Episode 130
Conversation with Maria Rubia
I am having a jolly good conversation with Maria Rubia about her career, the music industry, online marketing, and her future plans.
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Show notes with links to articles, blog posts, products and services:
- Maria Rubia on Wikipedia
- Popcorn (instrumental)
- Pöpcørn | Recipes with The Swedish Chef | The Muppets
- Maria Rubia official website
- Maria's management on Twitter
- Crazy Dog Records
- Power Promotions on Instagram
- Maria on Instagram
- Miami Music Week
- Fragma feat. Maria Rubia - Everytime You Need Me (Original Video) 2001
- Maria Rubia on Shazam
- Value 4 Value
- Music Side Project
- Wavlake
- Pieces Of My Life by Maria Rubia
- 2 Unlimited - No Limit (Moon Project Remix Edit)
- EGO Search on Rozalla (episode 105)
- The Morning Show with Aaron Michael Sanchez featuring Maria Rubia
- New Podcast Apps
- PodcastApps.com
Episode 130 (44 minutes) was recorded on March 8, 2023, by podcaster, Martin Lindeskog, with Ringr app.. Editing, post-production, and transcript with the podcast maker, Alitu. Notes to self written on Mod 1927 notecards. Bumper and jingle by Jim Jonsson, JTunes Productions.
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Transcript
Ego net cost.
Martin:Welcome to Ego net cost.
Martin:I am Martin Lindeskog and this will be episode 130.
Martin:And today I have a guest here.
Martin:Hello, Maria Rubia.
Maria:Hi, how are you?
Martin:I'm fine.
Martin:Yourself?
Martin:What's on your mind?
Maria:I love your accent.
Martin:You could do yeah, thanks.
Maria:All day.
Martin:Is it Queen's English or American English?
Maria:What I'm speaking now yeah, it's Queen English and I Swedish.
Martin:Yeah, it could be that swingish Swedish.
Maria:English with a very nice Swedish accent.
Martin:Thanks.
Martin:So talking about that, have you seen The
Martin:Muppet Show? And The Swedish Chef?
Maria:No.
Martin:Then you definitely should check out a song called Popcorn.
Martin:You know the classic synth electronic pop music that was like buttery pop popcorn.
Martin:And the Swedish Chef in The Muppet Show.
Martin:He's talking like, boom, boom, boom.
Martin:It's not Swedish, but it's that very finky Swedish.
Martin:It's so funny.
Martin:He's making popcorn and shrimp together.
Martin:Totally hilarious music video, but it's with this popcorn song.
Martin:And we will talk about your music and happy music.
Martin:And thanks to and shout out to Yonathan Dahl that told me about you and asked if it would
Martin:be interesting to have you as a guest on the show.
Martin:And I have had, I think it's ten individuals right now, artists that I have had on Egonet
Martin:Cost.
Martin:Here my podcast, so that's great.
Martin:So thanks for taking your time here, Maria.
Martin:And we can start out with that.
Martin:Your fans, they are called Rubies like precious dough, right?
Maria:Yes, but I don't like the word fans because I just think it's just silly.
Maria:I think we're all fame, you know what I mean?
Martin:Right, yeah.
Maria:Because to me, they're very precious, thank God.
Maria:All over the world.
Maria:And I was getting a lot of messages on my
Maria:Instagram saying, happy Women's International Day yesterday, which I thought, they're so
Maria:kind, they don't need to send me that message.
Maria:It was just really lovely.
Maria:Yeah, they're literally from all over the world.
Maria:I mean, I've had soldiers stuck up mountains for work whilst they were doing a battle, and
Maria:one was depressed and he said it was my songs that kept him going.
Maria:And I was like, wow, that to me is so special.
Martin:Yeah. So let's talk about special.
Martin:When I did a search on Your Name Here, I found
Martin:like 61,000 hits on Google.
Martin:I haven't searched an alternative search
Martin:engine like Doctor Go.
Martin:I often do that also, but I checked that and
Martin:the first one, and we'll talk about a little about marketing and how to be found on the net
Martin:for an artist and record labors and others.
Martin:It was a Wikipedia entry with you and then it
Martin:was a link to your official page so we could start out that from a gecko.
Martin:Could you tell the listeners where to find you in cyberspace on your own page?
Maria:Yes. Thank you.
Maria:Because I basically got all of my socials
Maria:hacked, some deleted, and there is one out there that is not my official page.
Maria:So we've now set up a website so that, thank God, is like at the top of the when you Google
Maria:it, it comes to the top and it's www.mariarubiaofficial.com.
Maria:And that's got all of my socials, my real socials on there because there are some out
Maria:there that are fake.
Maria:And also there are some producers that have
Maria:said, oh, Maria Rubio has sung on this song.
Maria:I've not sung on that song.
Maria:And he also says that I've been in a Mexican film.
Maria:I've never been in a Mexican film.
Maria:So there's a lot of mistakes and false
Maria:information on the internet, so just be very careful.
Martin:Good. And I like that advice.
Martin:As a new media advisor, I said, be careful out
Martin:there and double check.
Martin:And then I also see opportunities as a new
Martin:media advisor to help along with this.
Martin:Because if you create content like blog posts
Martin:or videos, podcasts and so on, you will come up off the top in the long run.
Martin:And that's like the Wikipedia, it's very good that it is an official way there and also
Martin:linked to official, because I found Facebook, as you said, Twitter and others.
Martin:And I was wondering, is that the real deal or is it somebody else or is it something that
Martin:was in the past and so on.
Martin:So it's good that you have mentioned that on
Martin:your website there.
Martin:Also I see lots of information there and I see
Martin:potential for that website.
Martin:Also what you could do in the future.
Maria:Because even on the Wikipedia, there's misinformation on there.
Maria:People that are just adding stuff onto my Wikipedia.
Martin:Yeah, because they could edit it.
Maria:Yeah, it's not the truth.
Maria:I don't think Wikipedia should allow Tom Dick
Maria:and Harry to just add stuff on there because it's not the case.
Maria:People I don't know are just adding stuff onto Wikipedia.
Maria:So I don't bother with Wikipedia.
Maria:I don't bother with even looking anymore
Maria:because there's a lot of things that is not correct.
Maria:So, yeah, the website has got all the correct information.
Maria:It's got all of the songs.
Maria:We are doing a YouTube channel and all of
Maria:that.
Maria:So all of that information is correct.
Martin:That's good.
Martin:And that will be interesting when you search
Martin:for something and how you work with social media and new media.
Martin:So I liked what you said on the page where Google got the go.
Martin:You said about the vocals there and the credits that you want to have credits when his
Martin:credit is due, but you want to have it in the correct way so that we could come to your
Martin:latest song.
Martin:Is that a piece of the puzzle to how to get
Martin:out there in the cyberspace and how to get through to your Rubies and others?
Martin:Of course you meet them at the concerts, you have contact with them in different ways, but
Martin:do you see that as a challenge? I know that you have a management team and you
Martin:have the record label, you have guys like Yonaton and others that are promoting you and
Martin:so on.
Martin:What's your thoughts on this as an artist?
Maria:Yes. So when all of my socials got hacked, you literally rely on your socials for
Maria:everything.
Maria:And I was communicating with a lot of people,
Maria:business people, via my socials.
Maria:So when they got hacked and my TikTok got
Maria:deleted first, and I was like, okay, well, that's not that important.
Maria:I can do another one.
Maria:But my Twitter had a lot of followers.
Maria:I'm talking a lot.
Maria:And I've been with Twitter since 2014.
Maria:And the sad thing is that Twitter has no customer service, zero Instagram, Spotify, all
Maria:of that.
Maria:Yes, but Twitter, no. And we keep getting bot
Maria:emails, and they're like, oh, because there's an impersonation official Maria Rubia page,
Maria:which has nothing to do with me.
Maria:And we told them about it, and they're like,
Maria:oh, we need your ID.
Maria:Well, I don't have ID in my stage name.
Maria:That's my stay's name.
Maria:And they're like, oh, yeah.
Maria:And it's the same message, bot email that they send at the end.
Maria:You just give up.
Maria:So I'm not on Twitter anymore.
Maria:I've just got my team on Twitter, so my management and then there's Maria Rubio
Maria:updates.
Maria:But that's it.
Maria:That's it, because otherwise it's just you can get stressed about it.
Maria:You're like, oh, my gosh, you're a massive company.
Maria:But the company is too big for me.
Maria:What has happened to me?
Maria:Twitter is too big because it doesn't go to the problem, which is bad.
Maria:So my management literally are writing to Elon Musk about it because it's just unacceptable.
Maria:Yeah, so that's why we set up the website, because that's a point of contact that can't
Maria:get hacked, the company, and then people can go onto it.
Maria:You can then reach to the people out there who enjoy music.
Maria:And spotify artists is absolutely fantastic.
Maria:It's very professional.
Maria:And if there's a tiny little thing that you don't get, you contact them.
Maria:Their customer service is on point.
Maria:So that's how it needs to be an Instagram as
Maria:well.
Maria:They're very good TikTok.
Maria:Yeah, I love TikTok, but I'm not a person that takes selfies all day, every day or videos.
Maria:My personal life, I follow a lot of people who do that, and that's their thing.
Maria:But with me, I'm extremely private with my children, with my private life, because I
Maria:think it's really important to have that separation.
Maria:So I've got far less followers than if I was literally filming myself all day, every day,
Maria:filming myself swimming and when I'm eating and all that, I would have a lot more.
Maria:But that's the choice that I've made, is that I like to stay private.
Maria:And the only thing that I like to put out there is the music.
Maria:You do photo shoots, so that's the model in me when I do photo shoots, then that goes in
Maria:magazines or then I will add that to my socials.
Maria:But that's business, that's not my life, if that makes sense.
Martin:Yeah. Tough.
Martin:So that's good decision, I think.
Martin:And I am a cat person.
Martin:I will talk about food also.
Martin:I often ask you about that question.
Martin:And you're in England, right?
Martin:So do you drink tea?
Maria:Oh, no, I've never drunk tea.
Maria:No, that stains your teeth.
Maria:That's not good for you.
Maria:No, green tea is very good for you.
Maria:It's good for your insides.
Maria:But no, I just drink water or smoothies.
Maria:I am definitely a cat and a dog person.
Maria:So we have a little cat called Cuddles, which
Maria:we absolutely love, and we are actually going to get a little puppy, a cockapoo.
Maria:That's the choice of my little one called Bailey.
Maria:He's eight years old.
Martin:Yeah.
Maria:He chooses what he wants and he hand color.
Maria:What is your cat called?
Martin:Robin.
Martin:So he's a red.
Martin:Yeah.
Martin:It's nice.
Martin:And your record company, it's dogs, right?
Maria:Yes. So they're called Crazy Dog Records and have a dog that they absolutely
Maria:love, and they put it in my pop videos.
Maria:I think it's the mascot of the record company
Maria:and, yeah, they absolutely love their doggie, so that's fair enough.
Maria:You respect that.
Maria:That's their mascot.
Maria:And, yeah, they love him to bits.
Maria:I can't remember his name.
Maria:I can't remember, say, he or she.
Maria:I went into the studio and the dog was there
Maria:and I met David's wife and lovely people.
Maria:The PR company that I'm using is called Power
Maria:Promotions and they're plug in all of the songs that we've got out.
Maria:We've got free out at the moment.
Maria:And my Traps again played in Miami Music Week
Maria:on the 21st, which is fantastic.
Maria:So the record company is excited, I'm excited.
Maria:The PR company, Power Promotions, they've been going for 30 years, so they are very kind and
Maria:they've done it at mates rates.
Maria:We call it in English, so not too expensive.
Maria:They're very kind to us.
Maria:My mum and dad paid them, which was kind of my
Maria:mum and dad.
Maria:But, yeah, you know, it's like you get
Maria:feedback from DJs, so the DJs are enjoying the songs and they are downloading it.
Maria:So that's really good.
Maria:We 8.6 million downloads on Spotify alone.
Maria:Wow, thank you.
Maria:And seven point it's going up every week by
Maria:100,000 views.
Maria:It's 7.5 million views on YouTube.
Maria:So, yeah.
Maria:So thank you to everyone that's out.
Maria:And it's gone viral on TikTok.
Maria:We got to my surprise, that was the Big
Maria:Brother theme tune that's gone viral on TikTok.
Maria:And also, every time you need me has gone viral.
Maria:So that's the power.
Martin:Is that the one? Because I listen when I search on Apple Music,
Martin:we'll talk about the different how you could get out there.
Martin:I remember the day with vinyl and so on, how you could listen to music and how you could
Martin:get paid.
Martin:So I did a search on Apple Music and I found
Martin:the one that you mentioned there.
Martin:Could you tell a little about that?
Martin:Because then you got like Silver was it record thanks to this Fragma thing.
Martin:Was that the first hit, so to speak? Or have you done other tunes before that?
Maria:No, so I did theater before that, but I was in university and I've modeled since 13
Maria:years old.
Maria:So I was like in magazines and TV adverts and
Maria:things like that.
Maria:But I was myself going to meetings with
Maria:businessmen at the age of 16 1718.
Maria:And imagine a young girl, long blonde hair,
Maria:slim, who was having business meetings with men who just wanted to eat me up, I think in
Maria:their forty s. And they wouldn't take me seriously.
Maria:And I was like, okay, well because I really wanted them to take me seriously.
Maria:So my attitude was, no, I'm not going to sleep with you, because that was quite normal.
Maria:So they would say, oh, well, if you date me, I can give you this, or if you're my mistress, I
Maria:can give you this, and I can get your record deal, blah, blah, blah.
Maria:And none of that was happening, I will not do that.
Maria:So I would just go, oh, thank you.
Maria:And then I just say, okay, I'm going to go
Maria:now.
Maria:And then I would leave politely and that would
Maria:be the end of the meeting.
Maria:So I sieved through all of the I'd call them
Maria:perverts, weirdos, or Opportunists, whatever you want to call them.
Maria:And no, I didn't sleep with anyone to get to where I was because that's my self respect, I
Maria:think.
Maria:And that's just how I was brought up, is you
Maria:keep yourself to yourself and business is business and that's completely separate.
Maria:So, yeah, I was in university and then I had meetings, good meetings, not meetings like
Maria:that, good meetings where they meant business.
Maria:And I would sing down the phone to them and
Maria:then they said, oh, fragment.
Maria:I've just had a number one and are interested
Maria:in flying you over to the studio.
Maria:Imagine university and over.
Maria:And they've just had a number one, and I was listening to it on the radio.
Maria:So anyway, cut long story short, yeah, I went there.
Maria:I was really nervous, didn't think I got it.
Maria:Mom and dad were like, did you get it,
Maria:darling? I said, I don't think so.
Maria:And they were like, oh, they were more disappointed than me.
Maria:And then I got the phone call and then I got it, and I was like, oh my God.
Maria:Yeah.
Maria:And then it happens really fast, doesn't it?
Maria:You know what happens when you're famous happens very fast.
Maria:So 1 minute you're not getting recognized, next minute you are, you're doing a pop video,
Maria:you're signing autographs, and it's an avalanche.
Maria:And I was getting like two to 4 hours sleep.
Maria:The promotion was incredible.
Maria:It was very professional.
Maria:I was with EMI who treated me amazingly well,
Maria:and fragment were amazing.
Maria:I'm still in contact with them now and it was
Maria:just done perfectly.
Maria:It's all I can explain.
Maria:And my tour manager, et cetera.
Maria:I had a lovely team around me.
Maria:And then off the back of that, we did the other song.
Maria:So, yeah, I did the Big Brother theme tune Forever in a Day.
Maria:And then I did Akira, Here Comes the Rain again.
Maria:So the guy from Eurythmics, he gave us yeah, David, he gave us the thumbs up.
Maria:He liked the vocals, so that was an honor.
Maria:And then I wrote say it.
Maria:When I was stuck on the motorway, you know, when there's accidents on the motorway, I was
Maria:like, oh.
Maria:And then this song came to me.
Maria:I was like, oh, my God, I got to write it down quick.
Maria:And then, yeah, it just carried on from there and I was Mummy.
Maria:So I ended up in a wheelchair with Brandon.
Maria:I couldn't walk because he nearly died inside
Maria:of me.
Maria:He got stuck, yeah.
Maria:And so I had seconds to get him out because his heart rate was dropping.
Maria:And then when he came out, he wasn't breathing, so they hid him from me and it was
Maria:crazy.
Maria:Like, you expect the baby to cry.
Maria:Why is the baby crying? And I saw my mum really pale, so after that, I
Maria:couldn't walk.
Maria:Basically, I'd broken my synthesis pubists
Maria:bone that I'd never heard of before.
Maria:I was like, what is that?
Maria:They're like, yeah, you've broken it, you snapped it.
Maria:So I didn't walk for two and a half years and then it was just lovely being Mummy.
Maria:And I had lots of phone calls for work, but I went from size four to a size 18 because I
Maria:just couldn't move.
Maria:It wasn't like I was eating cakes or anything.
Maria:I just couldn't move.
Maria:I literally was on the sofa six months.
Maria:I had baby on my back, like an African woman, and I would crawl to get baby stuff and say,
Maria:he was catered for.
Maria:It was an experience, but it made me
Maria:appreciate people in wheelchairs, because when you're not in a wheelchair, you don't
Maria:understand.
Maria:But when you're in a wheelchair and you're
Maria:just trying to go down the pavements and things like that, there are so many things
Maria:that you can't get into, like restaurants and shops and things like that.
Maria:The doorways are too small, or there's bumps and things like that.
Maria:So, yeah, it made me sympathize a lot with wheelchair users.
Maria:That was the positive.
Martin:That'S this accessibility and so on.
Martin:And there you have it on the Internet, also to
Martin:be able to read things on the net and also to listen to music and podcasts.
Martin:We'll talk more about your song, where you had also, like, a club remix of a band.
Martin:Could you tell a little bit about that?
Maria:There are loads of club mixes out there from wonderful people.
Maria:I've never met or never heard of or celeb DJs also.
Maria:But I found one a couple of days ago that I've added onto my website, which is absolutely
Maria:banging.
Maria:It's so strong.
Maria:I love it.
Maria:I played it to my children in the car and they
Maria:were dancing about in the car.
Maria:I love that people just take your music and
Maria:just flip it and twist it and do their own creativity.
Maria:That's the joy about music.
Maria:I just love it.
Maria:And yeah, you mentioned silver disc.
Maria:We got a silver disc and a gold disc with
Maria:every time you need me.
Maria:And what happened was last year it got put on
Maria:Love Island UK.
Maria:Excuse me, my voice is going, Love Island UK.
Maria:And I didn't know anything about it.
Maria:And Fragment had been trying to contact me for
Maria:the past couple of years, but I changed my number, I've moved, blah, blah.
Maria:So then they just released it and then I had a lot of messages on my phone like, oh my gosh,
Maria:your song is playing Love Island UK.
Maria:And I'm like, what?
Maria:No, I don't have anything out.
Maria:I don't know what you're talking about.
Maria:And then I checked it, okay? And then it's funny how the Internet helps you
Maria:because then on my new Twitter, I basically put, oh, thank you so much for having me on
Maria:your show, blah, blah.
Maria:And then I hashtag Fragma, and then Fragma
Maria:found me from that tweet and then we started conversing again and they were like, We've
Maria:been trying to find you for years.
Maria:I'm like oh, my God.
Maria:I'm so sorry.
Martin:That's good.
Maria:Yeah, we're talking about doing another song together, which I think would be really
Maria:lovely for the rubies out there and for people out there.
Maria:Yeah, I mean, club mixes for me are the best because they're played in clubs and people can
Maria:really have a good dance with them because they're faster and they're stronger.
Martin:Yeah, that's good.
Martin:And I have some ideas that maybe it could be
Martin:interesting for you and the management and others, and that's how you could support
Martin:artists directly, also with something called the Value for Value model bits of bitcoin
Martin:called Satoshis.
Martin:And also that you could send like a boostogram
Martin:or telegram and give your appreciation and thank you note to the artist.
Martin:I will include that in show notes.
Martin:It's one project called The Music Side Project
Martin:and another called Wave Lake WA v. Lake.
Martin:And it's interesting to see because back in
Martin:the day when the record companies and the stores selling vinyls and now it's streaming
Martin:mostly, but also it's interesting to see that, as you said, the DDA coming back and they are
Martin:mixing and they are using the old records again.
Martin:But it must be a challenge as an artist to get the royalties and get the streaming, as you
Martin:said, and also when it's concerts and merchandise and all this kind of thing.
Martin:So I think that we'll see new alternatives and new ways.
Martin:And also to give like credit, as you said, if you have every individually in the chain, it
Martin:could be, as you said, the remixes, it could be studio musicians, it could be marketing, it
Martin:could be album art, could be lyrics, et cetera, et cetera.
Maria:Yeah, definitely.
Maria:I think that's a wonderful idea.
Martin:Yeah. And now you are bilingual also.
Martin:I have heard you talking in French in one
Martin:song, but also Spanish, right? Yeah, Spanish radio station the other day.
Maria:I speak more than two languages.
Maria:I love languages.
Maria:I'm currently learning Mandarin and I'm revising my Italian.
Maria:There's Kiara.
Maria:I don't know if you know, she's extremely
Maria:famous in the fashion world.
Maria:I've been listening to her on Netflix.
Maria:She's got a documentary out in Italian and then I've got my subtitles.
Maria:And it's so funny how when I was in the bath, I was just singing in Italian and all the
Maria:Italian words coming back.
Maria:So I love languages.
Maria:I'm not keen on maths, but I love languages.
Martin:That's great.
Martin:So when you come up with, as I said, the song
Martin:and lyrics, could you then tell about the latest one?
Martin:As I said, the pieces of a puzzle there.
Maria:Pieces Of My Life is a song that was written by David, who for me is a talented
Maria:producer and okay, he co wrote it with some other guys, but he's the only guy that I met.
Maria:So it's a very clever song.
Maria:It's a beautiful song.
Maria:For me, it's the number one, not because I'm singing the vocals on it, but because without
Maria:Just as, it is just a demo, it's the number one hit.
Maria:And I think it should be in films, I think it should be in adverts, because it's just such a
Maria:lovely song.
Maria:When I got sent it, my big boy, Brandon said,
Maria:wow, Mum, that is the best song you've received in years.
Maria:And I said, I totally agree.
Maria:I need to get into the studio and get the
Maria:vocals down on that because it's so lovely.
Maria:So that's out Pieces of My Life and obviously
Maria:on Spotify Artists and on all the other social platforms.
Maria:And then Eye of the Storm, also written by David, is out now.
Maria:So Pieces of My Life is more of a pop ballad, but the club mixes are really cool as well.
Maria:And then you've got either Storm, that's more of a pop, which is really good song that gets
Maria:you going, like when you're in the car.
Maria:And club mixes are coming out with that
Maria:already as well, which is good.
Maria:And then we've got the Every Time You Need Me
Maria:2022 track, which is lovely, the one that got played on Love Island UK.
Maria:So, yes, we got those at the moment.
Maria:And then we've got the others, obviously,
Maria:because it's mad.
Maria:They're coming back, like I said, Forever in a
Maria:Day, it's gone viral on TikTok.
Maria:So that's the beauty of music.
Maria:There's no limit to you play a track and then it will just be liked by a certain person and
Maria:it gets played.
Maria:And that's why I love music so much.
Martin:It's funny when you said that word no Limit, I listened to Two Unlimited and the
Martin:song no Limit the other day and it's funny to see them there in a way, maybe some other
Martin:singers and so on.
Martin:I think Anita was one of the earlier about the
Martin:band and they are touring and it's interesting.
Martin:And same thing like with Rosala that I have had on my podcast here, yonatandal arranged.
Martin:She had been in business for is it over 30 years now.
Maria:I met her at I can't remember where we were because, you know, you go to so many
Maria:events, but we were in a VIP area.
Maria:All I remember is this.
Maria:And then there was a guy who had like black trousers, white shirt and then a black
Maria:waistcoat.
Maria:So I thought the waiter.
Maria:So I sat next to Rosala and I was like I asked the guy if he would give me a drink.
Maria:Rosala started laughing and she goes, do you know who that is?
Maria:The waiter? And she goes, That's Jason Donovan.
Maria:You've just asked him to get you a drink.
Martin:What's a good one.
Maria:What? Oh, no. Oh my God.
Maria:What happened? He doesn't look the same.
Maria:And that's when he was going through a bit of a tough time, let's put it that way.
Maria:Which he would admit himself.
Maria:And I said I thought he was the waiter.
Maria:And Rosalis died laughing ahead off.
Maria:And Elton John comes in and I go, I can't
Maria:believe I've just asked Jason Donovan thinking he was a waiter, to go and get me a lemonade.
Maria:And Elton John was laughing his head off.
Maria:And then Jason Donovan comes back with the
Maria:lemonade and he goes, oh, here you go.
Maria:And I go, I am so sorry.
Maria:I am so sorry.
Maria:I literally thought you were a waiter.
Maria:I didn't recognize you with your hair like that.
Maria:And he goes, he took it really funny.
Maria:But I said, oh my gosh, what a nice man to
Maria:literally go and get me.
Maria:That was a little funny story that I'll never
Maria:forget.
Martin:Yeah, that's a funny story.
Martin:That's good.
Martin:Do you have any other stories to share? And then also, of course, tell about your
Martin:future plans.
Maria:Oh my God, there are so many.
Maria:When I met I did a gig somewhere with Tina
Maria:Turner.
Maria:I was like, wow.
Maria:Tina Turner.
Maria:And what happened was she performed and then
Maria:another two artists performed and then I performed and then my music stopped, the
Maria:backdrop fell onto my dancers.
Maria:It was like and I carried on singing.
Maria:I was singing like a bella because everything just turned itself off and nothing was working
Maria:and the stage was falling.
Maria:And Tina Turner came up to me after in a VIP
Maria:room.
Maria:She goes, well done.
Maria:I said, oh, thank you so much.
Maria:I thought I was going to get educated or
Maria:something, because it was all going wrong.
Maria:She laughed her head off.
Maria:But there are so many things that you have.
Maria:There's also people who actually love
Maria:themselves and sign autographs.
Maria:They will just stay in the VIP area and they
Maria:won't sign autographs.
Maria:I don't like people like that at all, because
Maria:those people that want you to sign the autographs, they're the people buying your
Maria:music.
Maria:Yeah, there's a lot of people that I've met
Maria:like that, who I once I've worked out that they absolutely love themselves and they think
Maria:they're special.
Maria:I sort of don't really associate myself with
Maria:them, do you know what I mean? I just hang around with the nice people, and
Maria:it's normally the A listers that are the nice people, and it's the Z Listers that are an
Maria:absolute nightmare.
Maria:And London, I had a lovely, beautiful dressing
Maria:room next to Jennifer Lopez, and this artist who just come onto the scene, had the TV and
Maria:papers and stuff like that, no names, just was like, oh, yeah, dressing room is too small.
Maria:And I was thinking what? So I said, you know what?
Maria:You can have my dressing room.
Maria:I'm just going to get changed in the toilets.
Maria:And I have people with me who just looked at me in shock to say, what?
Maria:And I was like, yeah, I can literally get changed in the toilets.
Maria:It's absolutely no problem at all.
Maria:Got changed, came out, got my hair and makeup
Maria:done in another room.
Maria:Stylist did whatever she did and I went on
Maria:stage.
Maria:And that's how I think it should be.
Maria:Not this attitude of demanding this and demanding that.
Maria:It's just what is on the rider.
Maria:There was a famous rock and roll group, very
Maria:famous, who wanted certain colors.
Martin:Of M and M. Yeah, I'm reading your mind.
Martin:I was thinking of it also.
Martin:Yeah.
Martin:What is that list call that you give?
Maria:And I was literally at this event and these people wanted that, and this poor
Maria:person, this runner, was taken out, the M, and there's so many things like that.
Maria:Oh, they want the temperature, they want the color of the walls different, painted.
Maria:And I literally would just have a kettle.
Maria:I'd have some hot water and some honey, and
Maria:that'd be it.
Maria:And a towel, and that be it.
Maria:And I said, if you don't have any of that, don't worry about it, I'll bring it.
Maria:And that's how I think you should be.
Maria:I think you should appreciate the journey and
Maria:not think you're a king or a queen, because there's a lot of egos that goes about, and I
Maria:think with social media as well, because everyone's taking selfies and filming this and
Maria:filming that, there's too many egos, do you know what I mean?
Maria:And it's just a job.
Maria:And I think most people, special people, are
Maria:people like doctors who save lives.
Maria:They're the.
Maria:People that should be praised.
Maria:Not a pop star and definitely not a
Maria:footballer.
Martin:Yeah. And when we could talk about that, you're on this ego show now called Ego
Martin:net cost.
Martin:But I see it as a philosophical meaning.
Martin:Like ego I am.
Martin:And you have to understand your true self.
Martin:But I hear what you're saying.
Martin:It's lots of people out there that maybe don't
Martin:have their own self.
Martin:It's only a surface and so on.
Martin:And footballer, we could joke about that because of the soccer thing.
Martin:And I'm not so much into sports, but I like American football.
Martin:And there you see the coach is doing the strategy and the teams, and they know the
Martin:different position and division of labor, but it could be very hyped and hoarse.
Martin:But it's interesting to see what's going on.
Martin:So, what's next on your journey, Maria?
Maria:Okay, so obviously we've got the tracks at now and then they get in played, as I said,
Maria:on Miami Music Week, on stages, several stages at Miami Music Week and after parties, which
Maria:is phenomenal.
Maria:I've got a film that I'm filming.
Maria:It's an anime film in Canada.
Maria:So done the script reading, which takes hours
Maria:and hours and hours.
Maria:At the end of it, you're so, like, are we done
Maria:yet? Not yet.
Maria:Okay, let's do some more and then.
Martin:We could export it to Mexico.
Martin:Right.
Martin:Menu it will be correct listing.
Maria:Yeah, imagine that.
Maria:So we got the film, we've got more tracks
Maria:obviously coming out.
Maria:And the pressure is on for me to look a
Maria:certain way, because don't forget, I was a size four before, so that's a UK size.
Maria:So at the moment I'm a UK size ten.
Maria:Because I've just enjoyed life and I've just
Maria:enjoyed being normal and being a mom.
Maria:Yeah, thanks.
Maria:But now the pressure nobody's asking me to, but for me, because I am a bit of a
Maria:perfectionist when it comes to image and always look your best and always your best.
Maria:So, yeah, I'm in the gym twice a day now.
Martin:Do you take some rest also between the gym?
Maria:Right, I just rest.
Maria:No, because my big boy tells me to do that.
Maria:You're right.
Maria:But no, I'm doing more cardio just to burn and
Maria:for fitness because of stage.
Maria:So it's really important.
Maria:I cannot just stand there, Martin, and just sing.
Maria:I have to move.
Maria:I have to move.
Maria:And because of my BPM on, my music is so fast.
Maria:You obviously have to move fast.
Maria:So the dancing is quick.
Maria:I have to get my cardio up, which is good.
Maria:I performed at UK Glamour Awards recently and I wasn't out of breath, so that's a good
Maria:thing.
Maria:So I'm doing the right thing in the gym.
Martin:Good to hear.
Maria:Thank you.
Martin:Yeah, well, that's great.
Martin:And you have to then send me later on things
Martin:so we could promote this podcast episode in the future in different ways.
Martin:So it was great to talk to you.
Martin:And thanks again to Yonat and all for reaching
Martin:out and arranging this.
Martin:And thanks for your team there and the
Martin:management and others.
Martin:So, is it anything else you want to say, like
Martin:shout out or something else about the cyberspace there or the music industry that
Martin:you want to shout.
Maria:Out to your listeners? Love your country, I love your people, I love
Maria:your food.
Maria:You guys, to me, are one of the nicest people
Maria:in the world.
Martin:I say I am an American in spirit, but I hear you.
Martin:And have you been in Sweden?
Maria:Yes, whereabout a lot of people think I'm Swedish and they used to speak to me in
Maria:Scandinavian, like Henry Maria, when you're plugging music and you're going here, there
Maria:and everywhere.
Maria:I didn't get to visit your country and I
Maria:really want to visit it instead of going from the plane to the hotel to the state to the
Maria:hotel back on the plane.
Maria:But everybody were really friendly to me and
Maria:the Danish as well.
Maria:They are so kind.
Maria:I think people from up north are really, really friendly.
Martin:Maybe because it's a bit close.
Martin:We have a bond and relation to United Kingdom
Martin:and England and whatnot, so of course it's close by.
Maria:Do you ski?
Martin:No, I do off to ski.
Martin:I don't ski.
Martin:Yeah, do you ski?
Maria:Yeah, I love skiing.
Maria:I love the snow.
Martin:Like snowboarding or downhill?
Maria:No, see, I want to learn to snowboard.
Maria:I've never done it.
Maria:Skiing, literally skiing.
Maria:I got stuck on the black pist.
Martin:Which is because I was not sounds dangerous.
Maria:Yeah, exactly.
Maria:Martin.
Maria:I wasn't good enough to get onto the black slopes, but I went on there by accident, so
Maria:ended up just sliding down at the bottom.
Martin:I hope you had a helmet then.
Maria:No, that's the thing, I didn't have a helmet on, but definitely when I go skiing
Maria:again, I will put a helmet on.
Martin:Good wet.
Martin:You have to be safe.
Martin:I have a friend who is really from Hungary now he's in Spain and I see some of his videos and
Martin:what he's doing when he is doing snowboarding.
Martin:It looks very fascinating.
Maria:Yeah, you got fast.
Martin:So what's happening in your area, then?
Martin:Where you are located? Of course, you are a traveler.
Martin:Any highlights from there on your locals? Do you have performances and gigs nearby also?
Maria:Yes, I've got a company that is arranging, you know, where they do the radio
Maria:plugin, the club tours, the circuit in England, so we're doing the circuit in the UK
Maria:and then obviously all over.
Maria:And I don't know if you know that I have a
Maria:radio show that I do with ABC, which is the biggest American radio show in America.
Maria:It's massive.
Maria:And I with a guy called Aaron and I'm the show
Maria:biz host.
Maria:Yeah, thanks.
Maria:I love it.
Martin:Could you listen to that online, or.
Maria:Is it yeah, literally, I mean, it's on ABC, but also it's on YouTube.
Maria:If you just literally Google Maria Rubia, aaron Sanchez ABC it'll come up or Maria Rubia
Maria:radio show will come up.
Maria:But yeah, it's really nice because you get the
Maria:vibe from what's going on in America and what's gone on in the world.
Maria:I just love radio.
Maria:I think it's just amazing.
Maria:Even me in my car, I can tune into somebody some radio station abroad and I love that.
Martin:Great podcast for since 2006.
Martin:I started this one.
Maria:Wow. How many listeners do you have?
Martin:Yeah, that's a good question.
Martin:I will send you the stats when I get that
Martin:question.
Martin:I want to have it in perspective because
Martin:people listen to big TV shows or radio services and so on.
Martin:Do you know what the average or download per episode of all the podcasts out there?
Martin:And it's listed like 4 million, maybe 500,000 are active.
Martin:But do you know the average download for the podcast out there?
Martin:No, it's like about 150 downloads and that maybe doesn't sound much, but it's like an
Martin:active choice that I want to listen to this episode here with Maria and plug your
Martin:earphones in your ears and listen.
Martin:So I often say that think if you would have
Martin:like 150 people in a room listen to you and listen to the conversation so I could have
Martin:that 150 individuals, you don't know exactly who it is and in a way it's good with privacy.
Martin:But of course if they reach out and get comments and you could share what I was
Martin:talking about, how you could be supported by Boostograms and Telegrams like this podcast in
Martin:2.0. I really look forward to that in the future so you could spread the good word.
Martin:It's a small show, it's a philosophical show and also now with artists and so on.
Martin:But I've been doing it for a long time and I have several podcasts in different topics and
Martin:different areas and also helping individuals and companies and brands to start their
Martin:podcast.
Martin:It's great to hear that you're liking a radio
Martin:or on radio.
Martin:So we have to exchange ideas and information
Martin:about that also.
Maria:Yeah, well, send me your links and I'll promote your podcasters to the Max.
Martin:Yeah, wow, thanks.
Martin:I appreciate that.
Maria:Well, thank you having me on your on your podcast.
Maria:I really appreciate it.
Martin:Yeah, and thanks for taking your time and we'll talk soon again, Maria.
Maria:So thank you.
Martin:Do you have any ending fort notes or something like that?
Maria:Please download my songs and enjoy.
Maria:They have different meanings for different
Maria:people.
Maria:So one person may cry when they listen to
Maria:song, another person may dance.
Maria:Yeah, I think that's the best interpretation
Maria:for a song.
Maria:It can have different meanings to different
Maria:people, which I think is really cool.
Maria:So thank you so much for your time and thank
Maria:you so much for having me on your amazing podcast and you've been really lovely.
Martin:Interviewing thank you for your kind words.
Martin:And I say call to action.
Martin:Download a new podcast app on
Martin:newpodcastapps.com or podcastapps.com.
Maria:Okay.
Martin:Listen to this episode and yeah, spread the good word.
Martin:So thanks again, Maria.