The voice behind Kim Possible

Christy Carlson Romano, known by Disney Channel fans as the meticulous Ren on Even Stevens, makes her animated debut as the voice of teen action hero Kim Possible. At times, Romano says, it seems she and her animated alter ego were made for each other.

"I clicked with Kim the moment I saw her drawing," says Romano. "She’s a teenager, she’s a cheerleader, she’s perky and I’m all that. And even though I don’t think I’m equipped to save the world, I’d like to help as much as I can."

Romano has enjoyed a virtually seamless shift from the facial expression and body language employed in live action work to the physically constrictive yet imaginatively boundless use of her voice in acting for animation.

"I didn’t really have to do any prepping – Kim’s my age-range, dealing with the same things I do. So once you get into the fantasy, it’s easy to understand what you need to do to bring the character to life," Romano says. "By looking at her body and age, you can see Kim’s going to have a higher voice. So you adapt. The main acting challenge is that you have to be even more animated acting for a cartoon that you do working in live action."

The divergence between her on-screen and animated characters also provides Romano with an enjoyable acting range on a weekly basis. "It’s interesting to go once in a week and record something completely different from what I do the rest of the week," Romano says. "Ren always knows what she wants, whereas Kim takes a lot of chances – she’s out there going for it, and she does some fun stuff. In one episode, Kim is a hologram of herself so she can be in two places at once. Who wouldn’t want to do that?"

A native of Milford, Connecticut, Romano has spent most of her life performing, beginning with her first acting job at age 7 in an Atlanta production of Annie. Her extensive theatrical work includes roles in Night of the Hunter, Just One World and Broadway Kids Sing Broadway in which she was a featured soloist, as well as in the role of Mary Phagan in Hal Prince’s Parade at Lincoln Center. She also appeared in the national tours of The Will Rogers Follies as Mary Rogers opposite Keith Carradine and Mac Davis (and directed by Tommy Tune) and in The Sound of Music where she played Marta to Marie Osmond’s Maria.

Romano’s list of features film credits include Woody Allen’s Everyone Says I Love You, co-starring with Armand Assante in Looking for an Echo and opposite Jennifer Tilly and Robert Klein in Goosed.

This year, she became the first actress to star in three Disney Channel projects: a live action series (Even Stevens), an original movie Cadet Kelly in which she plays a stringent military school cadet leader and an animated series (Kim Possible).

Romano studied dance at the School of American Ballet in New York and is enrolled at the Professional Children’s School. In her spare time, the 17-year old, straight "A" student enjoys dancing, singing, swimming, gymnastics, bike riding, tennis, basketball, softball, soccer, ice-skating and roller blading. Romano’s goals are to study opera at Julliard and to someday play the role of Juliet.

(Kim Possible is aired every weekend at 6 to 6:30 p.m. on the Disney Channel.)

A blues album

Every music lover knows that modern music traces its origins to the blues. The genre may have evolved to other forms like R&B, disco and even hip hop but the blues is considered as modern music in its purest form.

Now, EMI Music Philippines presents a collection that every quintessential music lover should have: Lady Sings the Blues.

The album boasts of an impressive line-up of ingénues from the ’40’s to present time. Featured in Lady Sings the Blues are Norah Jones’ Don’t know Why, Randy Crawford’s Rainy Night in Georgia and Aretha Franklin’s anthemic (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.

Dusty Springfield’s The Look of Love as well as Etta James’ I Just Wanna Make Love To You and Erma Franklin’s Light My Fire are also included in the album. Grammy winners Bonnie Raitt, Dionne Warwick and Dianne Reeves are also in the album for I Can’t Make You Love Me, Walk on By and In A Sentimental Mood, respectively.

Legendary singers Dinah Washington for Night and Day, Billie Holiday for That Ole Devil Called Love, Ella Fitzgerald for Summertime and Sarah Vaughn for Misty are also included in the album. Cry Me A River by Julie London, My Funny Valentine by Dinah Shore and Andre Pevin, I Love You Porgy by Nina Simone, Me and Bobby McGee by Janis Joplin and Stormy Weather by Sarah Vaughn, Jimmie Jones and Orchestra complete the line-up.

Besides getting an impressive line-up of songs, the first 3,000 buyers of Lady Sings The Blues automatically get a Discovery Spa Discount Card which entitles the holder 20 percent off on various spa services and 50 percent off on membership fees.

Lady Sings the Blues is available in record bars nationwide in CD and cassette formats under EMI Music Philippines.