R&B Divas star Syleena Johnson spoke to Ebony online about the TV One hit series – i.e. whether or not she was nervous about participating, did she ever worry about coming off wrong to viewers, and does she keep up with her fellow talented co-stars.
EBONY: One would assume being on reality TV show is helping you remain connected to fans. Were you at all nervous about opening up your personal life on “R&B Divas?”
SJ: I wanted my fans to see me and get to know me. When you’re mainstream and you’re on awards shows all the time, your song is playing off the wall and you’re doing tons of interviews and what not, people really get to know you. I’ve never had that exposure. So I never got a chance to be Syleena at a capacity where people could buy into me. “R&B Divas” is a vehicle that allows people to get to know Syleena as a person. I want people to know that I love music. I want people to know that I’m passionate about it; I live for it. I was excited about the opportunity, not nervous.
EBONY: Reality TV has its pros; you can gain so much exposure. I think it opens up the doors for new fans to meet you as well. But it also opens up the your vulnerability too. Were you ever on edge about your "not-so-good" side coming out?
SJ: There were times where I wanted to go off, I’m not going to lie to you. But, I’m the type of person that will laugh before I cry. It takes a whole lot to really ruffle my feathers. I’m not easily moved. The only people that can take me on are my parents, because they are off the chain! As I’m maturing, I’m starting to understand that you have to take people for who they are. So I was able, with great patience, and prayer, to dissect situations before I reacted to them on the show, and I’m glad that I did that.
EBONY: How are your relationships on and off the show? Are you all close? Do you all still hang out when you’re not filming?
SJ: Absolutely, we are all friends. While the show is going on, we’ll be like, “girl look at your hair” or “girl, look how greasy I am!’ Yes, we go back and forth with each other. Some of us more than others, but not because we don’t like each other. It’s because that’s our personalities. Faith is not getting ready to go back and forth with us. Faith is very laid back. But Kiki and I will be dead laughing at jokes, talking about ourselves. I’ll call her say things like: “look how fat I look!” You know, doing women stuff. Monifa is going to give you a perspective speech, that is just who she is. But she has jokes too; don’t get her twisted. Nicki is consistently talking about herself the whole time! We have to spend 15 hours telling her, “Nicki it’s not that bad, Nicki it’s not a big deal”! We are always communicating, it’s just like if you have friends that you don’t talk to for like a month and you get on the phone with them and you pick up right where you left off. That’s the kind of friendships we have.
You can check the interview in full over at EBONY.com.
(The views contained herein are solely the views of their respective authors, and do not express the views of TV One. TV One does not take responsibility for their content.)
