The Jakarta Post was lucky enough to have a one-on-one interview with her right before her concert at the Singapore Sun Festival 2010. Fifteen minutes with her was enough to get us up to speed on her life.

Fans of Natalie Cole in Jakarta must already be aware she is no stranger to our city. She’s already visited the Big Durian several times and returned again this year with David Foster and Friends.

“I love Jakarta! I was there for only one night but the hotel was great, the mall, and the shopping were amazing!” Cole told the Post.

Believe it or not, Natalie confessed to visiting the mall (Pacific Place Mall) several times for some window-shopping. When asked if people recognized her at the mall, she said: “I think most of them were stunned. They weren’t sure it was me, but by the time they realized it was, I was gone already. It was fun though… we had a lot of fun.”

Cole has had such a long and great musical career. She started with jazz under her father’s guidance, then later developed her own style, a gospel flavor and rhythm and blues style. She finally settled on R&B.

Coming from the royal family of music, one wonders if singing was ever an option for her or whether it was something that was meant to be.

“I don’t know. I think maybe it was meant to be. I’m not sure, you know, because I walked in to it so differently. I went to school and studied very hard to be a doctor. If I had known I was going to sing, then maybe I wouldn’t have worked hard.”

Cole added it was very difficult for her at first because people always compared her to her father.

“Some people would be just cruel and say thinks like ‘Oh you will never be as good as your dad’; and I wasn’t really trying to be like my dad you know. But as I got older the success I experienced made me feel great… I used to get kind of upset you know, but this is what you’re up against especially when you try to follow behind a legend like dad… This kind of thing is like a package and you just have to figure it out.”

Her R&B career brought her the success she was looking for. During her solo concert at Singapore Sun Festival 2010, Cole brought us back to her R&B days by singing some of her most renowned tunes such as Miss You Like Crazy, Starting Over Again, Good To Be Back, This Will Be and many more.

As much as she liked R&B, Cole decided to go back to her Jazz roots in the early 1990s.

“I think that was just a moment I felt. I did not realize it was on, when we did the Unforgettable album… I never imagined it would be so popular… So we continued to do those kind of records for a while, but now after this and since this, I’m ready to move onto something else, so anyone that has followed the career of Natalie Cole knows that she is constantly kind of … you know… reinventing herself.”

Her Unforgettable… With Love album released in 1991 was truly historical. Not only did she win seven Grammy Awards for it, but it was the first time the world ever witnessed a live duet with the late Nat King Cole and his daughter. She told me that the story began when she and David Foster decided to put together a special tribute to her father with 22 of his classics.

 “I had the idea in the 80s when I was performing in Las Vegas. We did Unforgettable very crudely off stage. There was a machine to put dad’s voice on it, which would play the record to the live audience.

The orchestra on stage then played behind and used his voice, so him and I would be singing together.

It was crazy but it worked.” The audience were crying and clapping at the same time, she went on. They just couldn’t believe it.

Fast forward to the 90s, Cole mentioned the technique they had used in Las Vegas to an executive of a record company, and they decide to give it a try.

“Technically it had never been done before. It was quite an amazing experience to be able to take dad’s voice off the original song and put it on a new arrangement, and have me sing as well. David and I were like little kids, you know… we couldn’t just believe this was happening.”

Going into her 60s, Natalie Cole looks sexier then ever. Her transformation is simply stunning.

“I think it all happened when I got sick. I decided I could be anything anytime I wanted it. I’ve always loved fashion and I think it’s important to be sexy when you are on stage.”

As a result, Natalie Cole looks half her age. Having survived Hepatitis C and kidney transplantation, Natalie Cole is stronger then ever and filled with an amazing spirit.

She’s even mapped out her future plan.

“Well, I’ve got a couple of things going on. My book Love Brought Me Back is coming out this month as well as a song with the same title. It’s very different and not jazz. It’s more edgy, kind of cool… I have been talking to some people too about doing an international album with several of my Spanish friends.

Backstage, David and I had a long talk about doing some more things together which I would love to do and you know, when you’re in the music business, you can go and go and go and go… there is so much stuff to do.”

This is true people… Natalie Cole is still far from finished.

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