Kat Graham on her '90s-inspired album, next season of "Vampire Diaries"
"I literally get made fun of for still wearing fanny packs," says Kat Graham.
The singer-actress says she's into everything from the 1990s -- from the era's music and films to the models and fashion. So it's no surprise that her upcoming album will feature '90s-inspired songs that tap into Graham's musical influences: Madonna, Prince, Boyz II Men and TLC.
"I just wanted to do something that felt close to my soul -- that stylistically I'm in love with in terms of the era," Graham said during a recent visit to CBS News.
Graham unveiled her debut EP, "Against the Wall," in 2012, with her last single, "Power," coming out in July 2013. Now she's readying all-new material, and unveiled the fresh track, "1991" back in April. Although she was only 2 years old in 1991, Graham, now 25, says she's spent a lot of time researching the time period. Now she's "obsessed."
And she's eager for fans to hear the rest of the material she's been working on with producer Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds and her long-time producing partner, Jean-Yves "Jeeve" Ducornet. She's completed her part of the recording process, but now that Babyface has his hands on the record things may take a bit longer, says the Swiss-born star.
Graham's music can also be heard in "Muse," a new three-part short film series which screened at the Cannes Film Festival in May. "Muse" follows a photographer (played by Louis Oberlander) who is in love his muse, played by Graham.
Graham, meanwhile, is gearing up for season 7 of "Vampire Diaries," which for the fist time will be without series star Nina Dobrev, who's not returning to the show. Her departure will likely shake things up on the set.
"I'm just so excited to work with the rest of the cast more," said Graham, who began acting in commercials at the age of six. "I spent the past couple of seasons in my own dimension by myself, which was fun because the days went pretty quickly. But I do love my cast and I do love working with them. And they're going to definitely want to do more ensemble stories line, which they have been doing over the past couple of seasons. So lots of good times. Lots of drama and blood and hyper-important life-or-death situations. But another day at the job."
