Christa Collins grew up in St. John and started performing at age 2. When her mother died, she almost gave up singing, but she returned to the stage on FOX’s hit show The X Factor, whose live season finale airs December 21 and 22. Though she was eliminated from the show, the rising star shared some highlights.
Where did you live in St. Louis?
Well, I was kind of in and out of there because I was doing the first national tour of Les Miserables. But we lived in St. John’s from the time I was 3 years old until I was 10 then we moved to California.
And Disney signed you as a solo artist?
We went to California and the first thing that I auditioned for was Disney Records. They had just created a new division and they were signing basically their very first child solo artist.
How old were you?
I was 10 when I started with them and we recorded two albums. I had just turned 12 and we did a national tour and then we were supposed to go international to Japan, England, China, like all these different places. The tour started off in Australia and I had fallen ill because of the murderous schedule that we were on when we were in Brisbane Australia. After one of my performances my mother wanted to just run into the hospital to see if they had any time to take me in and do a check up and while she was crossing the street she was hit and killed by a hit–and–run driver.
Did they find the driver?
No, I even hired a private investigator when I was in my 20s to try and gain some closure and to answer some of my questions. Even though I was a witness to the accident I was never questioned by the police as a witness. I recall never seeing the vehicle come back or anywhere in the vicinity of the area. I do know that it was a male. There was no police report that the P.I. was able to find that was filed and unfortunately everyone who worked at Disney during that time—by the time I came around and was old enough to ask questions—everyone who was there during my time had either taken early retirement or was fired so there wasn’t really anyone there to answer those questions.
Did you leave right away? What happened?
I didn’t quit Disney right away. They ended up shelving my second album, which was just about to come out. They dropped me from the label. I don’t know exactly what the circumstances behind that was if it was fully Disney just deciding that it was too much of a liability because there were definitely some issues there as far as—my mother basically was employed by them because she designed and sewed all of the costumes that you see on the cover of the CDs. She was also working with their merchandising team.
From what I understand they were required by law to have life insurance policies on both my mother and I because we were going international and were employed by them. But there were no policies. And you know it’s something they probably would have gotten in a lot of trouble for.
I don’t know if that was part of the reason why they decided to hands–off drop me. The other issue is my father. He was not supportive of my career and once my mother was gone he pretty much didn’t want to deal with it and was out of the picture and kind of left me to fend for myself. When I met my husband I was 25–years–old and we got married and shortly after that the IRS froze my bank account—I should say our bank account. Basically they said that I owed money on back taxes for a trust fund account I didn’t even know existed. It turns out that my mother—because I had been working professionally since I was like 2-years-old—she had set up a trust fund. And the money from the work that I did went into that account and should have been turned over to me by the time I was 18.
After doing some digging, I found out that my father had had that account set up as if I was still a minor so that he could maintain control of it. Him and his now third wife basically siphoned all the funds out of it. And what I don’t know but I have a hunch that what might have happened is that he might have negotiated a settlement with Disney to let me out of my contract because he didn’t want me to continue performing.
Wow! On X Factor, they made it seem like you quit Disney.
I have to say I’m downright angry that X Factor basically took a series of about five interviews and cut it together to create a story that I feel is feeding their agenda. I feel [they] butchered my story and I take it very personally because they’re also butchering my mother’s memory when they do that. Everything that I stand for and all of the hard work that I put in to get to this place and to have these moments and I just feel like how dare they take license with my words like that and misrepresent who I am and what I said. For people to think that I retired when I was 16 because I didn’t like the hard work is absolutely outrageous and ridiculous. Anyone that knows me and anybody that has seen our band will tell you that I am extremely hardworking and focused person.
Wow! So, you and your husband started a band together around this time?
We did. I met him in 2005. He was working with a band called The Seeds, which is kind of this legendary 60s [psychedelic garage rock] band which was fronted by Sky Saxon who has now passed away but in 2005 they were recording a new album and Sky wanted female backing vocals.
[My husband] Rick had run into this girl he was in a band with for about 8 years called Tongue and said, “Hey we’re doing this album are you interested in doing some vocals for us?” She said, “No, but you should really talk to my friend Christa because she can sing.”
At that point I had pretty much not been doing anything—singing, performing, or anything—but it definitely was this searing void that was in my life for many years. I wanted to be back there again and it wasn’t until I got that opportunity to sing with The Seeds that I realized “OK, this is what I’m supposed to be doing. Not all of the other things that people were telling me I should be doing.”
What were you doing?
Many different things. There were many different transformations. In high school I got into sports a lot. I went through a period from about 18 to 20 where I just kind of roamed around and became a bit of a gypsy. I was living on Venice Beach making hemp necklaces for food basically. It was kind of a crazy time. I tried to sort myself out.
Eventually I came across cutting hair kind of by accident and it was just something that I completely fell in love with so that was something I kind of became passionate about and was able to kind of sink my creative teeth into but it never quite fulfilled me in the way that being on stage did.
So we recorded that album and then three months later we went on tour and my husband and I actually got married on that tour in Venice, Italy and that will be 6 years ago on the 26th of this month (October). And then in 2007 I became the front woman for the [band the] Woolly Bandits.
You got married in Venice. That’s cool. Did you plan that?
No, it was completely spur of the moment.
We were on tour for three months and we really only had three days off during that entire period and it just so happened that our days off were in Venice, Italy. So, we were just kind of milling around the city that day and right before we left for Europe we kind of knew—in fact, I think I even of threw it at him. I said, “Why don’t you just marry me already?” right before we left for Europe.
Strangely enough the first date of that tour was the anniversary of my mother’s death. So that was really a special moment for me. There have been a lot of signs like that since my time with Rick. I feel like it’s just little clues from the universe to say that I’m on the right path.
So we’re milling around Venice for the day and it was so strange. Probably to this day if we went back there I wouldn’t be able to find that chapel again because we got lost somehow. So we were just walking through these little corridors and we came into this courtyard and there was all of this amazing—they had like an art show with just amazing paintings.
So, we go into this other little alcove and it was just like this little portal in the universe opened up. All of the sudden, we’re standing in the middle of this little chapel and all the candles are lit. There’s like these gorgeous hand carved pews, just amazing painting and architecture everywhere—I mean there were flowers and everything everywhere like something was going on but there’s absolutely nobody in there. Rick and I just kind of looked at each other and we were like, “This is it.”
We found a priest there who barely spoke any English but we asked him, “Can you marry us?” and he said, “I can definitely give you a blessing.” We felt that between us and the lord it was definitely enough but then we came back to the states and immediately filed our paperwork to make it official and legal. Ironically enough we got our marriage license the exact same day just a month later from when we had our ceremony in Venice.
How did you get involved with the X Factor?
X Factor has actually been going on since March. I don’t have a television so I didn’t even hear about it. I had no clue what it was or anything. My father-in-law had said to my husband one day, “Oh you should really get Christa to try out for this new show that Simon Cowell is doing.”
It sounded kind of awful, like America’s got Talent or something. It’s not my cup of tea. I’m not the type of artist they normally have on those shows anyway. Then Rick and I looked into it again and read more about it and the fact that Simon was saying that they were looking for well-rounded artists that are edgy and different because he’s tired of the way that the music business has become peaked our interest. It sounded like it was going to be something really different and it sounded like there could be a place for an artist like me.
So we just thought, “Well there’s nothing to lose by going and seeing what happens.” It was kind of special for me too because my aunt, who passed away from cancer four years ago, really wanted me to audition for American Idol and I promised her before she died that I would do it. When I went to sign up for the audition I was 10 days too old, which was really heartbreaking at the time because I kind of felt like I let her down a little bit. So, all these years later to have this opportunity to make good on my word with her in a competition that seemed way more geared toward what I want to do—It all just kind of started making sense. And then ironically enough my first audition in front of Simon Cowell was on the anniversary of her death May 9th so I dedicated my performance to her.
How was it?
It was amazing. I really wish they would’ve aired it because it was definitely much different from the stuff that you have seen. I did “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” by Nancy Sinatra. I worked that stage. I climbed through the scaffolding. I went down the stairs. I went up to the judges got on top of their judging table and shot ‘em down with six shooter fingers. I went behind them and everybody was standing up and dancing in the aisles. It was crazy. I got a standing ovation and four resounding yeses. Cheryl Cole said that I was the best of L.A. and I was the second from the last performance.
So, you had to go to a boot camp?
Yes, we did. Boot camp was crazy. I mean they test the limits of your patience and endurance. You’re on a crazy schedule. You have no idea what’s going on from one moment to the next. You’re sleep deprived. You’re malnourished. They’re just constantly throwing craziness at you all the time. And I felt that I had a little bit of an edge on people because I’ve been on some crazy tours with [my band] the [Woolly] Bandits. We’ve had really high moments and really low moments where we’re pushing a broken down van on a mud road in the middle of hail and rain trying to jump start it down a hill.
Where did that happen?
That happened in France.
But those are the moments where I look back on it and I love it so much. This is a lot of hard work. I think a lot of people think that you press a button and you go on stage and you sing and you’re done. There’s so much work and preparation and emotion and it’s time consuming. It is hard grueling work and most of the time it may not be fun but you know there’s a few minutes that you get to have that connection with people and convey a message that makes it all worth it. Even the low moments I wouldn’t trade it. I love it.
So you performed in front of Enrique Iglesias?
Yes. That was strange because, if I’m being completely honest, he’s not exactly my cup of tea as far as an artist is concerned. It’s just not really my type of music but I respect what he’s done with his career and his longevity and I understand that now he’s going to the production side of things. But I didn’t know what to think because I’ve heard some of his music, but I’m not super familiar with the guy as an artist and I had no clue whatsoever what he would think of me. Same with Nicole. I mean as far as artists are concerned we’re kind of at polar opposite ends of the spectrum. So yeah, I didn’t know what to expect.
It was pretty amazing though watching the whole thing unfold on television. He got me. That was a really nice surprise to me actually that he got me so much.
What’s next?
I am finishing work on a new solo album to release at the beginning of next year. It’s slated to be released on Billy Corgan’s [of the Smashing Pumpkins] label. I am also working on my accessory line Violett Ray. It’s available at fashionpeepshop.com or etsy.com/shop/banditboutique.
Do you have any advice for other X Factor hopefuls?
Always be yourself! Be fearless! And be prepared to experience some rejection along the way, but if you know in your heart this is the path you want then use your heartbreak to propel you forward. Nothing in this life that’s worthwhile ever comes easy! In fact, when it’s hard work, you know you’re doing it right.
