COVER SPOT: Melanie Fiona covers March 2012 VIBE VIXEN magazine

Empowered R&B diva Melanie Fiona, whose sophomore MF Life album was released today, is the cover girl for  VIBE VIXEN magazine’s March 2012 issue.

The 28-year old Canadian-Guyanese songstress looks absolutely gorgeous on the cover, in a coral strapless RACHEL Rachel Roy (St. Vincent heritage) Farrah jumpsuit paired with a LAUREN by Ralph Lauren tie and coiled curls.

Melanie who recently broke up with her boyfriend of 3 years, CSI: Miami‘s Adam Rodriguez, opens up to VIBE VIXEN about her first heartbreak, a low point in her career and having to work harder than most artiste to maintain her career.

Read an excerpt below:

On hitting a low in her career
It got pretty low for me. I started to have a lot of emotional turmoil with my mental state of mind and my body ’cause I was exhausted. People don’t really understand what an artist really has to go through. It’s such an intense schedule; one day I’m in L.A., the next day I’m in Switzerland, the next day I’m in Italy and the next day I’m back in L.A. Mind you, I’m performing in that time in between, I’m meeting people, I’m talking and, you know, I’m on a different schedule. I came back off of the Alicia Keys tour, and I just hit the wall. Like, straight-up, I hit the wall. I crashed; I said to my team, ‘I’m no good to anyone right now. I need to recover,’ and it really affected my confidence level in my approach to my job, my mind when it came to everything around me. I started to victimize myself in a way and it’s because when your body is not healthy, it really does produce negative emotions and energy and so.

On her very first heartbreak
The first cut is the deepest. I had a boyfriend when I was 16 and he was a jerk, but I loved him. It was before I put out my first album, when I was recording the first album, and it was right after I got off the Kanye West [Glow In The Dark] tour in 2008, and I was devastated. I was absolutely devastated because that was like the first crazy-stupid love I’ve ever been in my quote-unquote adult life. I actually made the decision to end it because I decided that I had gone back and forth enough.

On her career vs. newer artists’ career
My team and I worked so, so much harder than artists now. [They are] like, ‘Hey, I’m a superstar. I’m gonna make a YouTube video, and it’s gonna get eight gazillion views, and I’m gonna be famous, and I’m gonna end up on every TV show!’ Meanwhile, I’m busting my ass just to get spoken about on radio and television. I appreciate the process I went through to be honest, and I actually feel bad for the people who don’t have to go through that process because they get hit with a harder blow when it doesn’t work. I think that they create the one-hit wonder phenomenon rather than the career artist.

Read the full interview over at VIBE VIXEN.

Go cop Melanie Fiona’s “The MF Life” now on itunes or in stores today.

RELATED STORIES:

SPLITSVILLE: Melanie Fiona splits from CSI:Miami actor Adam Rodriguez after 3 years!

NEW MUSIC: Drake co-writes Melanie Fiona’s – “I Been That Girl”

VIDEO: Melanie Fiona performing “4AM” on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”