It's A Shelea Christmas!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Eynny Chalea. I've been waiting to talk to you all morning.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
Oh, thank you so much.

Speaker 1 (00:08):
Yeah, I've been looking forward to chatting with you. I
was just listening to Through the Fire. You've got some pipes.
I'm sure I'm not the first to tell you that
what nice run in there's a nice run in the
middle of that song.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
Well, thank you so much. I have so much fun
singing that that Chaka Khan song. You know, I mean
vocal you know, she's vocal calisthenics.

Speaker 1 (00:34):
I called them. You were doing some vocal calisthenics there,
especially because you were only assistant and only had a
keyboarders with you there right right.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
That was my good friend Stevie Mackie. You see first
I would do that on tour many many times with
David Foster, who I believe was one of the co
writers for that. But but yeah, it's a great song
to sing. Thank you so much for your kind words.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
Oh yeah, Well, it's an interesting watch on YouTube because
of the way it's shot. Know, the you could really
you know, it's not polished. It's in the corner of
a room there, so you could hear the rustling of
people at your vocals. They're just powerhouse vocals and he's
tapping those keys so lightly. It's an interesting video. You

(01:17):
got to help me though, shealeya, what is Taco Tuesday?
I don't know what to make of Taco Tuesday.

Speaker 2 (01:24):
Again. That's my very good friend Stevie Mackie. He created
this some years back, many years back, just kind of
a gathering of musicians and singers in his home and
he's been doing it for many many years now. Now
he's gone on to be the vocal coach to the stars,
from Selena Gomez to Jennifer Lopez to Kelly Rowland, Fergie.

(01:47):
He's worked with so many different people and this Taco
Tuesday has kind of got some legs.

Speaker 1 (01:52):
Looks.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
We have a lot of people will kind of come
through there. I've seen Cynthia Rivo pass through there. Wow.
Just a lot of others singers and it's just a
kind of a laid back environment and you kind of
come and just sing some songs.

Speaker 1 (02:06):
Are there tacos. I want to eat some taco where
people are eating.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
You know, I do believe I did see a taco
a chocolate truck the last time I was there. So yeah,
there are Tacos.

Speaker 1 (02:16):
Mackie sounds all right to me. But we've got Chile
on today because dropping a new song today. Want This
Christmas with You. You've worked with the legendary Quincy.

Speaker 2 (02:27):
Yes, you know he had passed already when I had
when I had written it, but he is such a
dear friend, and you know we've been We've been very
close for the last I would say. I met him
back in late I want to say late twenty sixteen,
so we've been in each other's lives for a long time.
And I was part of his management team for a while.

(02:49):
You know, his management team was managing me. We toured
the world together and I actually with something I hold
very very dear. I was the last one is for
him on his birthday. Wow, his very last birthday he celebrated,
so we just I love him so dearly. I miss
him so so very much. But this Christmas single that

(03:12):
I did, Want This Christmas with You, I wrote with
a wonderful friend of mine, dating Nathan, wrote and produced together,
and you know, we just kind of imagine people dancing
around the Christmas tree, you know, decorating it and getting
with family, and we wanted to get this up temple
kind of song and I that's what Want This Christmas

(03:33):
with You became.

Speaker 1 (03:34):
Okay, so now is Want This Christmas with You? Which
is released today? Right? Today? Today's yeah, today's day? Now
is it Want This Christmas with You? Like if you
made a video? Is it you know, some champagne it's
being popped, there's a gentleman caller there? Or is it
the kids are running around the tree and it's very

(03:56):
upbeat and family and presents are being open. Like can
I say, do some woman with this song? Or is
it for the fam?

Speaker 2 (04:04):
Ooh, that's a good question. I kind of think you
can do a little bit of both to be on
because it's because it's because it's because it's it's the
it's got a strong story in it. So the story
is this, you know, it could be a man or
a woman or you know the you know, the roles
could be reversed. And in my mind when I was
writing it, I was writing it that you're in some

(04:25):
work setting and you see this person every day and
you know you've grown this admiration for them, but you
kind of want to like, it's the years about to
be over, It's Christmas about to be Christmas and you're like,
you know what, I want to spend this Christmas with you.
I'm going to make the first move. There's missiletoe. You know,
maybe there's like a company party or something like that.

(04:48):
She you know, he or she finally is like, you know,
got this really amazing outfit out and maybe she's got
a sexy just sexy dressed on. You know, maybe he's
got you know, a nice outit. They're like, you know,
I'm gonna have I'm finally gonna have the courage to
make the first movie. So you know, Champagne could be involved.
You know, Yeah, I feel.

Speaker 1 (05:05):
I heard Yeah, so's it's actually more it's intricate in
that way. Lyrically, it's a it's lyrically a bit more interesting. Yeah,
done a lot of Christmas.

Speaker 2 (05:14):
Song the sound of it exactly exactly, but I think
sonically it just got it has that little happy bounce
to it, so I could totally see kids and family,
you know, kind of dancing around to it.

Speaker 1 (05:26):
Yeah, and again it's want this Christmas with you. And
before we let you go tell me about this, you've
got a PBS special out Aretha. And I mean, like
I said at the outset, you. You've got a strong
voice on you there. But that's the Queen right there.
That's got to be a heck of a show. Challenging.

Speaker 2 (05:42):
Oh my goodness, absolutely so. Back in twenty twenty two,
I actually premiered the show at the Royal Albert Hall
in London with Jules Brookley, a wonderful friend of mine,
in the metropolo cast. Actually it was it was the Yeah,
it was a metropolo cast. He actually has two orchestras
that he works with, and you know, I had I

(06:04):
played piano as well, and so I just I grew
up listening to Aresa and and I just wanted to
show the depth of who she was as an artist.
She was not just an artist. She was a gospel artist,
she was a jazz artist, she was an R and
B artist, you know, soul artists, so many different genres
she did. I mean I remember that time where she,

(06:25):
you know, filled in for Pavaratti and didnssen Dharma. You know,
there was no limit to what she could do. And
this year I was finally able to bring the show
to the States through PBS, and it's called Aresa with
Chileia and the Pacific Symphony. I had Ricky Minor, music
director of Music Directors, he was the conductor, and of

(06:48):
course the Pacific Symphony, and we just had such a wonderful,
wonderful time doing the show. And I'm building a tour
for it right now for for the next couple of years,
doing with symphonies across the country and you know, even
the world. I'll be going to Germany next year as well,
touring the show, and because I actually have been touring

(07:10):
it quite successfully in Europe these last few years since
twenty twenty two. But I just said, come on, guys,
Arita was an American artist. We've got to bring the
show to the space. And that's what we're working on now.

Speaker 1 (07:20):
Yeah, yeah, that's right. And everybody can check you out
at chalea music dot com. And as far as your
co writer here on the Christmas song Davey Nathan, you
actually released a five track EP, a slew of songs
with him, right, never give Up on Love and time
Machine and I don't care ye, And that's available to stream,
I would imagine right right now, that's right.

Speaker 2 (07:40):
Right along with all the other music that's out there.
It's dreaming on every platform and so I would love
for everybody to take a listen to that.

Speaker 1 (07:48):
I love it, Chale, I'm a fan, but congratulations with
this new single. Want this Christmas review and have a
merry Christmas too.

Speaker 2 (07:55):
Thank you, thank you,