It’s certain Robin Thicke didn’t expect to see his career soar as high as it has since the release of the song “Blurred Lines.” Nonetheless, the “Magic” crooner is appreciative and talks about his newfound success in the September issue of Prestige Magazine.
Asides from discussing his larger-than-life career post “Blurred Lines,” he speaks on his musical heroes, starting his own charity and the reason behind cutting his long locks. He even shares insight on how his writing talent came to be.
Get the scoop from the excerpts below:
On the success of “Blurred Lines,” starting charity…
In every single way. I’ve had three number-one songs on urban radio. I was doing well. I was doing OK. But the difference is when a million people a day watch your video and two hundred million people a week hear your song. One thing it’s done is give me the finances and the power to actually set up my own charity. You can’t get that much and not give most of it back.
On musical influences…
Michael Jackson, Prince and Billy Idol because I loved his hair and “Rebel Yell”. That was a big moment for me. I was Billy Idol for Halloween. MTV had just started when I was seven, eight years old, so the first people they played on MTV were Billy Idol, John Cougar Mellencamp – his “Jack and Diane” song – Michael Jackson and Prince. Those were my heroes early on.
On cutting his long hair…
Actually the question is, “Why did you grow your hair?” When I was 22 and decided to dedicate all my time to my own music, I told myself I wouldn’t cut my hair until I heard my songs on the radio. Then when I heard my song on the radio, I cut my hair. Then my hair became such a maintenance issue that I decided that it had to be chopped.
On discovering his songwriting talents
The first songs that I wrote was when I was about 11 or 12 years old. I started to teach myself how to play piano. All I needed was a few chords and I would write a whole song. And then I’d learn a few new chords and I would write a new song for that. I think it was all just determination.
Thicke shares the Prestige cover story with his lovely wife Paula Patton.