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After impressing many with her stint on X Factor - Battle of the Stars earlier this year, the Oldham lass is keen to make her mark on the charts. But as she tells Digital Spy, this isn't her first foray into the world of music...
Are you finding it a struggle to be taken seriously thanks to your glamour modelling background?
"I don't really think about that, because I've never been taken seriously anyway and I definitely don't take myself seriously, so it's not something I really think about or worry about, really."
Is it something you hope to do long-term?
"If it goes well, I definitely hope to do a bit more. I don't think of it long-term - i just think, 'oh my god, somebody's given me a chance to release a single, so I'm going to do it and have fun doing it'. If it works out, it works out - if it doesn't then I'll carry on with my modelling."
It was quite a few years ago you appeared on talent shows and started making a good impression. Were you hoping to get a record deal then, hoping for something to come along?
"No, basically, I'd been singing since I was little, but modelling took over and started to do really well, so that's what I've been doing for the past five years. I've been lucky, I've made a wicked career from it. I just met the right people, and was offered this chance. Obviously X Factor came along and I did that and obviously that gave me a bit more of a ... got more people to see me. It was all going on at that time."
You won a Radio 1 songwriting competition a while ago, didn't you? Do you still write your own material?
"When I was 16. I do try every now and again, try to write some stuff. To tell you the truth, I don't think I'm great at it. I'm happy to have someone help me do it, show me the way, help me out with it. I don't know if I'm good enough to write a whole song on my own. I'll give anything a go, me. If I'm crap at it I don't do it. I'll give anything a go."
What's the single 'I Don't Do' about?
"It's basically about a girl in a relationship saying to a guy 'I don't do what you want me to do and I don't do what you tell me to do'. Basically she's a bit of a rebel, like me, and if someone says to her 'don't do this', she's going to go and do it twice as bad. I'm terrible for that. If someone says I can't do something, that just makes me even more determined to do that. So it's kind of just like one of us, really, it's a girl and a guy not getting along, wanting separate things...it's quite a cool, funky song."
The video for the single's very raunchy - was that your idea?
"It was mine, my manager's, my record company's, you know. With it being my first song, we didn't have a very big budget, so we had to pull in a lot of favours from everybody. Being in the glamour industry, the kind of favours we could pull were getting all the glamour girls in it. If we're going to have all these beautiful, good looking girls, we might as well take advantage and make it into a sexy, fun video. I don't think it's overly sexy, I think there's a lot more out that's more risque than my video - I just think it's a kind of cheeky kind of video, really really sexy."
If you had had an unlimited video budget and could film it at any location in the world with anyone, where and who would you choose?.
"Oh my goodness, that is a good question. It would probably have to be somewhere like Miami, with the wicked beaches and the girls rollerblading down the roads. I'd probably have to have a really sexy love interest, someone like Brad Pitt or someone. I really like Justin Timberlake's video for 'SexyBack', so maybe something like that, something quite cool. I don't know, there's so many different ideas, so much you can do. Videos nowadays are like mini-movies, cost thousands and thousands of pounds. I think I did good on such a small budget."
What musicians or singers have inspired you in the past?
"I'd probably say Alanis Morrissette is a big role model for me. I think she's fantastic. I love her music and I love her style. I really like the road Kelly Clarkson's gone down with her music after she won the American Idol thing. I think she's fantastic, absolutely loved the stuff she's doing. I'm definitely more of a rock chick than anything else - that's the kind of music I wanna do more than anything [and] probably going to be the music I go on to do after the first single."
Would you ever consider quitting modelling for music?
"If the music career takes off...but I don't think I'll quit the modelling career because I don't know any music superstars or artists or singers that don't do shoots for magazines, do you know what I mean? I know mine are a bit more risque than theirs, but that's what I'm about, that's what I am - I'm a glamour model! I'm totally proud of that, I've done really well. I don't think I'll quit modelling, I love it. It's what's got me where I am today, so I don't think I could turn my back on it."
Image is such an important part of music. People forget that at times. Have you recorded any other material for release?
"I'm just about to start recording some more material, been listening to a couple of songs this week that are a bit more rock chicky. Hopefully be recording soon."
Apart from recording interviews all day, what are you doing to promote the single?
"I'm doing a tour of nightclubs, performing my single there with two very sexy dancers. On the day of release, I'll be in a couple of HMVs doing signings. I'll be doing Oldham and Manchester."
You've done modelling and singing. What about acting - is that the next career move?
"I don't know, man, I just want to take one day at a time! If someone gives me the chance, hell yeah, I'll give it a go, I'll turn my hand to everything! I dunno. I'm a bit busy doing what I'm doing at the moment, I don't think it'll be any time soon, but who knows..."
Is it true you've been asked to appear on the next series of I'm A Celebrity?
"It's all lies, it's all lies! I think they just think, oh my god, we need a sexy picture on the front of the newspaper, let's just make this up. I haven't even had a meeting with them, so that's not true."
Would you consider it were you asked?
"I'd consider it, but to tell you the truth, I think I'd be the worst contestant ever, cos I'd be scared of everything - I hate any little bugs, creatures, things like that. And I'm a big fan of food, so I don't know how well I'd cope on rice and beans. I'd probably go crazy."
It couldn't be worse than Natalie Appleton a couple of years ago?
"She was a nightmare, wasn't she! But that would be me, I'd be 'I hate this, I hate this, I hate this' and the public would be like 'right, you're doing this, you're doing that'. I'd probably do practically everything because I'd be so bloody scared of everything!"
Thanks for chatting, Michelle!
