When we approached Rob for an interview, he was snappy but welcoming… ‘Go ahead’, he said; we were soon brainstorming questions and putting together a list to pose to the man himself (this man credited for ‘giving Lady Gaga her name’, co-writing and producing Paparazzi and several other tracks from The Fame).
Rob was at the forefront of Lady Gaga’s early success, helping her pen tunes such as worldwide number one smash ‘Paparazzi’, ‘Beautiful, Dirty Rich’, ‘ Brown Eyes’, ‘Disco Heaven’, ‘Again and Again’, ‘Vanity’, and ‘Fever’, a song which Gaga later give to American Idol star Adam Lambert.
Rob and Gaga also together penned unreleased tracks Blueberry Kisses, Dirty Ice Cream, Fancy Pants, Fooled Me Again, Glitter and Grease, Reel Cool, Rockshow and Sexy Ugly, all of which have been leaked online to much acclaim.
It’s not only Gaga who Rob has helped out make it big-time; Beyoncé, Destiny’s Child, Whitney Houston, Jonas Brothers, Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears, Will Smith, Backstreet Boys, JoJo, Adam Lambert and Macy Gray are all stars Rob has collaborated with. With a whole host of famous names under his belt, it’s time for us to find out what all the fuss is about…
We got to ask the questions everybody’s been waiting for answers to, and it’s all right here in this JackCrute.com Exclusive, which was conducted during a live Twitter session yesterday evening. Read on, read on…
JackCrute.com: Hey, Rob!
Rob Fusari: Hey.. OK let’s do this. Hit me with your best shot(s).
OK! First off, What are your plans for your future career?
World domination. New talent, new hits.
Sounds fun! In terms of new talent and hits, what do you look for to determine if a singer has ‘it’?
I look for artists with a unique sound. And they need to completely own a room, so you forget anyone else is there.
Now, someone who absolutely does that is Lady Gaga…
Without a doubt! You have to disrupt to succeed. No one’s talking about “normal” or “average”.
What happened between the two of you?
We had our time, and like anything in life, nothing good lasts forever.
As cryptic as we expected! To what extent did Gaga really write her own songs? How much input did others have?
Gaga is one of the best songwriters I’ve ever worked with…sure, there was some input from me, but she was steering the ship.
You and Gaga worked on hundreds of songs together… What’s the best unreleased song you worked on with Gaga?
I really loved Blueberry Kisses. We must have done six versions of it (listen here).
Blueberry Kisses is great! What is it like working with Gaga in the studio? Has she always been such a perfectionist?
Sometimes, music and the experience of making it feels like magic, and you just know it’s going to be good. Perfectionism helps!
Speaking of progression, do you think Gaga has improved or regressed artistically over her three albums?
I can not believe how much she has grown as an artist. I always knew it was there, but she still continues to amaze me.
You seem to have so much praise for Gaga… I’m guessing the parting of ways was a lot more amicable than rumoured?
I still got love for her! Creating is a volatile process. So many emotions that fly around…it’s all about the music in the end.
It is indeed! Are you ever planning to release any more Gaga music, as you previously promised?
I would love to, and I’m trying to work it out with the powers that be.
You need to! So many Gaga fans are dying to hear some more of the masterpieces that you two created together! Now it’s time for a really serious question… What do you know about the fights between Gaga and Perez Hilton/Boomkack (Laurianne Gibson, Lady Gaga’s ex-choreographer)?
I don’t know anything about it. I hope it works out, though.
BOO! We wanted gossip! Now, you worked with Lina Morgana on some beautiful tracks. What happened? Some Gaga fans conspire that Gaga murdered her (honestly… check this out!)
Lina was amazing. I’d like to release more of her music someday. It’s somewhat of a mystery what happened. That Gaga sentence is crazy.
We’d love to hear some more. Spin U Around is incredible. Have you ever worked on a track that you didn’t like but the artist in question wanted to go ahead with it?
A million times! I’m working with a girl called Tibbie Young right now, and she’s amazing. Here’s her video…
You’ve worked with some incredible stars… who else do you want to collaborate with?
I love working with unknown artists and developing the sound, image, the live show etc. Established artists are so boxed-in already.
Rob is credited for producing one of Destiny’s Child’s biggest hits, Bootylicious, along with “Apple Pie” , “Happy Face” and “Thank You”. Rumours have been circulating that Destiny’s Child are reforming… what’s your opinion on this?
It’s about time!
What was it like working with Whitney Houston [“Love That Man”, which reached #1 on the Billboard Dance Single charts].
It was the oddest experience hearing Whitney sing on a record that I had produced… It felt hazy at first trying to grasp the whole thing. It was also difficult because Bobby was chiming in way too much!
You can catch Rob on his official About.Me page, and check out his Twitter to find out more about his mission to find unsigned musical talent. Rob has warned fans not to fall for impostors.
