17Feb2014

Confessions From… Alyssa Reid

Posted in Confessions From... by @Naomi_ML

Three years ago, Alyssa Reid graced our ears with her hit song “Alone Again” a catchy hit that showed off her powerful vocals. The track went on to sell over a million copies, get certified double platinum in Canada, not to mention reaching well over 13 million hits on YouTube! Now the 20-year-0ld singer is back with a lineup of more hits with the release of her sophomore album Time Bomb.

I had the opportunity to speak to Alyssa for Faze Magazine and while the full article and interview will be in the Spring issue of Faze and online at faze.ca, here’s a snippet of what we talked about.

What have you been up to during the past 3 years?
After we released The Game here in Canada I had a lot of success in Europe so I spent some time there doing press and doing shows. I did a tour with One Direction which was really awesome. Then I finally got to come back and get in the studio which was great. Then a tour with neverest. For the most part

(Obviously I had to ask): A lot of girls would do anything for the opportunity to open for 1D, what was that like?
It was great, they were all so nice! And I went from playing small venues to performing in front of like 75, 000 people so that was a crazy experience.

Where did your new album name, Timebomb, come from?
That song is the most personal to me out of all songs on the album, so it seemed fitting to make the album called that. It’s the most “Alyssa”.

Are there any specific bands or people you look to for inspiration?
I get inspired by everybody that I work with. I got to write in LA with Billy Steinberg who wrote some of the biggest songs in the 80s who really taught me how important the lyrics are.

And your album is coming out on February 11, which is fairly close to Valentine’s Day, does that mean love will be a big theme?
Love is always a big theme in any album because it’s such a big emotion. It’s so universal so it’s kind of hard not to write about love whether it’s about your relationships or friendships or with your family. It’s easy to write about stuff you’re going through or emotions you’re feeling.

Speaking of Valentine’s Day that’s when you start your tour with Hedley, what are you most looking forward to on this tour?
I turn 21 on this tour so I’m really excited that the show is sold out on my birthday and I’m really excited to tour Canada. I’m really excited to tour Canada in arenas, I never got that opportunity in Canada before so it should be really fun.

Do you have any advice for other young aspiring singers?
What happened with me is that I felt like The Next Star was my final opportunity and after that I was just gonna kind of give up and focus on school and I’m really glad I didn’t do that because I wouldn’t be where I am today. You never know when something’s gonna happen; if something’s gonna happen it’s gonna happen so my advice would be to not give up and always keep your eyes open and keep trying.

21Oct2013

Reunited with Motorola: Rogers Moto X

Posted in Confessions of a Shopaholic, Confessions of a Twenties Girl by @Naomi_ML

They say you never forget your first cellphone and it’s true. I still remember the day my dad brought it home. I was an anxious 13-year-old, desperate to get my hands on one of those cool portable devices that would allow me to send instant text messages to my friends and talk to them without my mom going “hello, who’s on the phone? I neeeeeed it.” during the middle of a conversation. This cellphone was long overdue; by now everyone already had one and I had been begging for my own for months on end. My dad finally came home with one of the most popular phones (at least amongst my eighth grade class), the Motorola V360, and it was perfect.

Fast forward three years, and I upgraded to what was the sleek, incredibly thin and even better looking Motorola Krzr. It was THE phone to have. And while I had a blast with my flip phones, sharing many conversations, winky faces and “wut r u doing 2day?” texts, soon the era of smartphones came, and well frankly, my relationship with Motorola was put on the back burner.

I had a great relationship with Blackberry, before I took a bite of Apple and switched to the iPhone 5 which I’m currently using. But today I’ve been fortunate enough, thanks to Rogers, to reunite with my first cellphone love: Motorola.

The Moto X is available only at Rogers, and offers touchless control, an active display and a quick capture camera among its list of impressing features. What does that mean?
“Talk to it, and it learns your voice. With a twist of your wrist, it becomes your camera and gets the shots you’d otherwise miss and it tells you what you need to know—even when you’re not touching it.”

See for yourself:
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Now I’m very much attached to my iPhone and I’ve always been an Apple person, but I’m ready to switch over and take on the 60-day Moto X Challenge (aka a challenge I’ve presented myself with where I’ll be completely dedicated to this Moto X). Change is not something I usually enjoy, but with this device, it’s one I’m welcoming with open arms and ready thumbs! I’ve only just begun to play with this new toy, but one thing’s for sure, the camera quality is stunning and I can’t wait to capture memories. I’ll definitely update you at the end of my 60-day challenge to let you know if I’ll be sticking with the Moto X or switching back to the iPhone 5.

–@Naomi_ML

21Oct2013

On set of Faze Magazine’s Cover shoot with the Degrassi boys

Posted in Confessions of a Magazine Intern by @Naomi_ML

From Ed Sheeran and Olly Murs to Austin Mahone and Cody Simpson, Faze Magazine‘s covers haven’t been shy of cute boys. And last week, we did a shoot that will see Canadian homegrown talent grace the next issue of Faze: Degrassi’s very own Munro Chambers, Luke Bilyk and Demetrius Joyette.

What was it like being on set? Well just like you were watching a group of down-to-earth, hilarious guys have a great time. There were tons of laughs, lots of music and plenty, and I mean plenty of dancing (thanks to Munro’s iPod). It’s clear that the three aren’t just classmates on screen, or coworkers in real life but best friends, or “bros” as the three liked to say throughout the day.

Even though I was capturing behind the scenes video, I was able to grab some photos in between filming. So scroll down below for a sneak peek at our Degrassi boys cover shoot. And stay tuned to faze.ca/@fazemagazine for the behind the scenes video coming soon (there may or may not be some twerking included in that).

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–@Naomi_ML

25Jun2013

Christian Louboutin graces Toronto with his presence

Posted in Confessions of a Magazine Intern by @Naomi_ML

I’ve only been at my new internship for about three weeks and from what I heard from another intern who was finishing up her placement, not a lot of cool opportunities are given to us kids who work for free. So you can imagine my surprise (wide eyed and open mouthed) when my editor asked me to cover an exclusive fashion event in Toronto. A Christian Louboutin fashion event. Oh, and he was going to be there.
The inner fashionista in me squealed with excitement, I was going to see and possibly meet the legend himself! And so I went, I saw, I conquered. And I have pictures for all of you to see! (Btw, unfortunately free red-soled shoes were not given to those in attendance). Read my full article on the event and find out why Louboutin was in Toronto in the first place here.