- Je m'appelle Aaliyah. Je suis, something.
J'ai vingt deux ans.
Ah, you like that, you like that.
Merci beaucoup.
- [Aaliyah] We're gonna get on the big wheel first.
- [Producer] Oh, the Eiffel Tower.
Have you been there yet?
Or, like, went during your last visit?
- I want to.
- I like Paris. I think Paris is a very
romantic, beautiful city.
So I'm looking forward to —
should I speak like we've done it already?
I should speak like we've been there already, right?
- [Interviewer] You can, sort of —
you can do it like it's already been done, like —
- OK, cool. So, um —
- [Publicist] Narrate, where are you?
- Oh! We are now — - [Producer] Jill is like, "Let me direct right now."
- OK. First of all, I hope I don't
look too bad. I just woke up.
We're now in Paris.
It was a decent flight, slept a little bit.
- [Producer] My friend, how do you feel?
- I feel pretty awake, you know?
What was it, nine hours?
- Seven hours. I just said it was seven hours, man.
- Oh, seven hours. See? I'm delirious. - [Laughs]
- [Interviewer] Your schedule, basically,
what was your schedule like in Paris?
- [Aaliyah] Well, all day, every day, interviews,
from, like, 10 a.m. to 6 at night.
A few radio stations, a lot of TV interviews,
a lot of in-persons —
hectic, you know? International.
They wanna kind of get it all done,
and as quickly as possible,
being that they don't have you, you know,
all year round. So, it's understandable,
but it can be quite tiring.
- Rashad needs to get the hell out of bed.
- Hey Derek, could you wake Rashad up?
- Yes, I will. [Laughs] I'll go wake him up.
- Yeah, he can't just be sleeping.
- He's showing out now, that's ridiculous.
Get up.
- [Producer] So, how was the first interview?
- It was cool. - Her cam, tape recorder broke?
- Oh, that's right. She's gotta come back.
Her tape recorder just broke out of nowhere.
She didn't have another one, and batteries didn't work.
but they've been cool. They've been —
they're pretty short, which is great, you know?
Just long enough.
I love going overseas. It's just, you know —
it's meeting those people,
and, you know, there's also a —
it’s dope to go to another country
and meet those people
and to know that you could
touch those people, you know,
people that are miles and miles
away from where you are, and
and they know every single song,
they dress like you,
you know, they love you,
and it's, like, the illest feeling to have those
people really be hardcore fans.
That's just really dope.
It's when you really know that music
is such a universal language.
- [Publicist] Right in here? Or which way?
- [Producer] Just back there, the next door.
- I knew that.
- [Interviewer] What do you just, sort of, hope
is the plan with the album?
Like, your promotion here, you know.
- This album, I'm very happy with this album
because I feel like it's really Aaliyah,
which is why I wanted to self-title this one.
It's very different.
It's a bit grown up.
I'm a young adult now, and I think that
really comes through in this album.
I'm grown.
This one is really me, in totality.
So, I just really hope the fans
feel where I'm coming from,
and they can ride with me on this one.
- [Publicist] Yeah, Aaliyah, you OK with MTV?
You OK with Erika [Clarke]?
Aaliyah, you want Erika in here, or no?
- Oh, they can come in if they want, it's all good.
Anybody can come in.
Oh, except them. No, not a chance [laughs].
It's not TV. It's on the radio.
But it's on radio [shrieks]. - [Crowd laughs]
- I'm someone who loves to give my all.
When it comes to my work, I'm giving my all, you know.
Anything that is for my career, I'm going to give myself,
you know what I mean?
But that's also important because you do want your fans
to feel like they know you, that they —
that not only do they just like
your music, and like you as a star,
but, like, you know —
almost like you're their buddy.
- [Off-camera] Do it, do it.
[Rashad] I'm not doing it.
- She got the camera on you, just go ahead and strut.
- [Off camera] It will swivel.
- OK, let's do the swivel. As soon as you swivel —
and after she pans, you just go back into your cool breeze.
- [Laughs]
- [Crowd laughs]
- [DJ] Can you launch the next song, "More Than A Woman"?
Just say it, after the commercials.
- Sure. Want me to do it right now?
- You are DJ. You are DJ tonight. - Alright. Well, I guess —
OK, right now, I'm the DJ of Skyrock
and you're about to listen to one of the songs
off of my new album, 'Aaliyah.'
Here is "More Than A Woman."
- [Speaking French]
"Skyroulette." Can you say "Skyroulette?"
- No? [Laughs] I'm keeping it real. I can't do that.
- [Speaking French]
- [Interviewer] Do you consider yourself, sort of,
like, a cutting-edge kind of gal? You know.
- I like to think of myself as cutting-edge,
you know, in everything I do, and
I'm always thinking about my image
and how it grows with me,
you know, how it's grown from
when I was 15, to now being 22.
And image is important, you know?
That's how people see you, you know?
And that's how they are able to differentiate you from the mass, you know?
They know something that is you,
that's your signature style, or,
you know, just your whole vibe.
You know, I keep it different.
- [Producer] So, how was the day? You know, a little goodbye.
- [Sighs] Well, you know, it really wasn't that bad.
The hardest part was just the fact that
that I didn't get any sleep, you know what I mean?
But people were really nice.
Interviews went well.
I mean, it was really good. It really was.
- [Off camera] Squeeze, y'all. C'mon, squeeze.
So, you know, it's work.
It's what you gotta do.
So, I really can't complain.
- [Interviewer] What do you want people to sort of, like, leave with?
- [Aaliyah] Well, I hope that when people see this, you know,
they can get a sense of who I am,
but in the midst of working,
I know how to have fun, as well.
- [Producer] Have you done an album release —
a listening party in Paris before?
- No, is that what this is?
I don't even know what this really is.
It's just, like, a party. I mean,
I guess it's an album release. I guess it's —
I don't really believe in album-release parties,
at least not where I'm concerned.
I've never done one before.
I don't know, but tonight's party is for
a celebration of the album.
- [Aaliyah] You know, I really like to stay home.
I've always been that way.
I've always been a bit of a kind of reserved person,
and I like the simple things in life, you know?
So, if I can just stay home, and my friends come over,
or I go to their place, and we just hang out,
and we laugh, and we watch movies,
I'm really content,
and I kinda savor that.
You know, you're out, and you're running all the time.
You're working, and that's wonderful, and that's great,
but the personal time is just as important,
and when I have it, I like to just chill. You know?
- [Interviewer] How do you deal with fame?
- [Aaliyah] I think the best way for me
to deal with fame is having that
personal life and having that personal time.
That's why it's very important to me,
and that's why it's sacred to me.
- [Producer] And where are we off to now?
- Off to the money machine, get some money,
and then, we're off to the Land of Fun.
We're going to a carnival that I peeked —
- [Producer] So, is this your — - On the way back to the hotel.
I'm real excited. I so excited,
I really don't know what to do.
- [Producer] So, this is your first moment of, like,
playtime in Paris?
- [Aaliyah] This is my first moment of playtime and freedom.
And I'm just real excited.
We're about to have a ball.
- If you can find some time to
just do whatever you wanna do,
it depends on what mood I’m in
because I like to do really fun things, like —
I like to go to the arcades because,
like I said, it is those moments where
I really feel like I'm a kid again.
That's an important thing to have
when you're in this business.
You know, it's a lot of glamour.
It's a lot of work, and you can get lost, you know?
So, you owe it to yourself to have some reality.
- [Forman] How'd they get behind us?
- It's a circle.
- [Publicist] Yeah, because it goes underneath. - Yeah, it goes, and it goes under.
- It goes under, my dear, and then —
- Over.
- [Publicist] Look at him, he's all amazed.
- Oh, OK. I'm getting it now.
I was like, "What the hell?"
- That was exciting.
- [Forman] How excited.
- [Aaliyah] Want me to take the camera?
- [Producer] Wanna take it with you? - Yeah, if they let me, I'll take it.
- OK. Don't drop this.
- Oh, I know, right? Wouldn't that be devastations?
Maybe I don't want that responsibility. - Yeah, right?
- "You messed up my tape!"
- Wait, how does it flow? Does it —
- It goes like this, and it goes like that.
Does a flip, under. So, I'll be screaming.
- [Aaliyah] I'm constantly thinking about my life,
and the things that I want to achieve.
I zone out a lot.
Sometimes, I can be in the middle of a conversation,
and then, I'm like this, you know? I'm just —
I zone out, and I can't really help it,
but I'm always, I don't know,
thinking about everything.
Not even my life, but just even other people that
are close to me. I think about my brother a lot,
and my family and their lives
and what they're going through,
and how I can make them happy,
and I'm also someone who likes to make
everyone around me happy.
So, there's a lot going on
in Aaliyah's head, for sure.
- [Aaliyah] Bye, cutie pie!
Love the babies.
She was a sweetheart.
- [Producer] What'd she do?
- She said she wanted to say,
"You're so beautiful."
She was scared to come over.
So sweet.
- [Aaliyah] What are the things that make me happy?
- [Interviewer] Yeah.
- Work. My work makes me happy.
I've been doing this all of my life,
literally all of my life, and to do it,
be successful, and enjoy it —
I can say, there are times when I sit back and I look at,
you know, my career in a whole,
and the things that I've achieved,
the things I've been through, and
I say, "Wow," you know,
"I am truly blessed to wake up every morning and do something that I love."
There's nothing better than that, you know?
You gotta love what you do,
to wanna do it every day,
and I've had a lot of success, you know.
I've got dual careers now, and sometimes I'm like,
"Wow," you know,
"This is amazing. Is it real? Is it" —
you know, and sometimes, I'm taken aback, and
I'm just like, you know, "Dang, I can't believe it."
I'm done. I just finished the last interview,
and I'm very happy.
Tomorrow, I'll get to go home.
Right now, I'm trying to set up for a little massage,
a little massagey, a little waxy,
you know, pamper her.
Eric [Ferrell], I gotsta pamper her.
- [Ferrell] Uh-oh [laughs]. - Her has to be pampered.
She's gotta be pampered.
[Laughs]
Now you see, I'm so happy, I'm delirious.
So, now, it's off to New York
for two days of relaxation,
and then, more work, more promotion
for the next three weeks in New York,
but hey, it's all good.
Album's coming out.
I'm happy.
Alright, goodbye.