Jetsetting With Armenian Pop Star Skye Stevens
Up-and-coming Armenian-American pop star Skye Stevens began his dancing career at the age of 8 and, over the past decade, has performed in the Macy’s Day Parade as well as the Broadway revival of Miss Saigon. This past year has led him around the country, touring as the “triple threat” of a singer, songwriter, and dancer.
Q: What type of traveler are you? (i.e. adventurer, cultural explorer, free spirit, rejuvenator, spa aficionado, etc.)
A: I am a cultural explorer and free spirit kind of guy.
Q: What types of activities do you like to do on your travels? Do you look for a place where it’s quiet and you can relax or some place that has great activities or nightlife?
A: What I like to do, whenever I arrive at a city, is research online and talk to the locals about the restaurants in town. Food is something that brings so many people together, and I like to visit as many local spots as I can to get a really good grasp of the city before I perform in it that night. What is Baltimore’s most famous breakfast spot? Miss Shirley’s. In Minneapolis? Definitely Al’s Diner. I find when you really research the non-touristy food places–anything from low-budget, like diners, all the way up to a 5-star restaurant–you really get a feel for the diversity of the city.
Q: When thinking about where you will travel to next, what inspires you to make a decision? And what, if any, research do you do on that destination?
A: My travel activities are mainly from when I tour, so it’s pretty sporadic as to where I’m going to be in a month. Recently I have toured to Portland, San Francisco, Sacramento, Myrtle Beach, Baltimore, Boston, Long Island, and Minneapolis. For every city I stop in, besides looking up the famous or local food spots, I also like to find the more iconic places that you could only find in that city. I love to find all the different districts in the cities: Little Italy, Chinatown, shopping and arts districts, etc. Every city has something great to offer in that sense, so it’s pretty cool when you get to compare the Little Italy in Boston to the Little Italy in Baltimore. In Boston’s North End, Little Italy really gives you the “gang” kind of Italian vibe. All the restaurants are filled with Italian love and there are tons of coffee shops that have mainly Italian people working in them. When you go to the Little Italy in Baltimore, you often see people lining up in the streets waiting for gelato or pastries.
Q: What is the most memorable trip you’ve taken and why?
A: Since touring all summer, the cities have been pretty much all over the map as far as culture and location. Everyone has asked me what’s my favorite place, and it’s Sacramento. When I was there, I had my first radio interview live on air with Sacramento’s hit music station Hot 103.5 FM. It was a crazy great time because right after that interview, my tour manager and I raced back to the hotel, got my dancers, and went to sound check for the show we had that night. After sound check, we all ran back to the hotel, got into show gear and came back to the club, which had about 300 screaming girls in the crowd that night. The energy of the show that night was explosive; anytime I would yell something out to the audience, their reaction would shake the walls with screams. It was dope!
Q: What is the best food find you’ve ever found on a trip?
A: Best food was in two places. The first one was in Minneapolis at the 112 Eatery. It’s a small, dark, cool restaurant that a lot of chefs tend to frequent. All the food is prepared in small portions in a very complex way, and the presentation is like something you’d see out of BRAVO’s Top Chef. The 2nd best thing I ate on the tour was in Sacramento at a local bakery. It was a strawberry chocolate chip muffin. It was my favorite for two reasons: 50% because it was the best thing I think I ever ate and 50% because I kind of fell in love with the waitress less than 24 hours after my arrival in town. Hahaha… Life on the road, right?
Q: What, if anything, do you always take with you when you travel?
A: Running shoes! I love getting up at 6:30 a.m., going for a run, and seeing the sun come up in each city. In Long Island there’s the boardwalk that stretches forever down the side of the beach. And I was surprised to see that a lot of people were actually up early running to wake up with the sun.
Q: What’s your best piece of travel advice?
A: Don’t go for the tourist traps. Go up to someone that looks like they live there and ask them where they would go or where their friends go to do stuff. This gives you a better idea of the actual culture of the city and what people do there compared to the tourist things that hotels and brochures tend to lead you to.
Q: Is there a destination where you can’t imagine not returning?
A: Minneapolis was a great city. Uptown, downtown, Dinkytown (yes, it’s a real place), 50th and France, etc. In total, there are 82 different neighborhoods within the three counties that make up Minneapolis’s metropolitan area, which is crazy! I tried to visit as many spots as I could, and it’s impossible to get to them all, but what I did visit was really fascinating. Every place was a little different which made the time there great.
Q: Where are your favorite weekend getaways?
A: When I’m home in Boston, I like to spend the weekends in Cape Cod. It’s seriously like something out of storybook. All the houses look like those toy neighborhoods people buy from Hallmark during Christmas time. You know those small village sets? Well, the entire town looks like that. Whenever I’m there you can’t help but be relaxed. Pretty much all that is there are ocean, fishing, beach spots, and family. So it’s my favorite spot to recharge, take a minute, and just enjoy life.
Q: Where would you like to travel next?
A: Definitely Paris or London. Mainly to hear people talk with their accents. Seriously, I think my dream girlfriend has to be a girl that has a French or British accent.
Q: Tell us about your upcoming project(s)?
A: I just got back from the first two legs of my promo tour for the release of my single “Takes All Night” which you can get on iTunes and watch the official video (see below) on YouTube. In August, I headed back out on the tour to travel to New Jersey, all over Texas, Chicago, and Philadelphia. This entire summer I’ve been visiting radio stations and performing for fans. It’s been the time of my life.
Skye Stevens Bio
Skye Stevens is one talented 18 year-old. Set to become the first-ever Armenian pop star (and no, not another Kardashian), Skye has already dominated the Internet with his first-ever music video “Takes All Night.” His song has raked in over 1 million views since its January release, and recently hit the #3 spot on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play Breakouts chart. “Takes All Night” made its debut on MTV.com’s Hot Videos List at #8, and was added to 35 Top 40 radio stations across the nation. Skye is currently touring the U.S., and continues to “Meet America,” performing in cities such as Boston, New York, Baltimore, and more. You can follow Skye on Twitter.
