation. So I probably would get into a field doing that.
LMF: Do you prefer celery or peanut butter or both of them together?
M: Both
LMF: What message would you like to send out to your fans?
M: I’d like for them to concentrate on the music and not on just me as an artist. I am not all about the 22 inch rims and big ‘ol necklaces with diamonds all over the place. I don't have anything against it, but that's just not me. For me it's just about the music so please just concentrate on the music. My motto is “No Image, Just Music.” I know today’s fans can appreciate that. Thanks for the interview.
Photography by Uneek Foto
© LMFANZINE.com