Eric: Congratulations on the new album. I was wondering if you could tell me a little about the album and what does the title of the album mean?
Lilian: It’s called Quiero Vivir! which means I Want to Live. It’s all about putting your past baggage behind and all your woes and moving forward full steam ahead and just living life to its fullest. Putting the whole thing together has been incredible. It’s been a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to release an album. I’ve been singing since I was five years old so when the opportunity presented itself, when Vince McMahon saw me sing the national anthem in Puerto Rico in January 2005, and he was really adamant about me releasing something in Spanish and I loved it.
Eric: How did you get the opportunity to work with John Secada?
Lilian: John was involved in the writing process with me because he knew the producers of the record, George Noriega and Tim Mitchell. So we started writing together and we co-wrote three songs on the album. And the whole thing happened where all of a sudden we had this duet and we were trying to think of who to do the duet with and that was when I was like, wait a minute, John Secada’s voice is exactly what I am looking for. So he agreed to do it and there you go.
Eric: Why is the majority of the album in Spanish as opposed to a 50/50 split?
Lilian: It’s confusing when you do an album that’s 50/50. People don’t understand, are you an English artist or are you a Spanish artist? It’s a little hard, especially on your debut record. So we had to choose one or the other. And Vince just really loved the way I sang in Spanish and just really loved the whole idea of the Latin explosion and using that because a lot of people don’t know that I’m Latina. For me it was great because I learned Spanish first, it was my first language, and then I also sang in a Spanish restaurant. And I really love to sing in Spanish. It was fine for me, I was really happy about it. I was just happy to get a record out.
Eric: Speaking about the WWE and your having performed in Puerto Rico for them, how big is the WWE internationally when you go to the Latin markets?
Lilian: It is huge. Overall, we are in about 140 countries. I’m not sure how many of them are Latin based but we have a huge Latino population and they love what we call La Lucha Libre which is wrestling. It’s great because they just embrace us so well and when I go there everyone just goes crazy and just wants autographs and hugs and kisses. It’s just really, really great.
Eric: How did you get your start with the WWE?
Lilian: I had an audition that came about, this was back in 1999, and my agent in New York City asked me if I wanted to audition and I was a little bit hesitant because I knew it was wrestling and I wasn’t a wrestler. But he talked me into doing it and now I thank him so much all the time because it was really an amazing opportunity I got because I love this job. I love working for this company. I love the fact I get to do something different every week and also that I get to meet so many people around the world and get to travel because I have always loved travelling.
Eric: Did you ever receive any wrestling training because sometimes you are involved in the angles?
Lilian: I’ve never received any official wrestling training. That’s like a full-time job in itself. Whenever I’ve been involved in something, we work it out pretty much that day so that I know how not to get hurt. Sometimes it works and sometimes accidents do happen. But yeah, I’ve never received official training.
Eric: What advice do you give to anyone that would one day like to make it to the WWE?
Lilian: If you want to make it as a wrestler to the WWE they’re a lot of schools that you can go to start training. Above everything, if you’ve got a certain craft that you’d like to do then you would have to get good at that craft. Whether it’s singing, whether it’s wrestling, or whether it’s announcing, you need experience and to gain as much experience as possible. For me, I did radio. I did hosting shows. I did commercials. I did voiceovers. I did jingles. So all of that prepared me for when the opportunity came about I was able to do the ring announcing.
Eric: Pretty soon the Tribute to the Troops show is coming up. I know that you are from a military background and I was wondering how does it feel for you to perform in front of the soldiers?
Lilian: For me it’s very, very emotional. It’s a very rewarding trip when I go to visit the troops whether it be Afghanistan, which we’ve gone to, or Iraq. I’ve been to Iraq twice and Afghanistan once. Just as soon as I get off the plane and I see the soldiers, because I’m an Army brat (I was born into an Army family and it’s been with me my whole life), I just see it as family when I see the soldiers. When I see them, when I see the uniforms and the soldiers, it’s just incredible and so rewarding. Singing the national anthem as they surround me and are saluting is unbelievable.
Eric: Do you have anything else you would like to let the fans know?
Lilian: I just want to thank the fans because for eight years I’ve had an incredible position, an incredible job, an incredible opportunity, and an incredible life because of them. Everywhere I go, everyone is just really, really nice and so happy to meet me. I just want them to know that I am happy to meet them as well. Now they’re embracing me with the music. They always embraced me when I sang the national anthem. Everyone has always been asking me “Where’s your CD?”. And now that it’s out, I see that everyone has been receiving it with such open arms. I can’t even tell you what that makes me feel and how that makes me feel. It’s incredible and I just want to thank each and every one of you.
