ASM: How long have you been singing?
Jackson: I've been singing my whole life, but professionally it actually kind of happened as a fluke. Myself, two of my sisters, and a cousin of mine, kind of got into *NSYNC, and I took them to a bunch of concerts and stuff. And we just decided it would be kind of funny if we started an all-girl group. So I went and bought all this equipment and stuff, all this really expensive stuff [laughing], and set up the most professional karaoke setting you've ever seen in your life in my garage! And that's where we would practice, and I kind of had a little flair for making music, and the way it sounded, and my brother, who actually did produce music, sat down with me, and we made a couple of songs. I wrote the lyrics to them and I had the girls go to the studio and record them, and that was the birth of Mpulz [laughing].
ASM: So you are suddenly housing the hottest karaoke scene around L.A., what happens next?
Jackson: I just started getting more and more serious about it. We did some little high school and junior high school tours or whatever, just to kind of see if the crowd would receive us. And I started loving it — just being on stage. And I got the same feeling that I get when I'm acting. It blew me away. The more serious that I got about it, the people who were in the group who weren't as serious about it, and were into it for the fun, they started to trickle away. I would have auditions and actually form a real group and get professional with it. And you know, while I was working on Mpulz, I get to see Brandy and the way everything is going with her career, and I was friends with *NSYNC, so I got to see from the beginning the creation of *NSYNC, all the way to them becoming mega-huge. It was amazing to me how much their music touched people.
ASM: So you suddenly discovered another outlet to entertain and bring happiness to others?
Jackson: My main thing was that I loved the way that I made people feel whenever I was acting, so it was like, 'Oh my God, this could be amplified by music.' And I just went with it.
ASM: Well, just in case the cosmetics line and the album weren't enough, you also have a new reality/relationship show coming out called "The Ex-Wives Club," which co-stars Marla Maples and Angie Everhart, and debuts this spring on ABC.
Jackson: Which is amazing, and it's not anything tacky or anything bashing anybody, it's a real, feel-good show.
ASM: I guess we shouldn't expect anything less from you?
Jackson: I don't look at it as a reality show. I'm calling it inspirational TV, because it's a home makeover for your soul. It's for anybody who's been through a recent separation, or divorce, or break up, and they're just having a hard time getting back on their feet. Once you've had your heart broken, you just feel like you've hit rock bottom. You forget who you are. It's just really hard, and if you don't have help, or something stable to help you get back on your feet, you could go crazy. So we're that support system.
ASM: I don't know anyone in particular that fits that profile! It sounds like you are really digging this one.
Jackson: I'm having a blast, helping people feel good. I'm enjoying every day.
ASM: You've also been shooting a new feature film called "Toxic." What is that one about?
Jackson: It's an independent movie, and it's awesome. It's just dark. Kind of like a "Sin City" feel. It's dark and all over the place.
ASM: It's amazing that you squeezed that one in!
Jackson: As a matter of fact, today I just booked another movie! So yeah, I'm a busy girl. I'm also working with my friend Jason Alexander, and we're going to be producing a few films together.
ASM: That's an interesting title by the way — "Toxic." The media is going to hop all over that one!
Jackson: Oh definitely. As a matter of fact, the media gave me a really good idea. There was a rumor that I was going to redo the song, and so that made the producers call me and want to know what's up with that. They wanted to know if that's something that I'm interested in for the soundtrack. It might be fun!
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