The sexy Trey Songz is performing at the 2011 ESSENCE Music Festival (got tickets?) and we couldn’t be more excited. Trey chatted with ESSENCE.com about crafting his new duet with Lupe Fiasco, “Out of My Head,” hanging with Halle Berry and just what EMF fans should (and shouldn’t) throw on stage. Ready?
ESSENCE.com: You recently presented at the 2011 FiFi Fragrance Awards and were photographed with Halle Berry, how was that experience?
TREY SONGZ: I attended the Awards, presented a few and saw Halle again, which was… amazing, to say the least. She is so beautiful and has such warm, positive spirit that every time I see her I feel inspired. She is truly a phenomenal woman. She smelled great, too! She might even have been wearing her fragrance that was honored that night.
ESSENCE.com: Last Sunday, you and Lupe Fiasco performed “Out of My Head” on the MTV Movie Awards, how’d that duet happen?
SONGZ: Lupe and I have been trying to work together for a while, and when he presented this song to me, it felt right. We didn’t want to have a collaboration that sounded forced or manufactured so we waited for just the right record and it was “Out of My Head.” As soon as I heard it, I loved it and I knew we finally had that hit we’d talked about. We didn’t record it [in the studio] together. Lupe did his part, sent me the track and then I did my part. We’re working on a concept for the video now so hopefully it will be released soon, but I can’t give away any details. You’ll have to tune in when we put the video out!
ESSENCE.com: What’s the oddest thing a fan has thrown on stage while you were performing?
SONGZ: Not much seems weird to me anymore, bras and panties are the usual … as many as the stage can hold! It does catch me a bit off-guard when people throw themselves on [the stage] though.
ESSENCE.com: What should fans expect from your ESSENCE Music Festival show?
SONGZ: I’m very excited to be back, so my fans can expect an even bigger and better show than last year. This festival is the biggest, blackest celebration of our culture, so I plan to go all-out and leave my heart on that stage for every person in the audience.
ESSENCE.com: What’s your favorite New Orleans spot to visit during ESSENCE Music Festival?
SONGZ: I ate a great meal at Nola’s in the French Quarter last year. My favorite part of New Orleans is actually the city itself. I like walking around and checking out the local shops. I find it interesting to… see all the different artifacts. I love to catch the musicians who perform on the street and watch the crowd react to and interact with them.
