R&B sensation Olivia (Longott) is ready to blow up the scene with her dynamite vocal talent and irresistible style, this time as a solo artist on Universal Motown. The New York native, who is preparing to release her upcoming album, 'Show the World,' is attempting to rebrand herself after stints on J Records and then as the lone female member of 50 Cent's G-Unit crew.

In fact, Olivia has a few irons in the fire these days. In addition to the new CD, she's set to appear in the second season of VH1's reality show, 'Love & Hip Hop.' And the R&B songstress is also promoting a home decor collection and has a motivational book for women about her career ups and downs. ("The name looks like 'Impossible' but its actually 'I'm Possible,'" she said.)

Still, she says performing is the thing she loves most. She rocked the Apple Store, Soho as part of a live event series that has been happening this June at Apple stores across the country for Black Music Month. Apple is also featuring a special iTunes page dedicated to black music, giving artists such as Olivia a unique platform to attract large new audiences.

The stellar performance included Olivia's hit song, 'December,' an infectious ballad about uncertain romance. She also sang her next single 'Confident,' an upbeat party song that shows her versatility. Afterward, I sat down with Olivia to chat about how she's working on the second phase of her career and what inspires her as a singer and songwriter.

WB: Your new single 'December' is a song about love and heartache. Was this song based on a personal experience?
O: You know, it wasn't a personal experience but there are some elements that relate to situations I've been through. So many women and men have been lied to by partners, so I knew that a lot of people could relate to this record. I especially like to write songs that empower women and speak for women. My first single was 'Bizounce,' and I was empowering women by telling them to leave the dude alone.





WB: Your forthcoming album is titled 'Show the World.' What do you have to show the world that they might have missed or misunderstood when you first came out on J Records ten years ago and in 2005 on G-Unit Records? Do you have something to prove?
O: I've always had something to prove, being that I've usually been the only girl in a male-oriented field and a male-oriented group. When I first signed with J records, I was 17 years old. I was the very first artist signed to the label and I knew that I was going to be the experimental person because they had just brought everyone over from all the other labels. I just wanted to sing, but I really didn't know anything about it. I was in school, going to Five Towns College at night and Hofstra University during the day. I was doing both, because it was for the music.

Then, when I got the deal it was like, what am I going to college for? It was really funny because there was a lot of politics that went on behind the scenes that I didn't know about, because again I was young and I just wanted to sing. They ended up dropping me, but the person who got me dropped actually brought me with them to Interscope. That's were I meet 50 Cent. So I was already signed to Interscope first, and then I meet 50 and Dr. Dre, who were both vying for me to be on their labels. Obviously, we know 50 won.

WB: Why did you decide to leave G-Unit Records? Was it a hard decision?
O: It was great experience, but it turned out to be something that I knew I couldn't do for the long-term because I was a solo artist in my heart , and being up there with a bunch of guys for the rest of my career was not what I wanted. 50 Cent and I spoke about that a lot of times and he understood, and tried to get me to stay a few times...then it just came out in the news that they had dropped me. I'm like, what are they talking about? Then it turned into all those rumors saying I was probably sleeping with them, and this and that... and that's what hurt me the most because they were all friends and 50 Cent was the closest one to me. We spoke all the time.

Once I heard all that stuff, I went overseas for about three years. I toured. I just wanted to get away, and I felt like I needed to re-brand myself. That's what I did during that whole time. That's why people thought that I probably had given up or just went away. They probably didn't know it, but I had a big fan base over there. So I toured Australia by myself, Africa, a whole bunch of places that I had already been to with G-Unit. But I got to do it on my own. You know, at J records we really just did the U.S., so being able to tour by myself overseas was a blessing.

WB: When you're away from New York City, what do you miss the most?
O: My family. My first cousin is my assistant and I never leave home without her. Shea is one of my stylists who I started out with on J records. So I have a loyal heart and I always love to keep family around me. My dogs. I miss my Yorkies all the time.

WB: What affect has the reality show 'Love & Hip-Hop' had on your career?
O: For me, it's been great. You can see the success of 'December.' That's the only reason I did the show. I'm very, very pleased with it. I don't like to open up my personal life to anybody. Sometimes some of my closest friends don't know certain things. That's just how I am, so having to do the show in some cases was really helpful because I got to say how I feel about the industry, why I said a lot of these bitches out here can't sing, and I don't understand why they have deals. If you see the show, I'm the one that tried to stay away from all of the drama.