Heidi Klum is getting back into music, and has Snoop Dogg and Rod Stewart backing her up. The America’s Got Talent judge spoke with Billboard News about her forthcoming single, “Chai Tea With Heidi,” and what it was like working with the rap and rock legends when bringing the song to life.
The 48-year-old model shares that she began working on the track — which features a sample from Stewart’s “Baby Jane” — with DJ Wedding Cake before presenting Snoop with her ideas.
“The time from when I called [Snoop] and actually driving to Inglewood, I was not at home twiddling my thumbs. I’m not gonna drive to Snoop Dogg and not have anything, I’m gonna work on something,” Klum recalls. “So I worked with DJ Wedding Cake, I worked on getting this track together and already I was thinking what can I sing over this, and I’ve always loved Rod and I think his lyrics and his melodies are so beautiful, but let’s make this now.”
Klum continues, “That’s how I came about that I’m singing [Stewart’s] ‘Baby Jane’ over it, and so when I went to Snoop’s and I played this to him, he’s like, ‘Oh, dance. You guys love dance tracks in Germany.’ And he went into the vocal booth right there and started rapping over it. … Three days later, we worked on it and it was done.”
Getting the sample of Stewart’s “Baby Jane” cleared proved to be a more difficult task, though, and the model started to worry about the fate of “Chai Tea With Heidi” after not receiving clearance right away. “I emailed him, sent him the song, and we’re already so far into the game,” she explains. “We already had a music video and don’t have his ‘Yay, OK.’ So I sent it to him, and for four or five weeks, I hear nothing.”
The lack of response turned out to be a simple snafu. “He was in the spam mail and he actually emailed me back immediately … he loves the song,” Klum adda, laughing. “He was like, ‘Yes, you have the OK to use the song.’”
“Chai Tea With Heidi” featuring Snoop Dogg and DJ Wedding Cake is set to arrive on Friday, Jan. 14. See Klum’s full interview with Billboard News above.
