Star finally finds her feet with fourth album

Story by  Nuttaya Muneerat and Petchanet Pratruangkrai
Photos by Grammy Grand

Nicole Theriault, or Nicky, shot to stardom in 1997 as the winner of the Star Search Project. Within a year she had released her first album, Kapolo Club. Six years on, Nicole has released her fourth album, On the Way.

Her transition from fresh-faced pop idol to mature singer has been a fairly smooth one. Her debut album was popular with music fans that adored her cute character and loveable looks. The mischievous side of her character shone through on her second album, appropriately called Bussaba Nhapen (Funny Lady). Her last album Pan Du (Ferocious Breed) failed to capture her fans attention, focusing too much on the feisty side of her character. The cute Nicole had been put to bed and an unrecognisable woman had emerged.

Nicole admitted that the change was too much for some fans. "My fans weren't used to seeing me in that way. It wasn't the Nicole that they knew," she said.

All about concept

Nicole explained that all albums need a concept and that her previous albums catered to that need. "On the first album we needed to grab the audience's attention to make them not only sit up and listen but to remember me too," Nicole explained. "The promoters focused on the cute side of my personality. The second album reflected another facet of my personality, the cheeky, playful side. The third album, Pan Du (Ferocious Breed), didn't do so well because it wasn't what fans wanted."

 On her latest album, On the Way Nicole is portrayed as she is as a person, not as a concept. Her true self comes through, allowing her fans to see behind the music and clothes. "I don't feel the need to change my style or concept anymore. On the Way is me as I am naturally," Nicole said.

Freedom of expression

Nicole worked closely with her producer, Chakkrawut Sawangpol, who allowed her complete creative freedom on the album. "I used my past live performances as a guide to which tracks work and which are popular. For example, I know that the audience always responds well to amusing lyrics. Too many slow tunes alongside each other bore the audience," Nicole explained. "I paid a lot of attention to each track and the way it was composed and presented on On the Way. I think my fans will appreciate the album's extra colour."

Nicole also had the challenging task of singing her own backing vocals on the album. "It's really made me appreciate how difficult backing vocals are. The singer has to know every note and have perfect timing," Nicole confessed.

Woman of many talents

Not only can fans hear Nicole's beautiful voice filling the airwaves, they can also catch her on film in Khuen Rai Ngao (One Night Husband) and on TV in, Run Rak Antharai (Run, Dangerous Love).

Nicole explained that shooting for the two were very different. "Shooting for the movie was a lot more challenging compared to the TV drama. During the making of the movie we only used one camera and each shot had to be done many times. Playing my character, Sibpang, was also very stressful. At first, I couldn't come out of character after the day's shooting. I soon learned how to separate the two," she confessed.

The next Spielberg?

It was during the filming that Nicole realised that she would like to try to write a movie script. She wasted no time and put pen to paper and wrote a romantic comedy. She showed her work to some people in the industry who told her that the script was too long and had too many dialogues. Accepting these comments as constructive, Nicole has set to work to improve her first script. You never know, next time we see this young lady she could be the star of her own movie.

Vocabulary

stardom (n): state of being famous as an actor, a singer, etc.

transition (n): process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another

idol (n): person or thing that is loved and admired very much

mischievous (adj): enjoying playing tricks and annoying people

feisty (adj): people) strong, determined and not afraid of arguing with people

emerge (v): come out of a dark, enclosed or hidden place

facet (n): particular part or aspect of something

cheeky (adj): rude in an amusing or an annoying way

ferocious (adj): very fierce, violent or aggressive; very strong

timing (n): skill of doing something at exactly the right time

creative freedom (n): the ability to do what you want to do artistically without any restrictions

attention (v): the act of turning one's mind to something or somebody

challenging (adj): offering problems that test someone's ability

airwaves (n): on the radio

accepting (v): to take willingly something that is offered

Brought 2U by
Student Weekly

กลับหน้าเมนู