[boyroder]

11 Questions With Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles:
by Beville Darden


She's the unmistakable voice behind Sugarland and certainly doesn't hesitate to use that voice to speak her mind. So when Jennifer Nettles talked to The Boot about the duo's highly-anticipated new album, 'Love on the Inside,' we took a little extra time to pick her brain on everything from tabloids to turn-ons.

No. 1 Do you ever get funny fan gifts?

We get a lot! People give you wonderful things from the heart -- blankets, scarves that they've knitted, jellies that they've made, all sorts of wonderful gifts. As far as funny, we have a joke: We call things 'poison meet-and-greet candy,' because people give us stuff and a lot of times you don't know whether you should eat it or not. So we'll pass it around and say, 'Would anyone like some poison meet-and-greet candy?'

No. 2 What is your biggest turn-on in men?

If someone is genuine, compassionate and kind, that is a turn-on. A sense of humor is a huge turn on, and that goes hand in hand with intelligence. I definitely think that for a woman, the biggest turn on is the mind. Otherwise, obviously you want someone who keeps up with himself and has self-respect and self-confidence. I am not a big, bulky, athletic guy fan. I'm not very sporty [laughs]. I like the artistic types for sure.

No. 3 Did you have a celebrity crush as a little girl?

I have always loved and continued to love Johnny Depp. Period. [laughs] End of story.

No. 4 Have you ever been starstruck?

When we were at the the CMT Awards this year, Robert Plant was there. What an icon, I love him . . . But I can't go up and speak to him, because I don't want to seem like a goob. I just want to go up and be like, 'Hey, I just wanted to meet you, and I've been a big fan for a long time. I love your voice.' Be cool, ya know? Or, do you gush like you really want to, which is, 'Oh my God! I can't believe it's you! I love what you're doing, and I am so glad you're in country music. What you and Alison Krauss are doing is fantastic!'

No. 5 What do you think of the influx of pop artists crossing to country?

At first, you wonder if it's a coincidence that these artists are coming over when country is the only genre right now that is selling CDs. Or is it an artistic move? Look back to the '80s when you had Eddie Rabbit, Linda Ronstadt and Anne Murray -- their songs were considered country, yet they were pop at the time, because there was a lot of country influence in pop and vice versa. I think we're coming around to that again. And that allows us to stretch our margins.


No. 6 Do you really surf, or was that a stuntwoman in the 'All I Want to Do' video?

I do surf! I went to Hawaii for the first time in January for vacation. I had never been, because it's so far. As an East Coast girl, you could almost be in Europe by the time you get to Hawaii! So I took some surfing lessons. Then when we went back to shoot the video, we said, 'Let's try doing it in the video!' So we did, and it turned out great. I mean they weren't the largest waves in the world, but I loved doing it!

No. 7 Is there one song you wish you had written, that you think is lyrically genius?

There are a million of them, but I can say two off the top of my head: 'He Stopped Loving Her Today' by George Jones and 'In Your Eyes' by Peter Gabriel.

No. 8 What's your favorite thing to wear on stage?

I feel more comfortable in jeans and a tank top for sure. Just because I jump around so much that if I wore a dress or heels, I would either end up breaking my ankle or showing my Christmas, as I say [laughs]. But that being said, I also enjoy dressing up for awards shows -- wearing something girlie and sexy, something that makes me feel like a woman.

No. 9 What is one beauty product you can't live without?

I cannot live without Bumble and Bumble Curl Cream. I have naturally wavy hair, and I cannot spend any time on it. I do not use a hair dryer. I just wash it, and it has to dry as it is. So that is a must!

No. 10 Is there any celebrity that you would not want to be right now?

I would not want to be poor Britney Spears right now. I look at what the media has done to exacerbate the problems that are in her personal life . . . It's really obscene what we will look at. And I'm just like the next person -- I love to get my PEOPLE magazine, US magazine or OK magazine. But at the same time, there is something to be said for having a bit of decency and respecting people's privacy.

No. 11 If you had to be on a reality show, which one would you be on?

I would say 'Survivor,' the king of reality shows. The conniving, the strategizing -- I don't know about that. But the games and the obstacle courses, I love. And there is a new one called 'Wipeout' that looks really fun. It is a bunch of obstacle courses where you end up falling in the water if you don't make it. I think game shows like that are really fun.

[Denise]

Thanks for posting. I love Sugarland!