It may be rude to stop and stare, but Nenna Yvonne leaves you no choice. At age 21, the Nigerian-born/New York-raised pop princess already has the talent, pedigree, looks and desire to reign over the charts ndefinitely. Her latest single, “Go Around”—a sultry electropop rave-up—boasts hundreds of thousands of spins on the internet. Three minutes of succulent ear candy, it’s not only the product of a diverse musical upbringing, but a harbinger of more cutting-edge crowd pleasers to come.

MOBO caught up with the rising  U.S star ahead of her sold out gig at the famous Roxy Theatre next month and to talk music, fashion, and a dub step Cyndi Lauper cover. We also get the low down on her debut single 'Go Around'...  

MOBO: For UK audiences that may not have yet heard of you, how would you describe your sound and yourself as an artist?

Nenna Yvonne: My music is very eclectic. I’m very versatile with my sound and I like to combine soul, funk pop and dubstep in my music. I have a lot of influences from blues and jazz as well with my voice. I like to combine all of those elements into my own music and try to use that when I’m creating in the studio and writing my own material.

MOBO: You studied at the prestigious LaGuardia performing arts school in New York with the likes of Nicki Minaj and Kelis. What was that experience like?

NY: Well when Niki Minaj was graduating [from LaGuardia] I was a freshman coming into the school. There are a lot of famous alumni such as Kelis, Al Pacino, some very famous people have attended La Guardia high school. You might know some of them and others you might not but they’ve gone on to be very successful actors, singers, entrepreneurs etc. For me growing up and perusing going to LaGuardia it was more like just focusing in on developing myself as an artist. At a very young age I knew that I really wanted to hone in on those skills and develop them and LaGuardia was the perfect school to really sharpen those skills. They have a balance of academics with talent and skills so for me I came into the school really understanding that I had to manage those two things together and maintain my academics as well as my music and balance the two as a 13 year old. A lot of the students there dropped out, they couldn’t handle it. A lot of personal issues going on and stuff, but you have to stay focused.

MOBO: Your musical background includes classical and jazz training. How important do you think that has been in terms of laying the groundwork for the music you make now?

NY: Well, they train you on the practical acts. At the age of 14 I was learning classical Arias and songs in different languages. It was more focused on different styles of music that would influence me as a person but with the direction of music that wanted to go in, which was pop, I knew that I would have to find a way to take those skills and develop it into something I could call my own. So it became a thing where I used those talents and skills and training to develop myself but then find what my own niche was. And that’s what makes you stand out as an individual.

MOBO: Your debut single ‘Go Around’ is a catchy up-tempo electro pop club track. Can you tell us more about the track?

NY: Well ‘Go Around’ is coming out in stores very soon. We have a remix too, you’re gonna love the direction we went with it. It’s very up tempo, it’s got a very dub step feel to it. There’s a lot of soul and hip hop influences too, also some daft punk. It just takes its own direction when it comes to creating a new sound.

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MOBO: Is the dub step scene big in the U.S?

NY: Yeah, I think lot of top 40 pop artists are starting to incorporate dub step into their music now. It’s become a really popular thing to do. Britney Spears started to do it, Katy Perry, Rihanna, a lot of them have started to do this combination of top 40 and dub step combined into their own style. We really tried to find a way to differentiate my sound from the rest of the top 40 American pop acts because it was really important to find a direction that was my own style and let people know that I was chasing a new initiative and creating my own voice.

MOBO: What can fans expect from your live shows?

NY: My live shows are very, very energetic. There’s a lot of people just having a great time, getting live, getting drunk, doing silly over the top things but that’s what it is. It’s about freedom and being yourself and being able to just express yourself. Sometimes people might not be able to understand it but at the end of the day when you wake up and realize “oh my god I did something ridiculously crazy” that’s just part of who you are you just never realised it. That’s why it’s good to express yourself and when people see it in you their almost surprised that that is something you got from a Yvonne show.

MOBO: Are you planning any live dates over here in the U.K?

NY: I have been invited for a few shows in April. I have a show coming up in Hollywood California at the Roxy Theatre. It’s a huge venue, I’m really excited. I’m opening up for a British Band actually. I have a big following here in the states and they have a big following in the UK so it’s gonna be really exciting.

MOBO: You have a really strong and unique sense of style that seems part Naomi Campbell part Jimi Hendrix. Who are your style inspirations and how much of a role does fashion play in your music?

NY: I think fashion is a huge influence in what I do as an artist. I think fashion can inspire you to create music and have a vision for your sound as an artist when you’re trying to write your next hit. For me it’s been people like Grace Jones, Cyndi Lauper, Madonna. They are people I look to for inspiration when writing my own music. When I’m creating it’s from an image, sound and visual. Something I can take into the video and into the live show and then inspire other people to have their own individual sense of style and fashion based on who they are as an individual.

MOBO: If you had to pick one song by another artist that you wish you had written what would it be and why?

NY: ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ by Cyndi Lauper. Amazing pop song! I’m actually working on a dub step cover of that right now and I’m going to perform it at The Roxy gig.

MOBO: What is your take on today’s “Urban” music scene and what artists are you listening to at the moment?

NY: I’m listening to a lot of Janet Jackson, I’m listening to a lot of Lady Gaga, MGMT, Wheezer, indie pop, electro, dub step, a lot of artists from over seas who have their own idea and vision for what music should sound like and not what we feel it should be. It doesn’t matter if people think it doesn’t make sense. When you travel over the globe you find that people find music to be enlightening in the way it influences them in their everyday lives. I like to look at it from that aspect and grow from it.

MOBO: What advice would you give to the aspiring musicians among our readers?

NY: Never be afraid to listen to a different genre, never be afraid to try something different or experience something new because it might just be that life changing experience for you that could help develop you into something bigger and more tremendous than you ever expected.

MOBO: What else is coming up for you in 2011?

NY: Well I’ve created an online video montage where I’ve taken all of my experiences of being in New York and L.A and created an online visual for my fans so if they want to know about me as an artist they can see my videos and video blogs on youtubes. They can follow my journey as an electro pop artist. Also as a Nigerian pop artist there are a lot of things that I take influence from in Africa as well as here in the states. I try to combine it all and put it out there as visual for the fans so that they can interact with me if they have ideas or comments or suggestions they’re able to reach out to me and I respond when they give me there input. They let me know what they like and what they don’t like, what they think the next song should be as a single. It’s a real interactive experience and relationship with my fans. You really need to know what they are looking for and expecting from you. That’s what keeps you connected to them.

Nenna's Debut Single 'Go Around' is out now. To buy click above. 

To learn more about Nenna Yvonne go to: 

http://nennayvonne.com/

http://www.facebook.com/NennaYvonneArtist