UPDATE: Miranda Cosgrove's representatives released the following statement:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 11th, 2011– Miranda Cosgrove's tour bus was involved in an accident early this morning in Illinois on I-70, just outside of Vandalia. There were 5 passengers on the bus, and Miranda suffered a broken ankle. At this time, we are told everyone will be fine. Because of this, her tour is postponed until further notice. Miranda thanks everyone for their understanding and support.
Stay tuned to Seattle's Child for the latest news about how this affects her Tacoma appearance.
Miranda Cosgrove's singing debut was the theme song for her hit TV show iCarly, "Leave it All to Me." When iCarly, about a tweenaged girl with her own show on the Web, skyrocketed in popularity, Cosgrove was able to hitch a singing career to her own rising acting star.
This summer, Cosgrove is on tour for the second time, a follow up to the spring release of her EP High Maintenance. The bus stops in Tacoma on Aug. 20 for a show at the Pantages Theater, giving area fans their first chance to see Cosgrove in concert (her Nov. 23, 2010 show at The Paramount in Seattle was cancelled due to inclement weather. Remember that pre-Thanksgiving storm?)
We caught up with Cosgrove on the phone from her tour bus to talk about her upcoming concert, balancing acting and singing, and, of course, iCarly.
Seattle's Child: What is it like for you to be on tour and performing live compared to your TV and film work? What do you like about it?
Cosgrove: Being on tour is completely different than filming a TV show or being in a movie. Just the feeling of being on stage and having the energy of the audience and everything is probably the best part, because I'm so used to doing my show and we don't have an audience or anything like that. Just to have people sing along with the songs and be right there in front of you is my favorite part of being on tour.
It looks like a fairly grueling tour schedule. Do you find it fun or exhausting or both?
The first time I went on tour I had no idea what to expect. This time I feel like I know my band so well and I have some friends with me on tour and … we really have a good time. Every few days we have an off day and on the off day we get to kind of explore around whatever city we're in and go see movies and go to the spa. It's just been really fun. I'm having a good summer.
Does the singing tour mean you'll be focusing more on your singing career than TV and film?
iCarly has a lot to do with how I got into music, because even though I always loved music and I wanted to write songs and sing songs for people, I had never been in a studio or tried singing for anybody before. Because of iCarly, I got to do the theme song of the show and then I got to get in the studio and start writing with people. It really opened a lot of doors for me. So I feel like I'm not really leaning more towards music than acting and stuff, but I really like both, and I feel lucky that I got to do music in the first place. I feel like now it's something I really want to do forever.
What's your favorite thing about working on iCarly?
Now that I know the cast so well – I mean we've grown up together – we improv a lot, and that's definitely my favorite thing … It's just so much fun getting to be on set and something natural will happen and they'll end up leaving it on the show, and I just love those moments. Later if I watch an episode and I see something like that, and I remember how it kind of just happened and they threw it in, it just makes me remember where I was on that day and how much fun we were having.
Can you give us any examples of when that happened?
Usually it's in scenes with Jerry (Trainor), who plays Spencer, my brother, on the show. He's constantly just making up stuff. He'll do it the way it's written once, and then he'll do so many crazy things you'd never expect the rest of the time we're filming. It really keeps things fresh and new … He'll literally just lie down on the floor in the middle of a scene if he wants to or jump up through the air – he really does do so many weird things. It's awesome. We'll start laughing and they'll leave it in.
Do you think Carly is a typical 15-year-old kid?
I do think that she's typical. I mean, I think there are some things about her that are obviously different. Just the fact that she has a Web show and she's kind of underground famous on the show – I guess that's different from most teenagers. But she really is just an average teenager in school dealing with boy problems. And she has her two best friends and sometimes they argue and she actually sometimes likes Freddie on the show and then her friend likes Freddie. It's kind of like a lot of the stuff that my friends go through and that I have been through. I think it's good that I can relate to her. I feel like I'm a lot like her.
Do you feel pressure to be a good role model for kids and teens?
I don't know if I feel a lot of pressure. I hope that I'm a good role model. I think when I first started my show I didn't think about being a role model for kids. I was just excited, I guess, to be on the show. And I was excited when people would come up to me – and I'm still really excited when they tell me they really like episodes and stuff – but I hadn't thought about the whole role model side of being on a show for kids and teenagers. So I think I'm starting to understand it more over the last few years and I try to make the best decisions I can. I don't think it's a ton of pressure, but I definitely do think about the people who watch the show when I'm about to do something.
Do you have role models of your own?
My mom a lot. As far as actresses and singers, I love Kate Winslet, and I love Anne Hathaway – I think she's awesome … When I was little I used to watch Princess Diaries and those movies, and I feel like she's grown up with me – like with the kinds of things that I watch because she's been in so many great movies and she's been nominated for an Academy Award. I just feel like she's really done a great job with her career.
What would you tell a young girl who aspires to be a "Miranda Cosgrove" – someone who has aspirations to sing or act or really admires what you do?
I think two things: One, don't stop trying. I'm from L.A., and I'm lucky because an agent did come up to my parents when I was little, and I sort of fell into acting and started going on auditions, but I went on tons of auditions before I really got something. So I think you do have to keep trying and kind of look at the whole thing as a learning experience, and you do keep getting better at it. So, just don't give up. And then also it's really good to have somebody to support you, because my mom has helped me so much – I mean, even if it's like a best friend or something like that, or a sister, it's just nice having somebody that's really behind you and that you can talk to.
What should fans in Seattle/Tacoma expect to see and hear at your concert? What can you tell me about the show?
Things that are different this tour from the last would be: I'm playing guitar on some songs this time which has been one of the most fun parts for me and also getting to sing some songs from my new EP. So I'm getting to do a lot of new stuff … For the most part everything's really upbeat, and I just want people to be able to have fun and dance. I bring some people up on stage on some songs. I just want everyone to have a good time. There are dancers and confetti canons and a lot of crazy stuff.
What's next for you – after the tour?
After the tour I'm going to do the next season of iCarly and then hopefully I'm going to get to make a movie and then go to college for the first year. I'm thinking about going to USC, so hopefully I'll be able to keep acting and singing and sort of balance that with college life, too.
