The UP had a chance to sit down and talk to the 31-year-old R&B singer, songwriter, and actor Marques Houston, after his sound check on Feb. 13, for the Pre-Valentine’s Day Night Cap. Houston is well remembered for his role as Roger Evans — the annoying, girl-crazy neighbor — on the television sitcom Sister, Sister. Here’s a look at the performer all grown up, and what he’s working on now:
How does it feel to be coming to FAU?
It feels great. I love coming to places where there’s such a warm acceptance. I feel like everyone has been great. Everyone’s excited, I’m excited. I’m ready to get on stage and do my thing!
Have you ever performed at a college? How does it feel having students in the audience?
A long time ago, and not recently. So, that’s what I’m most excited about. You know, because it’s college. What’s there not to love about college? I like that [young] audience, because I’m still young. [laughs]
It’s a blessing. I just thank God every day for allowing me to still be here making music and allow people to still accept the music that I make. I give all the praise to God because I know that without Him, none of this would be possible. He’s given me the talent to do this, He’s given me great fans. So, I’m here and I’m appreciative to still be doing it. What’s on my album is just really great music. I didn’t want to put too much on a theme or try to be creative, like, ‘Oh I need to do something like this or this.’ I just wanted to make great songs for my fans out there, just great music. Hopefully everyone loves it. I think with every album it gets different because music evolves — you evolve more as a person and an artist. I can’t really say one album is different from another. I think it’s just a natural progression. But every artist, the more albums they make, you never really hear the same things. It’s always something different. But it’s also reminiscent of the sound that people are used to hearing you do.
Are we going to see you on the big or small screen anytime soon?
Yeah, keep checking it out. Really soon. Keep looking, I’m not specifically saying anything. But yeah, I’m definitely going back to the acting thing soon.
What are the other members of your former music group IMx doing now? And Tia and Tamera Mowry from Sister, Sister?
They’re not really into doing music anymore at this point, but you never know. We might get together and do something soon. [I still talk to them all] all the time. Tamera just had her baby. We always keep in touch. I was just there at Tia’s baby’s first birthday celebration. We always talk.
I don’t really look at it like that. I know that I’ve influenced a lot of artists out there, but like again, I said it’s just a blessing to know that I have influence over anything. Like the guys that were there for me, like Will Smith and Jamie Foxx, these are guys that also entertained and did music and went on to do acting as well. So, everyone has someone to look up to, and someone to look up to, and I’m just happy to be a part of that history.
Do you find it very different being in a group, than being a solo artist? Which do you enjoy the most?
Being a solo artist, all the attention is on you. It’s different. I wouldn’t say I would like one more or less. If you look up the sign Leo, Leos love attention. But I’m not a person that loves attention too much. I’m more shy than people think. But you wouldn’t expect that because people don’t expect artists to be shy.
Do you have plans to collab with any other artists?
I would love to collaborate with other artists, but in a natural sense, like if we run into each other in the studio and it’s like ‘let’s collab.’ I like everything to be authentic when I do things. I don’t like anything to be forced. All of the collaborations that I’ve done in the past have always been natural. I would love to collaborate with Alicia Keys, I think she’s phenomenal. Brandy would be dope to collaborate with. Those are like my two favorites.
Do you write your own songs? Have you written any songs for other artists?
I always write. I write music for myself and others. I like to write more for other people. I think sometimes the music comes out better when you can be creative for other people. Sometimes when I write for myself I’d overthink it. It’s probably supposed to be the other way around, it’s weird. I wrote most of the songs [on my new album]. I like to collaborate with other writers and stuff like that.
What’s a good way for your fans at FAU to reach you?
Twitter is @marqueshouston, Instagram is @realmarqueshouston. That’s right! [laughs]
Marques Houston’s new album, Famous, is expected to release April 16. The album’s first single, “Speechless” can be heard at http://youtu.be/LU4aa98z0YU.
