Jenna McDougall: "I’m Not Afraid Anymore" 

Talking positivity, rule-breaking and channelling alien beings with Tonight Alive frontwoman Jenna McDougall as the band prepares to drop their new album

MTV: Your new single \'Drive\' is ridiculously catchy, it makes us dance about. Your moves in the video are pretty impressive; what songs do you dance to in the privacy of your own home? 

Jenna: "I love Shakira, Ricky Martin – I love ‘She Bangs!’ That video, where they are in the club underwater with mermaids, how cool is that?! I love to dance, although I used to be quite afraid of dancing. It’s an expressive thing to do and you have to have confidence, I never had that before. Writing this record, there were so many situations where I had to overcome my fear of being expressive and being myself. So now a lot of things have come out in my personality, now that I’m not afraid!"

The feeling we get from the new album is that you are pushing back hard on negative influences; can you tell us specifically what they are and why? 

"My whole life I’ve been hypersensitive to judgement and other people’s perception of me. That judgement was something I was really conscious of all the way through high school. It stuck with me and the position I’m in now means being constantly open to people scrutinising me. But I think we are born to overcome what we are afraid of and realising that really helped me to become a woman. More than just ‘growing up’, it helped me embrace myself."

You project a lot of great positive vibes – where do they come from? What makes you feel positive? 

"I totally believe in vibes, haha! When I met Cameron [Adler, bassist in Tonight Alive], he became my best friend in two weeks. The best thing about our friendship is that he never felt sorry for me – that sounds weird, but as a 14-year-old I was highly emotional. Every time I came to him with a ‘problem’ he would always just say ‘Ok, so what are you going to do about it?’"

"Totally! He real-talked me. That’s the way I learned to handle things: ‘what am I going to do to change this situation?’ You can’t change the things that happen to you, but you can change how you react to them. Positivity is a choice – you can be a naturally positive person, which I might be, although I can just as easily go into a dark place. But positivity is within our control."

That’s a really inspiring message. Tonight Alive fans often talk about how much they rely on you as a band to help them feel motivated and happy; how does that make you feel? 

"Even more than the music, the connection we have with our fans is completely founded on the type of people we are. Tonight Alive has never belonged to a scene or a sound; as much as people call us a pop punk band, we were never about that. I never felt like we belonged on tour with pop punk bands, we never had a trendy sound or look. Everything Tonight Alive has done has been built on our relationship with our fans, because of our message. I love that they take that on and make that a part of their lives."

Melbourne x 3 was something else! Great memories were made at Unify, Max Watts and Eureka Rebellion over the weekend. Thankyou guys so much. This is where I'm meant to be. By @nealwalters_

Melbourne x 3 was something else! Great memories were made at Unify, Max Watts and Eureka Rebellion over the weekend. Thankyou guys so much. This is where I'm meant to be. By @nealwalters_

On your recent Australia tour, what was it like meeting up with fans who have been there from the start? 

"Awesome. Some of our oldest fans recently made a video of this tour, it was so good. I always recognise people in the crowd; we just played in Sydney and I saw a guy who is now in his mid-twenties, but when I first met him, years ago, we were supporting Short Stack and it was one of the biggest shows we’d ever played. He was the first fan who cried in front of me, which was a really bizarre experience – I was 17! - but it happens more often now! It was amazing to see him at this recent Sydney show, a grown man."

"No, no tears! Our fans are really cool, we meet them in three stages of their lives. Maybe when they are going through a hard time, and they need our music the most, and then when they are self-healing, and finally when they have grown into totally reborn, different people! That’s not due to Tonight Alive, but I love the fact that we get to see them in those different stages. The fact that they include us in that is awesome."

Your loyal fans have noticed that you’ve chucked out the genre rule book with this new record and are about to tour with another great band, Set it Off, who defy categorisation. So many bands are disregarding the idea of who’s allowed to play with pop, with hip hop, with electronica – why is that? 

"It’s the right time! It’s really necessary right now for people to stop following the rules and doing what people expect them to do. That created a cookie-cutter generation of bands. However, everyone of this age group is inspired by the 90s and early 2000s and those were such experimental times."

There’s such a huge melting pot of inspiration available, which is making music a lot more interesting. 

"I love the term ‘melting pot’ because it always makes me think of fondue!"

[Jenna and MTV go off on a totally separate chat about how to cope with not eating cheese when you are a vegan.]

You just worked with the legendary David Bendeth (who has produced Bring Me The Horizon, Paramore, All Time Low, A Day To Remember etc.) He has a reputation for pushing bands to the max – how did he challenge you personally? 

"He challenged me personally even more than musically. David wanted us to see potential at a greater level. He would put on videos of Beyoncé, Ellie Goulding, Sia, huge female artists, and I couldn’t see what the hell they had to do with me – I don’t want to be a popstar! But he explained it was about the powerful presence they have. These women are so important, not just because of the music they make."

As the frontwoman, and lyricist, you must be the primary target for any producer? 

"In the studio he was actually grinding the guys more than me! He never got involved in my artistry, he respected it, and created a really safe space where I could experiment. We had a really close relationship; he respected me as a person more than anyone ever has, as a woman and as a singer – he believed in me. Our relationship had a lot to do with why I performed the way I did on the record and why it became what it is. He (and we) wanted to make something that would last forever."

We know how much you love late 90s/early 2000s music but what other stuff from that time inspires you?

: I watched those movies over and over all through high school. I love Kat Stratford and how Julia Stiles plays her. Her attitude, the way she dressed, how she didn’t take sh*t from anyone; she wasn’t fazed by high school. She was intelligent and someone I really looked up to. Plus she loved music so I felt like we had a lot in common! And the fashion in

– not Cher and Dionne, although they look great - all the guys with their funky pants and tie dye. I never thought that I could experiment like that until this past year, which I’ve really enjoyed."

Kudos to you for trying out whatever you want and ignoring what people say. 

"Thank you, it feels natural. We all grow out of things but not everyone has an audience commenting every time they change their hair or clothes. It’s an unusual situation, but one that actually gives me confidence to do things that make people question my choices!"

The Edge (From "The Amazing Spider-Man 2")

"I’m a Tumblr fiend, I can scroll the dashboard forever and occasionally look back on my own blog, at all the random things I have collected. I love nature pictures, strange quotes and gifs. I also follow The Mind Unleashed on Facebook, and on YouTube I watch this guy called Bashar – I found him after watching a video on ‘channelling’, which is where you can channel a higher consciousness or even another being. So I looked it up, and found Bashar. This is kind of out there, but the concept is that this person making the videos is channelling Bashar from another planet, from the future. It doesn’t even matter if that isn’t true, because what he says will bend your mind and open you up to different perspectives. His theories and advice are so cool. I also just love getting lost on silly video rampages! It’s not all heavy!"

Does that tie in with why you decided to call your fans ‘Humans’? 

"Yeah! I hate fanbase names that are derogatory towards the fans. I wanted to call the Tonight Alive fans humans; the first single we put out from

was ‘Human Interaction’ and sometimes on Twitter I’ll say ‘hey humans!’ instead of ‘hey guys’. I want our fans to feel appreciated and respected by us. I’m really proud of that name and it’s starting to catch on."

Limitless by Tonight Alive is out on 4 March. Catch them on the upcoming UK tour dates: 

18 February: O2 Forum Kentish Town, London  19 February: O2 Ritz, Manchester

2006 Was One Of The Greatest Years For Music & Here's The Proof

Keane's second studio album 'Under The Iron Sea' was released on 22nd January 2006 and was, by far, their biggest and best. With epics such as 'Somewhere Only We Know' on the record it's hard to argue against it's greatness.

The Arctic Monkey's debut album 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not' has gone down in history as one of the greats, but can you believe it was released over 10 years ago on 23rd January 2006!?

'Inside In/Inside Out' was The Kooks' album that cemented them into the Indie-Rock landscape of the time. It was also released on 23rd January 2006, what a great day for music.

Panic! At The Disco's first single 'I Write Sins Not Tragedies' was released 10 YEARS AGO on 27th February 2006! We don't know about you but our emo years don't feel that long away. We'll always remember the flamboyant music video for this one.

Ne-yo's debut album 'In My Own Words' was released on 28th February 2006, and who didn't love singing along to his heartfelt R'n'B ballads.

The Kooks' biggest hit ever, 'Naïve' was released on 27th March 2006 and was the soundtrack to our teens, you'd be lying to us if you say you don't know EVERY word.

'So Sick' by Ne-Yo, released on 1st April 2006, was the classic love song for every teenage girl going through heartbreak, oh Ne-Yo, how you played to our young heartstrings.

Remember Cee Lo Green, BEFORE he was Cee Lo Green? Well, He went under the name of one-hit-wonder Gnarls Barkley, whose track 'Crazy', released 8th April 2006, was stuck in our heads for the whole of that year and beyond.

'Eyes Open' by Snow Patrol was released on 1st May 2006 and it went on to be the best selling album of that year in the UK. Not only that, it is the 15th best selling album of the 2000s, not bad eh?

'Unfaithful' by Rihanna was released on 2nd May 2006 and at the same time our collective teenage brain knew the song was about James who snogged Courtney behind our back in year 7 - Ri Ri just understood us.

Red Hot Chilli Peppers' five time Grammy award winning album 'Stadium Arcadium' was released on 9th May 2006. What better way to celebrate it's 10th birthday than headlining this year's Reading & Leeds festival!?

Playing host to legendary tracks such as 'Promiscious' and 'Maneater', Nelly Furtado's 'Loose' was released on 6th June 2006 and it provided us with some epic sing-a-long material.

'Chasing Cars' will forever be remembered as one of Snow Patrol's greatest hits, if not THE greatest, but can you believe it was released almost TEN years ago on 6th June 2006?

Thanks to Beyoncé every time we hear the word "bass", the opening of 'Déjà Vu' pops into our head. It was released on 24th June 2006 and the rest is history.

Muse's epic 'Black Holes And Revelations' was released on 3rd July 2006, securing them in the stadium-filler-festival-headliner hall of fame.

Shakira's legendary 'Hips Don't Lie' was released on 8th July 2006 and turned us all into the belly-dancer wannabes we always dreamt of being (even if our abs were nothing compared to Shakira's!)

'Alright Still' by Lily Allen was released on 13th July 2006 and put the rebellious singer firmly on our radar.

And, of course, her debut single 'Smile' was released a couple of days later on 15th July 2006. The ultimate sing-a-long and one of Allen's best tracks to date.

Justin Timberlake OFFICIALLY brought sexy back with this one. We're sorry JT, but we don't think you'll ever be able to top 'Sexyback', released on 18th July 2006, it is simply one of a kind.

Christina Aguilera's 'Back To Basics' is one of her best albums to date. Fact. Released on 11th August 2006, we were taken back a few decades as Xtina showed off her creative diversity. 'Candyman' was a highlight, and yes, we learnt the dance routine.

Queen Bey's second studio album 'B'Day' was released on 4th September 2006 and we can't help but stand in awe of everything she achieved before that and since then!

'Futuresex/Lovesounds' is the definitive JT album. Fact. Released on 8th September 2006 we can't believe this incredible album is almost 10 years old...

Okay, so 'Mr Brightside' isn't on this album, but we thought The Killers did a pretty good job following up their incredible debut album with this record, released on 2nd October 2006.

'Welcome To The Black Parade', and welcome to years of dedication to Gerard Way and his peroxide blonde 'do. My Chemical Romance not only changed their look, they changed everyone's minds about them when they released this epic single on 9th October 2006.

This next one needs no introduction. The late, great Amy Winehouse's debut single, 'Rehab', changed the face of music as we knew it back on 23rd October 2006. We just can't believe it's been 10 years since the world started paying attention to Amy.

We're not even sorry about ANOTHER Beyoncé song being in this piece. 'Irreplaceable', released on 23rd October 2006, will forever be the break-up song we all rely on, it took the 'plenty more fish in the sea' phrase to a whole new & sassy level.

This career-defining album for My Chemical Romance was released on 23rd October 2006. This was also round about the time we dyed our hair black and started wearing military jackets (MCRmy 4lyfe).

LOOK AT TAYLOR TEN YEARS AGO... take a moment to take in her transformation. Swifty's self-titled debut album is a far-cry from 1989 but we love it all the same. Released on 24th October 2006 we can't get over how much times have changed.

'Back To Black', Amy Winehouse's second studio album was the one that pushed her into the mainstream and changed music forever. On 27th October 2016, this legendary album will turn 10 and we're going to celebrate by sticking on repeat all day long.

The Fratellis, remember them?! The insanely catchy ear-worm that is 'Chelsea Dagger' is on this record, released on 30th October 2006. We wonder what the curly-haired Scotsman are up to now...

Anybody else remember the ADORKABLE music video for this insanely catchy tune? 'Here (In Your Arms)' was a huge hit when it was released back in 31st October 2006.

Who doesn't remember this ultimate floor-filler? 'Put Your Hands Up For Detroit', released on 11th November 2006, was a masterpiece by Fedde Le Grand, fit with super cringe music video to go with it.

Brand New's 'The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me', released on 20th November 2006, has to be one of their best albums to date. We remember singing along to the words of 'Jesus Christ' but not *quite* understanding all the lyrics.

This year wouldn't have been complete without an epic Jay Z record. 'Kingdom Come' was released on 21st November 2006 to critical acclaim, hardly surprising though, it's Jay Z!

And to finish, we have Take That's first album in 11 years. Marking their comeback they released 'Beautiful World' on 24th November 2006, and we fell in love all over again.

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