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dido interview Dido: The Dreamlife of Angels Eminem's sample sister drops her second disc, explains how Jack Daniels, fistfights, and serial killers do and don't figure in her life. “Everything I’ve lived over the last four years, growing up, my friends … it all shapes Life for Rent,” Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong says of her long-awaited second album. With all that maturing, the woman we call Dido is eager to share her thoughts with the listeners who found her debut No Angel the perfect soundtrack for that Sunday afternoon drive in the country. “The title track was the first song that I tried to write that was a bit philosophical for a change!” she laughs. “I don’t like it when I get complacent and drift through life. It’s when I do all the things I’m afraid of that I’m really living. It feels like you’re having a much better life.” Dido hasn’t drifted much in the last four years. “Thank You” became the memorable hook to Eminem’s “Stan,” and propelled the North Londoner into the pop spotlight. She toured with Slim Shady and his D12 posse, then became a star in her own right as 12 million No Angel owners fell prey to gorgeous tunes such as “Here With Me.” All those experiences, she says, definitely affected her thoughts about life. “Simplicity is the key,” the 31-year-old proclaims, blue eyes flashing. “And knowing when you are actually happy. I’ve really seen a lot of people made unhappy by always looking for something better, and they’re just ignoring that they have so much good around them already.” So don’t expect to hear Dido moaning about the price of fame. Life for Rent is as breezy and homespun as her debut. The first single “White Flag” is a tune about unrequited love that sounds more like a sweet surrender. Underneath her warm and welcoming vocals, sibling and collaborator Rollo gives sis’ original guitar/piano demos a modern electronic sheen. Dido no longer needs the hip-hop community to poach any of her melodies (although she confesses that Eminem is “really lovely”). She told VH1 about having a Tuscan supper spoiled by “Thank You,” why it’s not a good idea to mention Jack Daniels around her, and those serial killer dreams that won't go away. How do you know when a song’s done? Dido: Half of songwriting is knowing when it’s done and not going too far, but also knowing when it’s not done and not quite working. You hit a certain point where you want to listen to it a thousand times. If you don’t want to listen to it loads of times, back-to-back, then there’s a problem with it. I do all my listening in the car. If I want to just keep listening to something – I’m really enjoying it – then it goes on the album. So you sing along to your own songs in the car! Dido: Sometimes. Is that a problem? [Laughs.] It’s embarrassing but it’s true! Any tracks from Life for Rent that have been snapped up by rappers yet? Dido: Well, no one’s heard it! This album has been a hush-hush operation. But I hope it will happen. That was fun with No Angel, people sampling it or switching on the TV and hearing it on a program that you liked. It’s a real joy to hear your music used in a different context. Did you ever get to meet Eminem? Dido: Yeah. The first time I met him was for the “Stan” video, and we did some shows together. It was such a brilliant track. It totally twisted my very sweet love song into something very dark. I loved it. What was he like? Dido: He was so nice. One way you can understand someone is checking the people they surround themselves with, and he was surrounded by the coolest and nicest people. All the guys in D-12 are all really friendly. They made me feel really welcome on the video set, and I felt such a nice vibe on that tour! How recognizable are you? Dido: Oh, I’m cool, actually. I feel like I can do anything. People come up sometimes, but I’m pretty good at knowing how to make myself blend in. There’s nothing I don’t do because of fame. Can you tell when someone’s following you? Dido: You can totally tell. The whispering starts! You hear them say, “It is!” “No it isn’t” “It is!” “Well, she wouldn’t be in here!” “Well, she is!” You just want to go up to them and go, “It is, and don’t worry about it!” Is there any specific moment when your fame shocked you? Dido: I was at the Palio, a mad horse race in this medieval town in Italy called Siena, having dinner in the square, just me and a few friends. It was such a surreal place, incredible. Slowly this singing started, and like the whole square was singing “Thank You.” It was horrific! It could have been amazing, but I never felt so intimidated! I heard it and thought, “Did I just hear someone singing that?” Then phones were ringing and they all had “Thank You” as their [cell] phone ring. It was like some freaky horror film. I was like, “We’re getting out of here." It was flattering, but actually quite weird. Have you ever been in a ridiculous fistfight or childhood brawl? Dido: Oh yeah! I was a fighter. The most ridiculous time I ever had to hit someone – note the ‘had to’ – was to get on stage! It was when I was with [my first band] Faithless, and we were doing this horrific show, where you go and mime two songs. The band had started on stage and I was to join them on the second tune. But the French guy by the curtain wouldn’t let me on the stage. He was like, “No no no! Wrong band!” I’m like, “No, I’m with them! I need to sing!” I could hear my vocals about to start and I wasn’t going to be onstage, so I punched him in the stomach. He let go of the curtains and I ran onstage with my microphone, Shirley Bassey-style, miming away. I was pushed to violence! Otherwise I am non-violent! Is there an alcoholic beverage that you can no longer drink and why not? Dido: Jack Daniels. One holiday I drank a whole bottle and I can safely say I’ve never been that sick again. I can’t even smell it. I can’t even look at the label! If someone shows me a bottle of Jack Daniels, I feel my whole stomach heaving! It’s horrible. It’s disgusting. I won’t go anywhere near it. Don’t even talk about it! Move on! [Laughs.] Do you have any recurring dreams? Dido: Yeah, loads! I have really quite freaky dreams. I have a lot of flying dreams, a lot of plane crash dreams, a lot of serial killer dreams. You’re not the serial killer in these dreams, are you? Dido: No. He’s trying to find me to kill me, but then I realize that he’s killing all my friends and family trying to find me, so I have to give myself up to stop him killing them. What’s that about? [Laughs.] The other one is that I keep getting on planes, but then they take off and they crash. So what’s that about? I don’t know. In one you’re almost dead, in the other you are dead. Dido: I had that one last night. I decided to get off the plane, but everyone I knew was on the plane. Everyone around you is dying! Dido: I’m a mess! [Laughs.]