Dealing With Those 'Kind Of Annoying' Beyoncé & Janet Comparisons

Urban music said hello to a potential new superstar in 2014. Tinashe, or Tinashe Kachingwe as she was born, released one of the singles of the year, the turnt-up anthem, 2 On, and followed that with Aquarius, her debut album. The record’s futuristic, alternative R&B sound saw Tinashe on a whole heap of ‘Best Of 2014’ lists, but if she’s feeling any pressure, you’d never know it. The almost 22-year-old singer-songwriter comes across as confident when we speak on the phone.

“You can only hope that your second album [will] be as successful. I hope to obviously surpass the success that I’ve had this year, or last year I guess, and it’s exciting to see what’s to come. I’ve started, I’m in the very early stages, you know I only have a few songs done at this point and I’m just trying to figure out which direction I wanna take with this album. But it’s nice to be able to go back into the studio and be creative again.”

"You can’t be too upset about it but you’re definitely like, ‘Yeah I wanna be known as myself,’"

Tinashe has spent a great deal of the last year playing shows, including a headline tour of the States that kicked off last November on the back of Aquarius’ release. She’s gearing up for her first Australian performances this month, which she’s “really excited about” and assures us there’ll be no nerves on display.

“To me it’s always a great opportunity to, you know, make new fans, to solidify old fans. I just love to be able to perform on stage, I don’t really get nervous. It’s more of an exciting experience for me.”

In fact, we’ll probably be witnessing a very relaxed Tinashe on stage, given her need to “vibe-out” before a show. “I like to have ambience in the dressing room, like candles and some music and hang out with people that I like to be around.”

Writing and recording while touring is something the Los Angeles-raised artist is trying to get the hang of.

“I definitely try. I mean, it’s been a very new process for me, learning how to balance, you know, putting all of my energy into a show and then trying to figure out how to then try and put my energy into being creative. It’s hard to find that balance. But I still try to incorporate as much [writing] as possible.”

She’s also gotten quite used to being compared to many other female R&B artists, Beyoncé, Janet Jackson, Ciara and Jhene Aiko to name a few, but hopes the comparisons will start to become fewer and further between as her career continues.

“It’s always kind of annoying when people try to [compare]… But you have to take it as a compliment because the people that I am being compared to are people who I respect as artists. You can’t be too upset about it but you’re definitely like, ‘Yeah I wanna be known as myself,’ but I understand where the comparisons come from because I think people are just trying to get to know me. And hopefully once they get to know me better then those comparisons will stop.”