If the seasons could be put into a form of music, then the music of Corinne Bailey Rae would most definitely be that of Spring. Full of freshness, cleansing, sweet sounds, blossoming love, and femininity. She has brought a renewal to the culture and spirit of music with her passion for words, her angelic voice, and her graceful stature. Her album “Corinne Bailey Rae” is one that is bound to be a classic for not just any music enthusiasts, but for those who share a passion for gaining inspiration complimented with grace, art, poetry, melodies, soul, and a large dose of life inspiration.

Born and raised in Leeds, she is the oldest of three daughters to a West Indian father and a Yorkshire mother. Corinne holds a great admiration for her womanhood and the women in her life. “My experiences have beenshaped and kind of affirmed by people in my life, so I would say that I definitely feel a connection with women. My mom was sort of a single parent and kind of brought me and my two sisters up, so I would say she is someone that I really admire. I also feel part of a creative community of women and I feel that I have been effected by other peoples writing...people like Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, and Maya Angelou. I feel like I am apart of that world, because I have absorbed a lot of that thinking and a lot of that awareness of my background and where I come from, and the awareness of being a woman. There is a phrase that Alice Walker invented of “womanism”..the idea of being a feminist thinker but also being somebody who is in touch to the African community. I have learned a lot from those kind of ideas.

I feel really happy to be a woman! There is a lot of strength in womankind, especially in the last 200 years, I think there has been some really inspirational figures that have escaped from slavery, and women that have stood up politically and fought for our vote, and the women who campaign for social justice. I feel apart of that tradition and I feel a bit of empathy generally with women. One of the most important thing is to work and campaign for things that effect the poorest people which happen to be women and children.”

Corinne definitely shows her appreciation for being a woman and she has brought the sweetness and simplicity back into the mix. With her simplicity and her vintage girl accents, she has created many songs that celebrate the art of womanhood, such as her chart topping song “Girls Put Your Records On”. If there were ever a theme song for celebrating yourself with an up-beat tone, then this would be the one. Her songs all form mini stories of love, relationships, and life; and she never takes the words she sings for granted. “I really hope people can identify with the music. I think that there is a lot of music that you can buy that is really specific to the people that have written it. It may be about there particular problems or experiences and there is no real way in for the listener. Because you know them as a famous celebrity, it is kind of fun to listen to. With my music, there is enough personal stories in there, but they are vague enough that other people can put their stories into them. My favorite thing is when I feel like people can buy into the story and it reflects things that has happened within their lives and hope that they can identify with them. I love to meet people who say I love that that happened to you because I feel like that is a song that speaks about my life. Those are my favorite songs, the ones where you feel as though they are talking to you about you...and those are the kind of songs that I like to write.

I'm interested in the things that no one ever tells you about in relationships, about how love works in terms of expectation versus reality." For instance her song Trouble Sleeping: “The inspiration behind it was the early stages of love where you are trying to put it out of your mind. You may have had an experience before where you are just sort of lying awake at night and thinking to yourself: “what is this...what is this all about,” and you are trying to decide whether to go with a particular feeling or to fight it. It is about that gap in between the heart and the head. Its the gap between thinking and breathing. Some things are instinctual, and some things are really cerebral and you really have to make a choice sometimes on how you react to them.”

The period of music she would bring back if she could: “For me that is a really easy question, I have always loved that period in African-American music from the late 60's and early 70's, the politically conscious sort of music, like Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye. That era when music was really at the forefront of peoples thinking and it was political, but it was the kind of politics that people were talking about in restaurants or in the barbershop. I love that era of music...Donnie Hathaway, and such.”

Corinne on the purpose of life: “I guess I don't really know what the purpose of life is...I really wouldn't make a pronouncement on it, but I think that the really important part of life is to just discover yourself and to discover what you like and what you can achieve and what makes you tick, and what things make you an individual. I think that is one element of it, but I won't pretend to know what it is really all about.”

How would her friends describer her: “One of the hardest things is that you do not know how to see yourself from the outside, so I think that my friends would say that I care a lot about people and that I care about peoples feelings. I find it difficult to ignore peoples feelings...sometimes to the detriment of my own. Sometimes I find it hard to balance what I want with the demand of other people. I would say that they would say that I am a loyal person and I am committed to certain people and stick by them. I am a honest person...I wont say that I am happy if I am not happy.”

We all know that life can get very challenging and full of times when the obstacles just seem to be endless, yet Corinne keeps the promising affirmation of dreaming close to her in her life. “It is important to imagine what is possible and to try and do it. Dreaming is real, it's not just an airy fairy thing. It makes things happen.” And when it comes to inspiration, Corinne looks at other peoples lives and is highly inspired by classic singers and songwriters such as Carole King. “I look at people who have really made a difference in the world or the songwriters like Carole King, who wrote songs for the people, to where people used to save her demo tapes because of the way she would put the song across really simply. She is an inspiration for me, because I feel like I am not one of these singers who is going to ornament and decorate everything that I do. I like to return to the simplest things like Carole King who has a really pure way of delivering the song and is interested in melody, and that is the kind of writer that I would like to be.”

How she maintains her health and energy level: “I try to eat healthfully. I think that food is a fuel for the body and especially when you are traveling, you have to eat well, and that is what I do. I really don't skimp on food. I try to go to decent restaurants and eat sushi, and walk places when I am on tour so I am not stuck in the hotel room eating burgers and fries. I try to eat good Italian food, good Japanese food, or food that is going to give me energy. I also get a lot of energy from doing the actual performances. Often before a gig, I feel pretty tired and it is like a deep breath to just go out and do it, but after I finish I feel like I get a lot of energy from singing and from the people appreciating what I do. My energy always comes back through that.”

Other ways she expresses her creativity: “I like writing in general. I really love reading, I find it really inspiring. I read a lot of women novelists, such as: Isabelle Landry, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, and Margaret Atwood...people like that. I feel like the way that they describe things is really inspiring. Reading is a good way to escape into another world. I love reading novels that have a historical context as well as escaping. I like to wander...I like to wander aimlessly in cities and find cafes to sit in, or find clothing shops to look around, and have chance conversations with people. I really like having days where I have free time where I can just explore where I can go to museums and galleries. I love watching other bands play as well.”

Her Fashion Inspiration: “One of my favorite designers here is Marc Jacobs. I really like Marc by Marc Jacobs. I like the style of it, and I like the fact that it is really tailored and it's got these really big details, like the big buttons and big bows or polka-dots. I think it is a really good fit for me, but also I think it has got a lot of quirky details that I really like. I also like a lot of vintage designs. So back in England there are a few places that I like to go to. There is a place in London that I go to called Aria. There is also a place that I like to go to in Leeds called the Final Curtain, which sells vintage clothes. I like borrowing things as well and amending things, like getting a dress and cutting it into a skirt.”

A bit of life inspiration Corinne would like for you to carry with you: “I think one big thing is about finding your own beauty and not holding yourself up to the conventional notions of beauty. I think this is heavily defined by what is seen as aesthetic in a white person and I think it is really damaging to flip through a magazine to only see all of these faces that look nothing like your face and nothing like your hair, and all of these figures that look nothing like your figure. Surround yourself with affirmations of your own beauty and your family. Dress in the way that you feel comfortable and that suits you. I definitely feel like one of my happiest moments and one of my turning points was when I stopped processing my hair. I had my hair permed and relaxed and one day I just cut my hair really short and I just started growing it out from there, and started wearing my hair out for the first time and not having it straight back in a ponytail. It made me feel like I had actually started showing some love towards my own hair and appreciating it, and washing and treating it in the right way. I read the Japanese Vogue the other day and I was so surprised to see all these Caucasian women staring out of the pictures, and I thought "how beautiful is this for Japanese women?", as it is not celebrating their beauty or their culture. So, I would say to surround yourself with culture that affirms what you look like and what you like to do, and the foods you eat, and the books you read. Have the confidence in your own choices.”

Corinne hopes her future carries her to do anything that her imagination sparks, writing even more great songs, having good relationships with her family and friends, and nurturing a home that is really welcoming. With the amount of grace you can feel when reading Corinne's words, hearing her speak, or talking face to face, there is no doubt that she will obtain and maintain all of these things as her life goes on it's journey. Everything she touches will surely blossom as the season of spring does, and shine ever so bright...like the star she is! Visit her website to read more about her at corinnebaileyrae.net and take a moment to add Corinne to the calssics in your music collection by buying her album!