On November 13, The New York Pops will celebrate the groundbreaking work of great ladies of song ranging from Billie Holiday to Ella Fitzgerald. Maestro Steven Reineke has once again convoked some of the greatest stars of stage and music, and will be joined onstage by Montego Glover, Capathia Jenkins and soul sensation Sy Smith. We had the opportunity to speak to Ms. Smith as she toured Europe with Chris Botti. “I’m actually opening the window here in Krakow to scream ‘I’m going to be in Carnegie Hall’” she exclaimed.

What are you looking forward to singing the most at Sophisticated Ladies with The New York Pops?

I kinda want to keep it a surprise because I don’t want my mom and dad to read and find out (laughs), but I’m looking forward to all of it, especially because we’ll be doing some trios, with Capathia Jenkins, Montego Glover and I all singing together, so I’m really excited about that!

I’m assuming everyone loves the music by these great jazz ladies, who would you say is your favorite of them?

Usually I would say without hesitation Ella Fitzgerald, right? But then when I start listening to the different artists is like when I look at my shoe closet, I put on a pair and say to myself “ooh, this is my favorite”, you know what I mean? For a different reason I’ll listen to Sarah Vaughn and go “oh my god!”, or Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington...each of these women did what they did with such passion and unparalleled level of skill, each in their own way, so I can’t say I have a favorite, I love all of them. I lean towards Ella, because she sounds so different than what I sound like...but actually all of them do, so I guess I tend to love the people that I can never imitate (laughs).

But also, like Ella, when you perform live you do a lot of scat singing, is she where you got that from?

I think I started making noises like that in an improvisational sense even before I heard Ella. I was doing funny little noises and imitating instruments when I was a kid, that was always my thing. I loved horns and rhythmic sections, and I imitated them all the time before I even knew what “scat” meant. It’s no coincidence that I tour with a horn player. Ella definitely speaks to me in that sense though.

I’m so impressed when your voice reaches those super high notes, and I don’t know of a better way to ask this, but when you realized you could do this with your voice, was it like Spider-Man discovering he’s Spider-Man?

(Laughs) I don’t know. It was one of those things that I knew I could do, but I didn’t do for a long time. I really didn’t utilize that part of my voice growing up, just because there was no place for it in choral music, and the things that I was doing as a kid. Classical stuff didn’t require whistle tones, the only place I could do it was by myself in my bedroom where I was doing these little tapes where I imitated characters on TV. As I got older and saw my voice in a different way, as an artist, I found a place for it and it made sense, but that was because I was singing my own music and telling my own stories.

You’re a trailblazer when it comes to indie soul, and electro-funk, you have your own record label and you took control of your career to sing what you wanted to sing which is really impressive. Do you ever feel like you need to set an example?

I don’t think of myself at all when I’m doing, I just do whatever I need to do. Maybe as I think back I’ll go “wow, that was sort of trailblazing” (laughs) but during the moment of creation, I’m just creating. I never really know where things are going to go or what the result is going to be, or how it will be received, I just know I gotta do it, if I don’t I feel like a piece of my soul has been restricted and it will cause some inner turmoil I can’t take. It just has to come out. I’ve seen the results of some of my work in terms of seeing other singers be inspired and that feels good. Seeing people take the reins of their own career and music feels really good.

Going back to the show for a bit, no offense to all the great male singers out there, but it’s so refreshing to see a show that celebrates just women.

Yeah! I can hear how excited you are, but I don’t know if your excitement can beat my excitement (laughs). I’m thrilled, especially at a time like right now. I don’t wanna make it political or anything, but at a time when girls are told they can’t have feelings, or they don’t really matter...to see the work of these women who in their time were probably told the same thing and stood loudly and proudly, and had a voice to say what they wanted to say, and said things that are so powerful that they still remain relevant today, that’s just amazing to me. I can’t believe I’m doing this! It’s important for girls, and guys to see this and remember that “yeah, chicks did this!”

You were on the road for a long time with Whitney Houston, and I think we can both agree in the future her music will be part of similar celebrations. But who else would you add to the lineup?

You’re right, Whitney would absolutely be there! In fact the first show I did with her was similar to this, she was celebrating classic music at Constitution Hall, doing music that inspired her, and I can definitely see a show that celebrated her music along with Roberta Flack, Lauryn Hill, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Karen Carpenter, Tina Turner…

And your favorite Diana Ross as well!

Oh gosh, she needs a whole show to herself! (Laughs) I don’t even think I left her out of that lineup, in my mind she’s always there.

Speaking of other legends, you also auditioned for the last Michael Jackson tour…

And met Michael! Oh my god, you have to know that for a time in my life when I was three or four, when people asked me what my name was I told them it was Michael Jackson. I cut off my hair, and attempted to have an afro like all the Jackson kids, so when I met him I couldn’t even believe it. Here’s the story, I was singing in the American Idol house orchestra and also touring with Chris Botti. On Wednesday nights we would finish Idol, I would get on the car and fly to whatever city Chris was in and perform during the next four days. So that night Ryan Seacrest sends someone home, I pick up my luggage, go to my car, go to the audition, meet Michael Jackson...I was dumbfounded that I was singing five feet from Michael Jackson. We have a boombox, it wasn’t even all hi-tech as people might think, it was just us singing with a boombox, no microphones or anything. He’s standing there, snapping his fingers and giving us some direction, it was amazing. Then I had to get on my truck, drive to the airport and get on a flight, so I didn’t even have time to process what had just happened until I got on the plane. Then I was like “oh my god, I met Michael Jackson and sang for him”, I couldn’t stop crying, it was so surreal. Life comes at you quickly, and even though I think I was prepared, I don’t think you’re ever ready to meet someone you idolize like that.

That’s amazing. Let me finish by asking if you’re interested in pursuing musical theatre as well? Maybe doing Broadway?

I’ve done a little bit of musical theatre in Los Angeles, it’s not on the same scale as NY by any means, but I really enjoy it. It’s a labor of love though and I know that I like to be rewarded instantly (laughs) and music gives me that instant gratification. But really, I wanna do it all. I love the stage and telling stories. I love the idea of getting to be someone else for a while, and I believe all stories are important, even funny stories, because they’re about people and that humanity is something everybody can get into. Being able to be onstage with other people and work as a team is something I love. So yes, I would love to do Broadway, I would need to seat still though...and that would be quite the commitment (laughs).

Join The New York Pops for Sophisticated Ladies on November 13. For tickets click here.