Miranda Cosgrove ‘iCarly’ star takes to singing stardom

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Actress Miranda Cosgrove

By John Benson

entertainment@vindy.com

“iCarly” actress Miranda Cosgrove admits after years of waiting she’s excited to finally live out her rock ’n’ roll dream when her “Dancing Crazy Tour” comes through Cleveland for a Sunday show at the State Theatre.

“This will be my first time ever in Cleveland and I’m excited,” said Cosgrove, calling from her Los Angeles home. “You know how in that one phone commercial they say ‘Hello Cleveland?’ I feel like that’s famous, so I’m going to say that.”

As the lead in the Emmy-nominated and massively popular tweener Nickelodeon hit show, Cosgrove, 17, is about to officially cross over into a Miley Cyrus (“Hannah Montana”) orbit by parlaying her acting notoriety into a career in music. However, unlike the Disney Channel star’s Beatlemania-esque rise to the top of a few years ago, Cosgrove’s ascent into stardom is a bit more subdued. Her first album “Sparks Fly” hit No. 8 on the Billboard charts last spring but didn’t go platinum.

That’s why her debut concert jaunt “Dancing Crazy Tour” is hitting theaters, not arenas, this winter. A slow brew of a career appears to be just fine for Cosgrove, who got her start acting in commercials while in elementary school. After appearing in feature film “School of Rock” and Nickelodeon show “Drake & Josh,” the Los Angeles native was picked for “iCarly” and hasn’t looked back.

Lately her schedule has been getting quite busy. Not only did she contribute her voice to the animated summer blockbuster film “Despicable Me” but she also signed on as a spokeswoman for Neutrogena, made an appearance at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and guest starred on CBS’s “The Good Wife.” Also, she somehow found time to record her follow-up musical project, an EP due out in March.

“I think with the new songs I want to mature and sound a little bit different than my last album,” Cosgrove said. “I try not to be completely different but it did change a little. I got to work with Rivers Cuomo from Weezer. We have a duet on the album called ‘High Maintenance.’ It’s kind of a funny, tongue-in-cheek song. It’s still pop and it sounds a little bit more Weezer. So that’s different. It’s rocking.”

Among the new songs screaming fans can expect to hear at her live show are single “Dancing Crazy” and the upbeat “Sayonara.” Fans will also be happy to hear after the tour Cosgrove plans on returning to Hollywood to shoot season four of “iCarly.”

While she’s also involved with the sequel to “Despicable Me,” her future isn’t fully decided with acting projects, singing and even college looming.

“I’m reading scripts all of the time,” Cosgrove said. “Really, I’m in a place right now where I’m trying to figure out exactly what I want to do. I guess everybody is kind of at that place when they’re 17. All of my friends right now are trying to figure out what college to go to and all of that. I just sent out college applications to NYU, USC, Yale and Berkeley. So I’m just trying to decide and weigh all of my options.”

Hey, what about Ohio State University?

“I know, all my friends applied to six or seven schools, so I’m getting scared,” Cosgrove said. “I felt like I should have applied to more. Maybe I’ll add Ohio State.”