Phillyist Interviews... Kristinia DeBarge

The circus is in town! Well, theoretically. Britney Spears brings her Circus tour to the Wachovia Center this Sunday and opening for her is 19 year-old Kristinia DeBarge. Yes, of those DeBarges—but she's working to forge a name of her own. The pop tart progeny is finding her own niche with her debut album Exposed, its most notable track being "Goodbye," which samples the chorus from the 1969 Steam song "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye." DeBarge joins Britney as well as Jordin Sparks, season six winner of American Idol on an extensive world tour. Phillyist had an opportunity to catch up with Kristinia before joining Britney's crazy train Circus. Here's what she had to say.

It must be pretty exciting to be joining such a popular tour. What are you most excited about?
I'm most excited about going onstage and putting on a great show without any mess-ups. It's going to be a really fun tour!

Are you surprised at all with the success of "Goodbye"?
Yes, absolutely. I had no idea it would do as well as it did. I mean, right now I have over one million downloads of "Goodbye" so that's pretty amazing.

What kind of role has music education played for you in forming your style as an artist?
Well, I haven't studied music formally but I've taken a couple community college classes and want to start learning about it again. I've been reading books on music and learning to read music—I want to go to school and major in music theory.

Relating to that, let's be honest: we all know Brit-Brit's going to be lip synching on this tour. Your other compatriot, Jordin Sparks, probably won't be. What's your take on lip synching?
Well, when you're on stage there's a lot of movement that's expected of you and although it might not look like it, it's really hard to sing and dance at the same time. Some artists don't focus that much on dancing but I do. I find it's important to connect with the audience as much as possible. If someone thought that lip synching was the best way to do that, I wouldn't hold it against them.

What advice would you give to your fans, who are mostly your age or younger, and are looking to pursue a career in music?
Never give up. Some days when you're not encouraged or don't think you're going to make it, keep pushing. It takes patience, hard work and tolerance. It takes a long time to gain respect and you've got to learn to command it. It's not going to be handed to you. You have to earn it.

Kristinia will be kicking off each evening of the Circus tour and although there won't be any elephants (that we know of), it might just be an entertaining evening.

Britney Spears, with Jordin Sparks and Kristinia DeBarge
Sunday, 8/30/09
7:00 p.m., all ages
Wachovia Center, 3601 S. Broad St.
Tickets: $36.50-$495.00 [Ed. note: No, that's not a typo.]