Frenchie Davis recently came out of the closet. This R&B belter is known for her appearances on televisions American Idol and The Voice. She moved on to many musicals from Ain’t Misbehavin’ and Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella. I recently spoke with her before her show at Pridefest.

JN: (Jerry Nunn) Hi, Frenchie. I met you backstage at Market Days last year and you liked my glasses, you are the sweetest! Are you ready for another hot Chicago summer?

FD: (Frenchie Davis) Yes I am!  I love coming to Chicago for Pride.  I’m so excited!

JN: Will you be singing “Love’s Got a Hold On Me?”

FD: Yes I will be.  I can’t wait to sing it for you guys!

JN: What was it like working with Christina Aguilera on The Voice?

FD: It was a great experience.  She has a great ear, actually, when it comes to creating ways to make a song your own. It was really important to her that Team Christina didn’t sound like karaoke singers.  I had a lot of fun working with her on my vocal arrangements.

JN: I just spoke with Beverly McClellan and she said great things about you.

FD: Awwww I adore Beverly!  That’s my sister from another mother.

JN: Can you compare to being on American Idol as compared to The Voice?

FD: I don’t think a comparison will be fair because they’re two entirely different shows and I don’t have enough experience to compare the two because I was only able to compete on one of them.  My experience was that the caliber of talent was much higher on The Voice. I will say The Voice was about that, the voice.

JN: You have been in such a variety of musicals. Is there one that meant a lot to you personally or has a special moment?

FD: All the shows I’ve been in are special to me for different reasons. I loved doing Rent, Dream Girls, and Little Shop of Horrors.  And they’ve all been different experiences.  I’ve made friends from every show, and I loved the songs from every show.  They were all different.

JN: Is there a musical that you would like to do but haven’t?

FD: Yes, at some point I would love to do the play Chicago.

JN: Do you watch Smash or Glee?

FD: Not regularly but I do love them and think they’re great shows.

JN: You worked with Tony Moran, what other DJs would you like to work with?

FD: That’s a hard question!  I don’t want to offend anyone by accidentally leaving someone out because there are a lot of DJs I’d love to work with.

JN: Do you talk openly about your sexual preference?

FD: Yes I do.

JN: Will you ever grow your hair out?

FD: I don’t know.  I just love short hair.  Some people look great with a lot of hair, but for me it’s too much.  Maybe with age, I’ll think about it but I love my hair short.  I focus on a beat face.  I love being able to jump in and out of the shower and put on a little moisturizer and keep it moving.  I don’t want to have to think about what I’m doing with my hair.

JN: What future projects do you have coming down the pike?

FD: Right now, finishing the album and putting out a single in iTunes in a month or so.  Eventually more theatre, but concentrating right not on putting out some hot dance tracks for my gays to twirl to this summer.

JN: Well, I am looking forward to seeing you on Halsted again!

FD: Smooches.

JN: Did I just get Frenchie kissed? (laughs)

For more of Frenchie’s kisses and projects visit www.FrenchieDavis.org.