Entertainment

Talking burlesque and odd audiences with Melody Sweets

The burlesque singer celebrates her debut album on January 19

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Melody Sweets will sing and seduce at her CD release party on January 19.
Photo: Stacie Joy

Your debut album, Burlesque in Black, is coming out. How do you get in the mind-set to write burlesque-appropriate music?

A lot of times I’m really inspired by something as silly as a costume piece. [Or] it’s just the pressure of, You have a show next week and you need to think of something original and build a costume and a concept around it. Go! You write something and hope it sticks and hope it’s good. Then you take your clothes off to it.

What can guests expect at your CD-release party on January 19?

All of the Absinthe boys body-painted up by Skin City Body Painting. And we’re going to have a couple group numbers. I have my band from New York coming in, The Candy Shop Boys. There will be, of course, lots of boobies, and a “friend” of the Gazillionaire will be making an appearance.

Calendar

Melody Sweets CD-Release Party
January 19, 11:30 p.m., $12-$20.
Absinthe Spiegeltent at Caesars Palace
melodysweets.com

How has it been going from the New York burlesque community to the Vegas Strip performer community?

It’s such a different world. It took me a long time to accept it and get used to it. I was definitely missing New York; it’s a completely different life. And here, the burlesque scene is much smaller, and I don’t really get a chance to go out to see what’s going on in the burlesque scene here 'cause I’m in Absinthe. ... The best thing about it is the performers here have take us in, myself included and the whole cast of Absinthe, and stood behind and given us full support. It’s really brilliant.

Your act in Absinthe is really sexy, but you’ve done it thousands of times. Does it still feel hot for you?

I really expected it to become mundane, but Absinthe is special in a way. The show changes nightly because of the audience. Yes, I’m singing the same three songs, but I’m singing my own songs, which is amazing for me, and I have a lot of audience interaction.

Speaking of audience interactions, have you had any interesting ones?

In “Slice of Heaven,” when I start to come down, I sort of have the audience help me take my clothes off. I’ll have someone maybe bite my glove off. The other night I gave it to this guy and he wouldn’t open his mouth. And then finally he opened his mouth really wide and just starts wiggling his tongue everywhere. I was so disturbed I forgot what I was singing and I made the craziest face, and the audience saw it. And he was licking my … ugh! We get some pretty crazy audience members—and we are grateful for them.

Any big post-Absinthe dreams?

I want to do some touring both nationally and internationally, and eventually I’d like to hear some of my music in films, even do some films.

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