Seventeen-year-old Natasha Thomas from Copenhagen/ Denmark well remembers her first performance in front of an audience: "I was in the sixth grade," she recollects. "It was a concert, staged by the music school I went to. I had just changed public schools, because most of my class was bullying me. The concert was held at my old school, and they were there, so I was very nervous. But I knew I just had to get up there and show them. No one was going to scare me off. The song I sang was 'Killing Me Softly'."
Her professional attitude and her determination didn't always make it easy for the young singer. "I had to change schools once because my classmates bullied me," she says. But Natasha didn't give up on her dreams. She found herself a new school and focused on her favourite subjects: music and drama. She took dance and singing lessons and eventually started writing her own lyrics and songs. "I like to write about my own experiences in life. About my feelings and opinions. I find it very therapeutic."
Though Natasha works on her own career at the moment, of course there are popstars, she looks up to. "My favourite singer is Christina Aguilera. I love her voice and her current album 'Stripped'. She has some great songs and lyrics. And I have always looked up to Jennifer Lopez. She seems so sure of herself and always seems to have a good time." It's just natural that Natasha cares about her looks - "I never wear anything random, I´m very conscious about my apperance" - but she's defintely no fashion victim. "I don´t neccessarily wear something because it´s in. I have my own style. It kind of changes from day to day. One day I might wear baggy pants and the next tight pants and high heels. But I always make sure I look good. I like purple, because it´s really pretty and feminine. And white because it´s so soothing and clean. My favourite fashion item are a a pair of jeans that fit me perfectly. That´s so hard to find. And a dress that's kind of latin inspired. And finally, a pair of black boots. They' re kind of sexy meets bad ass biker chick. I like that."
A demanding pop career doesn't leave much time for hobbies. Natasha tries to keep up hers at least a little. "I always liked acting - I played a lot of theatre when I was at school. I don't read very often, but I do like poems mainly by the danish poet Michael Strunge. And of course, I love watching TV, especially "Friends". I also like going to the movies - my favourite actors are Sandra Bullock and Julia Roberts. Because they´re both strong women with charming personalities and a great sense of humor. And Sean Penn because he´s a very talented actor. He´s very intense and on the screen he always seems to dedicate himself a hundred percent. My favourite movies are "The Sixth Sense" with Bruce Willis. It´s so suprising. I like it when you can´t always predict the final five minutes into the movie. And "What Women Want" with Mel Gibson is really good. I like the way it shows the guys how nasty and ridicilous they can be." In the near future, Natasha of course hopes to make it in the music business. And she' d like to give something back to her mother: "I really look up to her. She raised me on her own and she has always supported me in becoming a singer."
