Award-Winning Singer Performed in Times Square

Viktoria Tocca, the Swedish Soprano classical and pop singer, is gaining popularity in the U.S.

Her new song “We’re Still Young” hit #3 on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart and earned her the Best Adult Contemporary category at the 5th Annual Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMAs) last week. The award show included performances by the crowned music acts of this past year. Viktoria Tocca, a trained classical and operatic singer, graced the stage with an acoustic version of her featured single.

Tocca’s professional singing career began with her role as Rapunzel in a production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods” and Christine in a Denmark production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera.” Her recent U.S. album, which was mostly made up of original material, is entitled “All I Am” and was released in 2011. The effort combined elements of the theatre and pop realms the singer has experienced. And her next album, she says, will implement what is heard on her two newest songs “Ready to Run” and “We’re Still Young.”

I caught up with the artist to talk about California, her new upcoming album and AMC’s “The Walking Dead.”

MB: Your song “We’re Still Young” won the Best Adult Contemporary category at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards.

VT: It feels extraordinary . I won in 2011 for Best Classical with the song “Dark Waltz” that’s on the “All I Am” album, and the last couple of years I’ve been taking a different turn musically. I’ve been going into what I would call more commercial music. To be recognized as a songwriter in a completely different category in the same awards show three years later feels pretty awesome.

MB: You performed an acoustic version of “We’re Still Young” there.

VT: It was nice to strip it down. We actually slowed it down a little bit as well, which gave me room to show off more of my vocal ability. That’s always nice when you’re performing in front of music industry people.

MB: How did you approach creating “All I Am”?

VT: I just wanted to do an intimate album with the same kind of setting musically as the tour I was doing at the time. I wanted to record something that sounds like my concerts. In Sweden we are allowed to have contemporary concerts in churches, because of the great acoustics.

MB: My favorite song on that album is “I Know” because of the presence of strings.

VT: We built the production of the album around string arrangements. Live instruments were used for everything on that album.

MB: How does your upcoming and currently untitled album differ from that one?

VT: It’s a new approach. I looked at commercial songs and how they are built. Doing something different that would still be me. I’m hoping to get a full album ready for release by early next year or before the summer next year. It’s hard to say exactly because I don’t like working with too much time pressure. To me, it has to come organically. I want to write stuff that means something to me.

MB: The new songs “We’re Still Young” and “Ready to Run” definitely set the pop tone you mentioned, but they have a lot of substance too.

VT: We’re going in a more West Coast-pop direction.

MB: “Speedin’ down 405,” as you say on “We’re Still Young.”

VT: The guitar sound is taking over the old string sound. My manager John [Velasco-Mills] wanted me to take a leap of faith and write music that was more appropriate for radio, but I’m still very much rooted in my musical theatre and classical background. I have a classical crossover album coming out in Asia next year, and we will most likely release it in other places too.

MB: I thought the music video for “Ready to Run” was killer. I’m a huge fan of AMC’s “The Walking Dead.”

VT: Me too!

MB: Are you caught up with the new season?

VT: I’ve seen a couple of episodes here and there when I’ve been in the States.

MB: How did making that music video come about?

VT: I like music videos that have story-lines so you want to see what happens. I wanted to contradict the song. The song has nothing to do with zombies or anything like that. It’s a very uplifting song, but the metaphors work with “The Walking Dead” theme.

MB: That’s really cool.

VT: It was probably the most fun video shoot I ever had.

Photo Credit: In Tune Partners/Etymotic.