Jennette McCurdy
She’s about to turn 17 years old, 1 year away from finally being legal, and the world is giving her the best of time. Not only is she the face of Nickelodeon, she’s plastered on a CD album this summer. Her country-pop styled voice and her bubbly attitude is what attracts fans. Jennette McCurdy stands at 5’3 with blond hair and a smile that you just can’t say no to.
Inspire was given the opportunity to interview Jennette whom seemed to be busy dealing with interviews one right after the other on a Friday evening and filming iCarly. Happily enough, we were rescheduled for next week and not on her Friday night. This gleaming teenager had much to say.
So first off, I wanted to ask you…does life seem a little surreal to you right now? Like you have to pinch yourself?(laughs) Definitely, all the time. It’s very overwhelming and it’s a lot crazier than I’ve ever expected to be. So it’s like…ah! Congratulations on your single release! I heard it the other day. I didn’t know you have a singing talent!
Thank you! Yes, very exciting and gosh, I love music and I’m so excited to be putting it out there and I hope everyone enjoys it. Maybe find something in my music they can listen to it and I hope they like it. When did you start singing officially?
Well, singing in the showers and the car. I don’t know if that counts! I don’t think that counts for anything… But I’ve always loved music and listen to it a lot and found the inspiration from it. And, I saw that maybe what I was feeling, I could find a song that fit what I was feeling. And that is what helped me through whatever. I go to auditions and callbacks when I was younger, I would listen to music to get myself pumped up for that and motivate me. So it’s always been a big part of my life! Now to be officially making it is great. That would sound like a lot of work. You’re such a workaholic for such a young age!
(laughs) Yea, I think…I don’t know, I’ve always been a workaholic since I was really little. I had a lemonade stand, a snowcone stand, and I had a baby sitting business. I always had to be doing something. So, acting and singing has been my favorite. To be doing them is really amazing. A baby sitting business?!
Nobody hired me because I was 12 but I looked like 8. So, nobody wanted to hire me because their kids look older than me. That’s funny! How long did it take you to record just that one song?
Actually, I co-wrote this song with 2 writers. Really great, awesome people, Angie and William. We wrote it in a day. And then I recorded it in a day, and of course, it’s just everybody had to lay down the track with their instruments. Wow, that’s hard!
It’s definitely a lot of work to put into it. So, there’s a lot of albums coming out this year. And Mandy Moore and even Mitchel Musso, are you ready for competition or not worrying about it at all?
Actually, I don’t really like to see it as competition. I think of it as everybody in music, especially has their own perspective at looking at things. So I always think people can listen to more music. So it’s not like they’re going to say, ‘Oh, cause I listen to this I’m not going to listen to this person.’ I can always listen to more. That sounds good because you’re not in that competitive field.
Yeah! Okay, so you mentioned you were shy before professionally acting. Have you overcome that yet? Because you seem like a friendly person!
Oh, thank you! I still am very shy. It’s to the point that makes it hard to make eye contact sometimes. I have to really focus on it to make sure that I do. But, when you’re young – you kind of always have that part of you with you. So, I think I’ll always be shy. But I have to do red carpet interviews and it’s very hard. Afterwards, I just want to go in my room and kind of sit there and do nothing. That’s just who I am, you know? I saw you figure skating. Are you not competing competitively?
No, actually, I have not been skating for that long. I started in 2006 during the Olympics, and I just started skating when I took a bit of a break from iCarly. Then I really got back into it this January with this amazing coach named Igor. He’s actually competing at Worlds’ today, so I wish him luck during his long program! That’s exciting for him. But, no, I’m not competing…I just do it for fun. I’m able to find a lot of peace at the ice rink. That’s good! I know your mom is a survivor of breast cancer. So from experiencing that, how does your perspective of life change?
You don’t look at the small stuff for sure. You realize what’s more important, family and keeping them close and the things that really matter. All the stupid, petty things don’t matter and you can’t really worry about those. Of course, there are times when some things do affect me or bother me that shouldn’t, but I actually just lost a friend of mind, Cody to brain cancer…(I’m sorry!) It was such a terrible thing, such a tragic situation but it really helped things in perspective and you learn the things that truly matter. I usually ask the talents this question, do you ever get tired of doing P.R. and speaking with the media? Cause a lot of people do it one after the other, just like you!
Yea, that’s funny! The other day I had a radio tour and I think I did about 9 or 10 interviews back to back. Eventually, I’ve been able to find that they’re very entertaining. First of all, you and everyone who interviews me, they are all really nice and polite…so far, I hope I don’t come across a mean one, you guys all ask very interesting and unique questions. Of course, sometimes people ask typical questions, about 15-20 of them. But there are a lot of unique, crazy ones and I love answering those! I learn a little bit of myself that I haven’t known before. So it’s really cool! Are you hoping to be on any talk show soon?
Yea, I’m hoping! I can’t really talk about it, but there’s one that is very possible coming up. I’m very excited and I’m practically jumping up and down. I hope it comes through! I do not know, but I’m guessing it’s the Ellen show!
I can’t say, I can’t say! It’s very, very exciting! But I love Ellen Degeneres, I love her! Is that one of your favorite talk shows?
Yea! I love Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, and Ellen. I love all these people. I find them so entertaining. I’m like, “they’re great!” We went off topic and into a pool of random and I questioned her about googling herself online. “Oh, no! I definitely don’t. My friends will always send me things like youtube videos. People do montages that they have on their youtube channels, and it’s all these videos that kids make for me. It’s really nice of them! I love all the videos, they’re really fun to watch. I don’t go to message boards and things like that because you can really get yourself hurt unless they have something nice for me…that’s really kind of them. And some retaliate and do something mean.” Despite these ideas, there’s a lovely fan site for Jennette, and she knows about it, too. “Sometimes, when someone makes a fan site, they somehow [I don’t know how!] get in touch with somebody who knows me or they get in touch with me. There’s this website that is made by an amazing girl called, “Totally Jennette.Com.” She makes the most beautiful work on it, with the graphic designs in the background and the things she does with logos and stuff. She has this gallery and it’s amazing. The work she puts into it! Very kind of her.”