Kanye West as President of the US would be like me being a brain surgeon, says Love Song singer Sara Bareilles
WITH the US mid-term elections drawing closer, American popstars and musicians are choosing sides in their very own political battle: Kanye West vs Taylor Swift.
And Love Song singer Sara Bareilles – the huge talent behind forthcoming West End musical Waitress – has no doubt who she’s backing.
In the latest episode of my podcast – which you can subscribe to for free now on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts – she suggests Kanye’s growing relationship with Donald Trump “doesn’t appear to be very healthy”.
And the thought that the rapper might run for president himself in 2024 gets the Hollywood star, who hosted this year’s Tony Awards, even more worked up as she says: “That feels like just the distortion of ego. It’s like saying I should be a brain surgeon.
“I don’t think Kanye is an example of someone who lives in that space. I mean his bravado is part of his genius.
“I’m not saying he’s not an incredible talent or a visionary in certain ways. But do I think he’d make a good president? No, no.”
However, Sara – who performed multiple times for former president Barack Obama – supports Kanye’s “right to share whatever the f*** he thinks about the world”.
And she’s also happy Taylor Swift broke her political vow of silence, saying: “It feels antiquated to ask artists to shut up and sing. I don’t understand that policy because you’re just a human like everyone else moving through the world.”
Sara’s politically charged new single, Armour, is released today – and she might be hoping Katy Perry isn’t listening too closely.
Her fellow US popstar has long been accused of ripping off massive 2013 hit single Roar from Sara’s song Brave.
Sara admits she was “blindsided” by the exchange, but decided not to take legal action against Katy for any similarities after a phone conversation between the pair.
Opening up about what happened for the first time, she reveals: “I didn’t think there was an offence to sue for.
“What we do as artists is we’re inspired by what we take in.
“I don’t know and I would never know what happened in the room when they made that song if they were referencing it or not.
“We had a conversation about it and she was like, ‘Oh my God, this is absolutely insane, I hope you know I would never do anything like that.’ “Either way, all the controversy did was make people pay attention to my song. It was only good for me.”
Life was put into perspective for Sara after seven people were killed in a stage collapse at the Indianapolis State Fair in 2011 minutes after she had performed.
Reflecting on the disaster, she says: “You don’t go through something like that and not be affected by it.
“It was a horrifying tragic moment. I remember, there was this one particular man who passed away in that incident that was our security guard.
“I remember this particular man because he was so sweet and he was dancing along and dancing around and then he was gone.
“What I saw in that incident was an incredible sense of community, people really taking care of each other, and just a really tragic outcome, just reminding that every second counts.
“We were on stage ten minutes before that happened, so anything could have happened. I feel really grateful that we weren’t on stage, but really, really sorry for the loss of life.”
Sara is in the UK as she prepares for the transfer of the hit Broadway musical Waitress – for which she wrote all the songs – to the Adelphi Theatre in London’s West End next February.
I saw her star alongside Jason Mraz in the brilliant production in New York earlier this year and believe it should be a huge success here, especially because of its all-female management.
She explains: “It’s such a source of pride, I believe we’re the first all-female creative team in the West End.
“I love men, don’t get me wrong, but it was really exciting.”
As luck would have it, Sara met her boyfriend, the US TV actor Joe Tippett, while rehearsing for Waitress.
She recalls: “He was in the cast. Yeah I had a massive crush.
“I was a total dope around him. I couldn’t, like, form sentences.
“We didn’t have actual conversations for months because really I was just a total idiot around him.
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“But, yeah, we just celebrated our two year anniversary in London actually, together. Life is good.”
But Sara hasn’t decided if the pair will walk down the aisle or start a family, explaining; “I don’t know. Kids is something that because of my age – I’m 38, I’ll be 39 this year – I have to like, think about that, just logistically.
“I mean I never really was craving marriage. But he’s really a wonderful partner so who knows.”
Perhaps she’ll have to write another Love Song...