Melinda Doolittle talks her new Postmodern Jukebox collaboration & her new show

Britney Spears is having a big week. Besides releasing her own new single on Friday, on Thursday, the insanely popular Postmodern Jukebox released their newest video re-imagining Spears’ biggest hit, “Toxic.”Featuring Melinda Doolittle, the Postmodern crew turned the dance floor hit into a bonafide torch song and promptly grabbed the attention of the internet with more than 150,000 views in a day. I caught up with Melinda to find out how it came together.

Okay. Four questions! How did you get connected with Postmodern Jukebox? 

Twitter! Seriously, people kept sending to tweets saying we should work together and I replied saying I was a huge fan of theirs. Scott Bradlee said the feeling was mutual and we vowed to work together. It took forever to work our schedules out, but I’m so glad we made it work!

How did the process of putting the song together stretch you as a musician?

Well, Scott is a genius, so I felt like I was watching a master class. I mentioned that I loved torch songs and he immediately knew what to do. Once he added the entire band with those horns, I was in Heaven. The hardest part was getting Britney’s version out of my head. It’s my favorite song of hers, so I had to really focus on the lyrics and what the band was doing to take that song into the Postmodern Jukebox world.

Has singing “Toxic” in a new style made you think of other music that you could interpret in a new way?

Of course! I love singing classic soul, jazz and Broadway styles, but I love listening to pop music. The thought that the two can coexist so well makes me more excited than I should admit!

You’re a busy woman. What else is coming up for you?

I’ve got a crazy full schedule for the rest of the year which includes a new show for a fall tour, Christmas with the Cincinnati Pops and New Year’s Eve with the Cleveland Symphony. My new show is called the Great American Soulbook and it has been a blast to put together. It’s basically everything I love about music put into one show.

Okay no, five questions. I have a bonus question. 

I love bonus questions!

You got a chance to really sing on the Idol finale. What was that night like for you and how was it to sing on that stage one final time?

I loved being there so much! It was like a family reunion for the week of rehearsals, and then it was like deja vu getting on that stage again. However, I wasn’t scared this time. I was just happy to be there and pumped they wanted me to sing. Also, any time you get to dance with Harry Connick, Jr. mid-song is a win for me. I had an absolute blast!

Head over to http://www.melindadoolittle.com for tour dates and more on Melinda!

Interview by Ryan Brinson