The singer and actress opens up about the importance of having a romantic partner who supports your career.
In "Resort to Love," Christina Milian plays a singer who, like herself, has had her "heart broken" by the music industry -- and the star is getting real about having a supportive partner when things get challenging in her own career.
The romantic comedy follows Erica (Milian), an aspiring pop star, who, following a setback in her career, takes a singing gig at a resort on the island of Mauritius only to soon discover that not only is her ex-fiancé (Jay Pharoah) getting married there, but she'll have to sing at his wedding.
In an interview with TooFab, the actress-singer opened up about starring in "Resort to Love," including how she relates to her character.
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View StoryMilian, 39, said there were "a lot of elements" that drew her to the project.
"First off, the script -- I loved that so much of it like there was heart. It was not just a comedy and it wasn't a cookie-cutter, romantic comedy. And I love that each character, not only my character, Erica, they're confronted with a situation that's completely awkward and makes you kind of question where you are in life and why it's happening and you kind of have to overcome it."
She continued, "I think ... when you hit your thirties or just anybody these days, we come into situations that we're all relating to so many different things now or experiencing so many different things that I think it was great that the world's going to be able to see themselves. When people see this, they'll see themselves in one of these characters."
"And then for me, I got to sing. I got to sing again. I play a girl who's just trying to fulfill her dreams as a singer," Milian added. "And I've always been passionate about my music career. And so I understood, Erica's role as loving music and also having her heart broken and being shattered by the music industry."
At the beginning of the film, Erica has a meltdown after suffering a setback in her music career. When asked how she overcame past setbacks or challenges in her own singing career, Milian said it had to do with who was by her side.
"I think it has to do with the right person coming into your life at the right time," explained Milian, who is married to French singer M. Pokora. "I've been in situations or relationships in the past that didn't work out. At the time, it made me question like, 'Maybe it didn't work out because I put my career in front of it even though I thought maybe they supported it?'"
She continued, "But it turns out they weren't the right person and [I] wasn't meant to be with that person and it was technically meant to be because now that I'm with my spouse now, I realize that somebody is willing to sacrifice for each other and still be able to have a family, still [be able to] fulfill your dreams and still be able to have it all rather than limiting yourself. I've questioned it in the past, but I did get my answers and I'm seeing it and I'm living it now."
Meanwhile, in "Resort to Love," Erica performs several cover songs, including "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor, "Like I'm Gonna Lose You" by Meghan Trainor and "No One" by Alicia Keys, who is also a producer on the film.
When asked which of the covers was her favorite, Milian said she enjoyed singing Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes' "(I've Had) The Time of My Life.'" In fact, the star said performing the song was one of her "favorite scenes."
See why in the full interview, above!
"Resort to Love" is available on Netflix on July 29.