Nicole Scherzinger was a natural fit to play the mother of Moana in Disney's hit film. As Sina, Scherzinger felt right at home and I got to sit down with her for details and exclusive photos.
Nicole Scherzinger has been in the entertainment industry for several years and is one of the highest-selling female singers of all time. I was definitely a fan of hers as lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls. Since then she's had great success with television shows The Sing Off, The X Factor and even winning Dancing with the Stars. Ms. Scherzinger also starred in the 2014 revival of the musical Cats. When I heard that Scherzinger was cast in Disney's Moana, I felt like she was a natural fit to play the mother of Moana, Sina, since she was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to parents of native Hawaiian and Filipino descent and the movie celebrates Polynesian culture.
Things to Know About Nicole Scherzinger and Moana
She HAD to be part of Moana.
We asked Ms. Scherzinger why she wanted to be a part of this project and she responded, "I didn’t want to be a part of the project. I felt I had to be a part of the project, and that’s because I’m from Hawaiian descent. So, I knew that the movie was gonna be about the Polynesian people and don’t think Disney ever really did a film like that. I know they touched upon it in Lilo and Stitch, but I know people from my family were like, 'That's the fake kind...' So, because of that and it's the story of our people. Where we come from. And I’m just so proud that Disney did right by us, by the Polynesian people and stayed true to our culture, where we come from, our power, our people, our lifeline and just told a beautiful story about a young girl."
Ms. Scherzinger loved that Moana isn't a love story.
Rather than they traditional Disney princess storyline, Moana ventures off on a different path. She's different than other Disney princesses and it's so refreshing. Nicole loved that too. She said, "It wasn’t a love story, it was a heroine story about a young girl’s journey, which we can all relate to about discovering who we really are and what we’re meant for. What our purpose and our destiny is. And that’s a beautiful story." She also added, "It’s great for girls and boys to look up to someone like Moana and how strong-willed she is, and it’s such a positive story."
She didn't need the backstory when it came to playing Sina, Moana's mother.
As I said, Nicole was born in Hawaii and already had a great deal of experience with the Polynesian culture, so she didn't exactly need any hand-holding when it came to playing Moana's mom. Nicole said, " I have the honor of playing Moana’s mother, Sina. And with some of her lines, it’s very simple but it’s very telling in the lines, and they’re trying to give me the backstory, and I was like, 'Please, I lived this!' I lived with my mother and my tutu, which means grandmother in Hawaiian. In our culture, the men are the head of the household, but the women are the backbone. They are everything. They are the strength. They keep it together.
She's excited to share her culture with the world.
Nicole told us that she's expecting a lot of tears of happiness when she watches the movie with her family in Hawaii over the holiday break. She said, "I think, everyone’s going to be crying and stuff. It’s amazing because we don’t really have a film like that or a lot of things like that out there. You get like small films like [Whale Rider], but to watch a Disney film, something so commercial, that's going to be seen all over the world... to hear the music and have the spirit and have the beauty of the Islands where you’re from and the real spirit and energy of the Islands... They always say you don’t have to be Hawaiian, you can be Hawaiian at heart. And depicted from Disney is just really special for us.
Doing voice work is REALLY different than stage performances and recording music.
Nicole has had quite the career, but this is the first time she's played an animated character. We asked her how this experience was different than playing a role on stage or singing in the studio and she said, "This is the first time I've played an animated character, so when you’re acting, you’re not acting to another actor or character, you’re acting with just another person giving you the lines. So you have to just imagine everything and be so creative in your head. And they show you these sketched out drawings of your character in the scene, and you just have to kind of close your eyes and put yourself there and kind of be extra animated. And I thought it was hilarious because they had cameras all throughout the whole recording studio because it makes sense, you know... they see all the different expressions of your face and try to incorporate it into the character to bring it to life as you. And I probably looked crazy when I was doing it. One time I was recording and I closed my eyes and they’re like, 'You’ve just seen Moana for the first time. She’s back.' And I was running, and I was feeling it, and the breath had to be right and emote the right energy. And the hug was like a soft hug and then a hard hug... and I opened my eyes and I felt like wow, we really did something! I was literally on the opposite end of the room from them. They’re like, 'Sorry, we didn’t wanna disturb you. You were in it. We didn't get any of that.'" She laughed and added, "It was such a cool experience."
She brought in some personal experiences to help her develop the role of Sina.
We asked Nicole if she brought anything into the character that was more from a personal side. The role of Sina is a smaller role but she emotes so much, especially in support of Moana, so we wanted to know how Nicole brought such heavy emotion to the table for this part. She said, "It was interesting because in the script they had a couple different readings, like different ways they wanted to get the story across. Especially the part where she’s trying to explain to her daughter that she can’t go beyond the reef. I think all artists draw from personal connection and when she says the line about who you are or who you want to be isn't meant to be, I drew from my mother... I know that my mom and my tutu and all the women in my family have sacrificed everything for their children. They’re just selfless... when I thought of that line I really thought of my mother and my tutu... I’m sure they had their own dreams and their own aspirations. And I know my mother didn’t mean to have me at such a young age. And she fell in love and the guy actually left her. [For that line] I was like how do I turn this into a positive? ‘Cause she was saying it’s not meant to be and I felt that it was a bit negative. Because we’re always like, 'No, you can do it! You can achieve it!' So, I was like, 'How can I make this make sense to me?' And it was just speaking from experience. Sometimes you have to look past yourself."
From "nothing" to being in an animated Disney film, Nicole Scherzinger never thought she'd be where she is now.
Earlier in our conversation, Nicole mentioned that she always envisioned herself like Whitney Houston. We asked her if she ever thoughts that she would be where she is now. She replied, "The honest answer to that is no. When I was a little girl, I came from nothing, but for some reason I felt like I was meant to be Whitney Houston... I was meant to sing and to be a voice. And it’s interesting, my life has taken different paths. And I don’t regret anything, and I’m very grateful for everything."
She's still got much more to give.
For someone who's one of the highest-selling female singers of all time, you might think that Nicole Scherzinger might want to take a break soon, but you'd be wrong. She told us, "In December [of last year], I was reflecting and I was like, 'How do I feel about this year? It’s the first year I haven't really put music out. What am I doing? Am I gonna make a new album? How can I compete with all these twenty-year-olds?' And I really thought about it and I’m really tired of people telling me, 'You sing everything and that’s very confusing. And you do everything. That’s really confusing for people.' And I’m like, 'Why can’t I do my own thing?' So I decided last year that I was gonna create my own show, and do my own album hat comes out of it. And I don’t want to talk about it too much because I’d rather do it... I believe we’re all made for a purpose. A great purpose. And I haven’t got there yet." She added, "So I’ve got everything left to do. It’s taking that time. It’s carving that time out now for myself to create what I feel like I was made to create. I can’t die with this in me, so I have something that I want to create, a project that I want to share, and that will be my legacy that I wanna leave behind. So I’m working on it and I’m getting there"
Be sure to also check out my interview with Moana, Auli'i Cravalho, my interview with Maui, Dwayne Johnson and the directors of the Moana.
If you've got a little Moana fan, be sure to check out our Moana birthday party post for tons of ideas, including how to make heart of Te Fiti pinwheels and a paper mache volcano.
Be sure to check out Moana - it's in theaters NOW!
Here's official information about Moana from Disney:
Three thousand years ago, the greatest sailors in the world voyaged across the vast Pacific, discovering the many islands of Oceania. But then, for a millennium, their voyages stopped – and no one knows why.
From Walt Disney Animation Studios comes “Moana,” a sweeping, CG-animated feature film about an adventurous teenager who sails out on a daring mission to save her people. During her journey, Moana (voice of Auli’i Cravalho) meets the once-mighty demigod Maui (voice of Dwayne Johnson), who guides her in her quest to become a master wayfinder. Together, they sail across the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, encountering enormous monsters and impossible odds, and along the way, Moana fulfills the ancient quest of her ancestors and discovers the one thing she’s always sought: her own identity. Directed by the renowned filmmaking team of Ron Clements and John Musker (“The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” “The Princess & the Frog”) and produced by Osnat Shurer (“Lifted,” “One Man Band”), “Moana” sails into U.S. theaters on Nov. 23, 2016.
Check out the Moana trailer here:
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