The multihyphenate talks to The Hollywood Reporter about stepping outside of her comfort zone to record "Chai Tea With Heidi" and how Rod Stewart ended up in her spam folder.
Germany’s Next Top Model has licensed tracks to use as its theme song from name acts like Rihanna, Britney Spears, The Weeknd and Bruno Mars. For the 17th season, producers stayed in-house by asking longtime host and executive producer Heidi Klum to take a spin at the mic.
The result is “Chai Tea With Heidi,” a dance track from DJ duo WeddingCake featuring rhymes by Snoop Dogg, a man who seems to be everywhere as of late (including a surprise cameo at the Golden Globes nominations announcement to next month’s Super Bowl). The Hollywood Reporter caught up with the ever-busy Klum to find out how it all came together, whether it signals more music to come for the multi-hyphenate and how Rod Stewart ended up in her spam folder.
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Anyone who has seen your “Santa Baby” performance on America’s Got Talent knows you can carry a tune. Why did you decide to take a new step and put out a single?
Last year, after we finished the season of my German TV show, Germany’s Next Top Model, the producers and I were sitting around after the three-and-a-half-hour live show. We were discussing what to do for next year, what guests we should have and what the theme song should be. Someone said, “Why don’t you give it a go, Heidi?” I said, “Yes, I would love to try.” I’m always up for a challenge, to try something different and step outside of my comfort zone. I even suggested a duet, and they asked me if I had any ideas who that would be. I said, “Well, Snoop Dogg, of course. Who else?”
I’m a huge fan of Snoop Dogg and I have the utmost respect for him. I mean, 17 albums, seven of those albums went platinum? I grew up listening to Snoop Dogg, and I’ve always been a huge hip-hop fan. I’ve met him over the years, and I felt like I knew him well enough from seeing him in various places all over the world over the last 20 years that I could ask him. I told the producers, “I feel confident enough to just pick up the phone and call him.” If you don’t ask, how will he know that I’m into his music and that I would love to do something with him? So, I got all my courage together and called him up.
How did it go?
He was like, “Oh my God. This is so exciting. Let’s make it happen. Come to Inglewood.” I just said, “Really?” It was so great. Obviously, a few weeks went by before I could go see him because I was shooting and he was busy. While I had the time, I worked with the DJ duo WeddingCake, and we worked on the music. Then, I got in the car and drove to Inglewood. We got in the studio and played it for him, and he said it was dope that it was an EDM track. He’s so open-minded, as you can see by his latest album, Algorithm. He’s doing so many different things with different genres. It’s not just hip-hop — he’s into what other musicians are doing. H