With a movie just out in theatres and an album on the way, Keith Robinson is starting of 2010 with a bang! Catching his big break playing C.C. White in the award-winning motion picture Dreamgirls, Keith has been going non-stop since, landing the role as Captain Stone in the Sony Screen Jems movie, Dear John, starring alongside Channing Tatum. As well, he has, as of today, already released five singles on itunes, including “Gurl” and “DJ Lady”. We recently sat down with Keith to discuss his fsat-moving career, and his noteworthy past, and here is what he had to say!

Keith Robinson

So first of all, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk to us.
For sure, for sure!

So what have you been up to lately?
I’ve just been working on this movie, and working on music, and just the usual, you know.

Yeah, you’ve been working on your new CD, Utopia, right?
Yeah, I have.

How’s that going?
It’s going good. I have a couple of singles that we just ‘leaked’ on iTunes, and they seem to be doing pretty well, so I’m excited!

So what’s it like already having five singles on iTunes?
It’s cool, it’s good to have music out, it feels good, so you can kind of refer people and people can kind of see what you’re doing, and so forth, so it’s a good feeling.

What’s your favorite part about making songs that other people will be able to listen to?
I guess just that, them enjoying it, and it just makes you feel good, like your work is being heard and appreciated, you know? It affects people emotionally.

What’s your favorite part about working on an album?
The actual recording process, I guess; kind of taking something from scratch, and having a thought or idea, and then seeing it come to life. To come to the solution is always great.

Do you write your own songs?
I do. I wrote probably about 85% of the album.

Do you feel a stronger connection to your songs because you write them yourself?
Yeah, I think so. I mean, sometimes somebody else can write something and express what you’re feeling better than you, but I think if it does come from you, it’s even better.

Do any of the songs on your new album have a funny story or history behind it?
I have a song called “_” which is pretty self-explanatory. It’s just kind of about people being in life for the wrong reasons.

So which is your favorite song off your new CD?
Right now I’d say it would have to be a song called “DJ Lady”. It’s kind of an ode to being a DJ, and loving the music, and it’s just about a DJ that I kind of saw at a party and she was working and I wrote a song about her so it’s kind of a true story.

That’s cool! Do you prefer when songs are a true story? I mean it all comes from the feelings inside, right?
Yeah, exactly!

What’s the process you go through when making an album?
The process varies, I mean you kind of have an emotion or feeling that hits you and that’s how you start it off, and then you kind of find the right music that affects you and inspires you to write, and then you kind of go from there. And then you write the song and work with it and make changes, and then you go and record it and play it back, and you just go from there.

Is it hard to choose which songs make it onto the album and which songs don’t?
Yeah it is, because you have to go through a lot of material and the when you’re going through it, you’re kind of married to all the songs so you kind of have to narrow it down to like the best twelve, when you have recorded like fifty songs a lot of the times, so it can be a hard process. It’s like having to choose one of your kids.

I can imagine! So the last time we talked to you, you said you’d love to sing with Sting. Is that still true?
Yes, sir! That is still a dream. Actually, I named one of the songs “Probably Me” off of his album because I just love Sting and I love his vibe and I admire his work.

Who would you say out of your entire career has been one role model that you’ve always looked up to?
There’s a lot of them! I love Stevie Wonder, I love Will Smith.

So now you worked on a movie that’s coming out in February called Dear John. Can you tell us a little about that?
Yeah, it’s a love story about a young soldier who ends up having to go off to war to fight, and he gets a Dear John letter from his girl back home, and he kind of re-volunteers to re-enlist in the army because he has nothing to go home to. It’s by the same guy who wrote The Notebook that wrote this, so it’s a love story.

What was it like working on that movie, was it hard?
I was the one who was actually in war; the camaraderie was good physically because we were soldiers and we were out in the field, running and screaming and jumping and riding helicopters and so forth, so it was more physically demanding than anything.

Do you feel a connection to your character, Captain Stone?
I do in a way, because the most amazing times in our lives was when we found that voice.

Did you read the book before you did the movie? How did you go about trying to figure out how you would play this character?
I didn’t actually read the book, but when you read the script over and over you get the story pretty much, and I kind of based it on experiences that I’ve had in life and I kind of rolled them all up into one.

Now, when Hollywood makes movies out of books, the fans of these books are usually angry because the director changed parts of the book, etc. Were you scared about that when filming the movie?
Not at all, that didn’t really interest us; you just want to make the best film possible and focus on the task at hand. Someone is always going to have a discrepancy whether it’s good or bad so you kind of just have to throw that out and leave it at the door.

Do you think that fans will still be happy with the finished product?
I think absolutely. I mean, a movie version and a book is always going to be a little bit different because it’s a book and it’s a movie, so you have to allow for it to change. But as a story I think we captured it, so I think more people will be pleased than not.

Keith at the 'Dear John' Premier

When you think about how far you have come in your career over the past few years, are you shocked?
Not as much shocked as I feel blessed to have the opportunity, so more than anything I just feel blessed that I’ve been able to work and do something that I love. So I guess shocked isn’t the word as much as grateful and blessed.

What would you say was the highlight of your career?
Probably performing at the Oscars, singing the song from Dreamgirls.

What was going through your mind when you were on that stage?
I was just satisfied. I felt really validated.

Was Dreamgirls fun to work on? Did you enjoy doing that?
Oh yeah, it was a great time. A lot of great talent, a lot of great people involved, and that was a really great experience to be a part of.

What was the hardest part about playing C.C. White, Effie’s brother?
Maybe the material; I’m an R&B singer, so R&B singers do a lot of riffs, a lot of tricks vocally, so we have a more current style of singing, and Dreamgirls was such a classical piece that you had to really play close attention to the era and how you were performing so it doesn’t sound too modern. So I had to play close attention to that, and that was probably my biggest challenge.

Did you like that, being able to explore a whole different genre of music?
Oh yeah, I loved it. It wasn’t necessarily a different genre, it was just a way earlier version of the genre that we sing now.

In Dreamgirls, you were able to put your love for singing and your love for acting together into one. Will you be doing that again any time soon?
I hope so. I love acting and I love singing so I hope I’ll get a part that will require both skills so I’m looking forward to the next opportunity I have.

If you got offered a part in a musical or in a regular movie, which one would you take?
It wouln’t be based on the genre, it would be based on the material and the project itself, so I’m open to all the possibilities.

Now, you’ve been in both movies and TV shows; does the atmosphere on set differ?
I guess on a TV [the cast mates] get a bit closer, you’re like family, because on a TV show it could get very successful and therefore you’ll be on it for an extended amount of time, maybe years, where with a movie it’s just a brief four to five months. It really depends on the set, sometimes you make lifelong friends, other times we just work together and move on.

Which one do you prefer more, movies or TV shows?
Movies.

Why?
Because when you make a movie it leaves a longer lasting impression on people.

What would be your dream role?
Jackie Robinson.

Do you have any upcoming projects besides Utopia?
That’s my main focus right now, and promoting this movie. I have some other movies in the works that I can’t really speak on because they’re not finalized but I’ve really just been working on this album and getting these singles out.

Are you going to be going on tour?
Hopefully this summer.

You recently sang at a charity event, on December 9, right?
Yeah, yeah. That was a cool job, great turnout, I performed and it was good.

Alright, well thank you very much!
Thank you!

Be sure to pick up Keith’s new singles “DJ Lady” and “Gurl”, out on iTunes now, and make sure to go check out Dear John when it hits theatres on February 5, 2010!