Shanell's kiss and tell with Lil Wayne is so last year
But that doesn't mean they don't have surprises in store for Saturday's show big show at Philips Arena
- Drexina Nelson
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Shanell Woodgett came up in Southwest Atlanta and attended Tri-Cities High School, where she and her sister Wanita — known as D. Woods from Danity Kane — were friends with producer Bangladesh. A classically-trained dancer, she broke into the industry dancing and doing choreography, before going on to pen songs for artists like Kelis and Ne-Yo. Lil Wayne encouraged her talents, and nowadays she performs as Shanell on the Young Money roster. For Wayne’s current I’m Still Music tour — which hits Atlanta on Saturday — she not only performs but is his show’s artistic director as well. Crib Notes caught up with her this week as she rode on the tour bus.
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Where are you right now?
Shanell: I’m in my bunk, on the bus between Miami and Orlando.
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How many buses total are there on the tour?
I think there’s 20 buses, and like 15 trucks.
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Wow. Who do you ride on the bus with?
I have my own little caravan…I ride with the ladies. It’s me and the dancers.
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Does Wayne ride or fly?
Wayne does a little bit of both. On the longer trips I think he flies.
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How’s the tour going so far?
It’s going really good. It’s been full to packed, sold out houses every night. It’s makes me happy to see all of us back out there on stage.
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As the artistic director for Wayne’s show, what are your specific duties?
I’m in charge of the whole look of the show, from wardrobe to choreography, making sure the lights and sound — and video, if there is video — all go together and make sense. Building a picture for people to see onstage. It was a lot more work in the beginning before the tour started, but now I just clean up things I see, or that Wayne and I decide we want to change. It’s a lot different from doing choreography, which I used to do. This is a lot more work, but it’s good because I’m preparing myself to be able to put together my own show.
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And you also perform your debut single, “My Button,” right? Anything else?
Yes, performing “My Button” is exciting for me, because it’s my first single, and it’s 10-16,000 people per night — a great look for me. I also perform on “Prom Queen,” and then when Wayne does “Lollipop” and “Mrs. Officer” I come out and do those with him.
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Do you still kiss him when you perform “Prom Queen”?