1. For young people, if they could glean one message from your work and life, what would it be?
People still turn a blind eye to it here in US but the statistics are that of South Africa, which is scary.
I hope it would be overcoming circumstances, no matter what your circumstances are. If you work hard enough you can go as far as you want.
I am affiliated with Camp Heartland, because AIDS affects our children and they are born into it, but now because of research, they are very educated and intelligent about it.
2. What was your 11-day trip to Africa like?
4. What charitable projects are you working on in 2008?
Life-changing. My first charity I ever worked with I was so excited. I was going with a group of people I didn’t know and when I got there after the realization of what was going on [with the widespread HIV epidemic] - I experienced every emotion from sadness to anger to hope. I was so ready to go home. That experience just overwhelmed me. On the last day of our trip we were staying in Durban which is a one hour flight from Johannesburg. Johannesburg is a westernized city, very developed, an hour away, and in Durban people don’t have running water, live in shacks, and have no electricity. We spent three or four days there and went back to a city that looked like Vegas. I remembered getting so angry after being in a place that was so destitute while right next door to it was a flourishing town. It was like a roller coaster and I think everybody should go once.
Camp Heartland. One of my biggest charity events “Don’t Forget the Lyrics” show I am a true gambler at heart because on the show I committed to raise an additional $400,000.
3. Why was HIV awareness one of your charitable projects or so important? When I was like 16 or 17, one of my best friends, she had an Aunt who had contracted the virus, and I remember seeing her before she died. It was a lifechanging experience since this was a small town in Tennessee where people didn’t talk about AIDS because it was a “bad” thing. Seeing somebody going from being a perfectly normal human being to being so unrecognizable. And after I finished American Idol, you get approached by a lot of charities, people still want to act like AIDS is not their problem or doesn’t happen.
On Sept 20th I am going to be hosting my first charity event for Camp Heartland in West Chester County, NY. I have never done anything like this and it is stressful! 5.Do you still keep in touch with Clay Aiken or Ruben Studdard? I keep in touch with Ruben. He and I have always talked about doing something together... hopefully soon. 6. What has been your most memorable moment in the last 4 years? American Idol—unique—but I wasn’t signed by BMG. I got my contract outside of Idol. I remember singing the national anthem for the opening game day for the Dodgers! I remember doing motown when Michael Jackson did the moonwalk. I went to the BET awards when Michael Jackson presented James Brown an award and everyone in the audience was like a 6-year-old kid (and you can hear her smile in that memory).
7. What would you say were your biggest challenges career-wise in the last year? You know I think its just to keep working! You can become so disenchanted in this industry. People are going to say “no” more times to you than “yes.” You gotta dig deep and keep going and it may not be exactly what you want but you’re gonna get there. In this industry you have to be your biggest cheerleader because no one is going to do it for you. 8. What was it like to contribute creatively to the music process, during the production of Based on a True Story? Now I am a singer-song writer. I didn’t know if I was going to be good at writing and not everybody is so creative. It was so much work. I would write eight hours a day three days a week and be mentally drained. I’d be so exhausted, but the accomplishment makes me very proud. 9.Now that you have traveled and seen so much of the world, what would you say is your favorite city or place? I love London. I promoted my first album in Europe for 2 weeks. When I left I was actually sad. I enjoy being there so much, it’s one of my favorite cities. 10.What’s your favorite color? Always been a difficult question for me, my favorite color I have to say is black but that’s not a color, my second choice would be red. —Jessica Levine is a freelance journalist and poetician. She is also the Sales manager and community events coordinator for Borders Eastside, Pittsburgh.
See Kimberley after her Pride in the Street performance on Sunday, June 22nd at the PrideMarch riding on a Harley, by Cerini Harley-Davidson.
Pride Pittsburgh Magazine | PittsburghPrideSpace.com
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