In anticipation of Fuse's live TV broadcast of Florence + the Machine's Radio City Music Hall concert on Tuesday, May 8, our own Elaine Moran sat down with the indelible soul singer and learned a few things about Florence Welch you probably didn't know. For example...
She Gave Up Booze to Strengthen Her Voice
"Not drinking on tour has helped a lot, unfortunately," Flo tells Elaine. "It was almost a bummer when I found out [giving up alcohol] did work… The voice is a muscle and if you take care of it, you can feel it getting stronger."
She Would Love To Do a Kanye West Collabo
"I would love to. I think we're both maximalists… If we could get matching suits, it would be big."
Florence Revealed An Usher Obsession (?!)
"We're going to try to make [a new] record in Australia in two weeks," Florence says about her intent to collaborate with opener Dev Hynes. But she adds that talk of Usher might threaten to derail the recording process. When Elaine asks if she means R&B superstar Usher, Florence confirms: "Like, Usher, the guy. Yes! 'These are my confessions.' [We end up] just sitting around talking about how amazing that song is." May we just say: That is so awesome.
Even As a Kid, She Was All About Fashion
"My little sister and I used to make up our own fairy tales with my mom, but it always seemed to revolve around the outfits we would be wearing. My mom would try to tell a story with plot and adventure, but me and my sister would just be like, [she does a little girl voice] 'Well, no! I would have a crowd of rubies but would have emerald shoes.' Or 'No, my dress would be made of pure gold!'"
Working With A Classical Choir Scared Her
"When we did 'Breath of Life' [for the Snow White and the Huntsman Soundtrack]… there was a 60-piece classical choir. I was so happy with the way it turned out, and that scares me because it's so big.… I was on cloud nine with this choir. [I was planning other orchestral collaborations] and my manager was going, 'We can't afford this, we can't afford this every day.' And I was like, 'But it's amazing! I love it!'"
Also, check out another video with Florence, below, in which the siren talks about performing at Radio City, picking her outfits for onstage and having x-ray vision during her band's live sets!
Watch the videos above and below, and to see Florence + the Machine take over Radio City Music Hall on Tuesday, watch Fuse Presents: Florence + the Machine on Fuse's cable channel, May 8, at 9PM ET.