Panettiere And Nalick Compare Notes
By The Showbuzz's Melissa Castellanos
Some may wonder what NBC "Heroes" star Hayden Panettiere and musician Anna Nalick have in common.
The two share a common bond - their love of music and the way they share it with the world.
Panettiere and Nalick are part of what's considered a social networking generation where musicians are taking the initiative to promote their music and connect with fans.
Nalick, who has sold over 800,000 records and has gained success with her hit song "Breathe," is releasing her new song "Sign."
Panettiere, best known for her role as cheerleader Claire Bennet on NBC's drama "Heroes," is branching out of acting to pursue a career in music.
Story: Hayden Makes A Splash On Capitol Hill
The two stars are the newest artists on the social networking site Zude's Fanbase.
"It's really user friendly you can create websites and you go live in ten minutes," Panettiere said. "You can drag and drop. I was able to attach my 'Save the Whales Again' campaign. You can be really creative with it. My love is for art and music and that's the focus from me, and on a site like Zude you can make it your own…you can be as creative as you want to be and that's what I love about it."
Even though Panattiere is best known for her acting, she wants people to know that music is not new territory for her.
"I think the most difficult thing ... is the fact that people tend not to take you seriously when you are an actress and then a singer," Panettiere told The Showbuzz. "I have been singing probably just as long as I have been acting, but just obviously not in the public eye. I hope that when people hear this album their opinion of that will change a little bit, but it's really fun and you have a little more control of creativity and you get to play yourself as opposed to another character. It's been a blast."
Although Panettiere's album is mostly upbeat, there are a couple of sad songs, including one that was inspired by the death of a close friend, she revealed.
"It kind of has to do with life experiences. It's a fun, outgoing album. I think that one of the big things for me was while creating it I wanted to make sure that none of the songs sounded the same," Panettiere said. "I have co-written almost all of the songs on the album and worked with wonderful producers."
Nalick says the lyrics to her new song "Shine" applies to the challenges Panettiere faces.
"Part of what it's about is something that Hayden was talking about - people don't want to see her as a musician, they want to see her as an actress and they want to give her trouble about that she has a new career goal and a love for music that maybe they didn't notice before," Nalick said. "'Shine' is about that, about how you sometimes have to force people to see what you are proud of yourself."
The 23-year-old Nalick has written over 37 songs for her next album. For her, it's tough to pick and choose which ones will ultimately make the cut.
"It can be hard sometimes...I want things to sound different. I don't want a monotonous album," Nalick said. "So, I kind of pull from bits and pieces of my life. There's always songs that stand out. You go with the ones people like or sometimes I put together my favorite 20 and give copies to a broad spectrum of people of different ages and they come back and pick their favorites and that works too."
Nalick has worked with notable producer Mike Flynn, who has produced The Fray and Augustana, who released the hit single "Boston."
"I write everything myself, it's very personal so all of my songs come straight from the heart," Nalick said. "I respect, as strange as it sounds, artists such as Marilyn Manson. He knows what his audience wants and he gives it to them. They want crazy, they can get crazy. I respect that and I hope that I am able to do that with people who like my music too, learn what it is they need from me and then use my talents to give them that. If they need to hear that they aren't alone I can write a song about it."
Being immersed in the online world has not only helped Panettiere's break into the music biz, but it has helped her fight for charitable causes, such as the "Save the Whales Again" campaign. Panettiere recently went to Washington for the cause, where she was supported by Sen. John Kerry, among others.
"It was great. This is a cause that I have been passionate about and doing for three years now. To feel supported by people like that makes you feel like you're within reach of your goal," Panettiere said. "We made a lot of progress and it was a really good feeling."
To further her goal of saving the whales, Panettiere created panettierecloset.com, a Web site that is dedicated to "fashion for a cause." On the site, Panettiere auctions off her clothing, shoes and jewelry and all proceeds go to the "Save the Whales Again" campaign.
"We, constantly being in the public eye, get stuff all of the time. Every time I clean out my closet or sometimes you wear something and you walk down a red carpet and you can't wear it again, unfortunately. Everything that I have worn or can't wear for some reason, I will pull out of my closet and stick it on there (panettierecloset.com) and people buy it and the money goes to charity," she said.
Link: Anna Nalick On Zude
Link: Hayden Panettiere On Zude