An Ingenue No More

She could have played it safe. After Canadian singer k.d. lang became a certifiable pop star in 1992 when her “Ingenue” album went platinum and spawned the No. 1 single “Constant Craving,” she was tempted to manufacture a similarly stylized, market-directed follow-up album.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel the pressure [to duplicate the commercial success of ‘Ingenue’],” says lang, who appears Friday night at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa. “I’m in a difficult transition now because of the way the music industry is set up: You’re expected to sell more the next time, or have more hits. But I tried not to let that sway me or have any decisive impact on my art.”

Not only did she resist the temptation to piece together “Ingenue II,” but the maverick lang headed off in a completely different direction. Released last fall, her latest “All You Can Eat” disc reveals a new soul dimension to her ever-expanding sense of artistry.

Some critics have complained that her new songs do not adequately exploit her emotionally rich singing, which was splendidly showcased in several stately torch ballads on “Ingenue.” “All You Can Eat” is also a far cry from the country elements that marked some of her earlier work in the mid-to-late ‘80s. The album is her first not to employ a steel guitar.

It’s perhaps not surprising that the adventurous but rather subdued “All You Can Eat” has been a commercial disappointment. However, lang, 34, says her vocals on this latest album represent a definite step forward in her creative evolution.

“ ‘All You Can Eat’ doesn’t show off my voice because it’s not done with traditional show-offy ornamentation--a loud ballad singing style,” she said in a recent phone interview. “But, in reality, the vocals on this record are very, very difficult because they’re long-held notes without vibrato and moving bass lines and stuff like that which [most] people wouldn’t understand.”

It doesn’t appear as though lang is fretting too much over the relatively tepid public response to “All You Can Eat.” Though she says it was “fantastic” to be recognized by a large audience with “Ingenue,” that mass acceptance made her consider where she really wanted to be positioned in the pop world. Ultimately, she said, she decided she felt more comfortable operating outside the mainstream. “I mean, I don’t like what’s on the radio, so why would I want to be a part of it?” she says with a chuckle.

In an interview with The Times last October, lang admitted that she briefly felt the pull of the Hollywood limelight when “Ingenue” first gave her celebrity status. At the time, she was living in Los Angeles; to her eventual dismay, she found herself attending movie premieres and worrying about what she was going to wear to various functions. Today, lang spends most of her nontouring time on or near her farm in Vancouver.

“Not only is the environment and the weather [in Vancouver] conducive to writing, but my best friends, who I’ve had for years, are there,” she explains. “They help keep me centered.”

Oddly enough, lang’s popular success transpired around the time the singer became controversial in some circles. In 1990, lang, a vegetarian, filmed a commercial for a “Meat Stinks” campaign. Though the spot never aired, it roused the ire of many fans within the mostly conservative and carnivorous country music community. Two years later she came out as a lesbian just as she released “Ingenue,” a musically diverse work (it contained everything from jazz to Asian musical influences) that brought her a significant pop audience for the first time.

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Despite her commercial success as an openly lesbian performer, lang questions whether there has been any fundamental change in American attitudes toward gay people.

“I don’t think much has changed,” she says. “There’s still a lot of prejudice toward an out lesbian out there. In fact, I think there’s a bit of a backlash [against me today]. I don’t know if people think I’m using [my lesbianism] as a bit of a marketing tool. But I’m just answering the questions; I’m not asking them.”

Lang sees herself exploring not only different musical genres in the future, but also different artistic disciplines. While a college student in her native Alberta, she was part of a performance art troupe. In 1991 she starred in a dramatic film called “Salmonberries.” She says she’s open to doing more work in both those art forms.

Her far-reaching artistic interests may be one reason why lang prefers performing concerts over making records. While her albums are usually stitched together by style or theme, her live shows tend to be a musical potpourri. It’s also on stage where her charisma and humor are allowed to come into full bloom.

So what’s on the immediate horizon for the chameleon-like lang?

“I’m going to be touring till September, and then anything could happen,” she says. “I could retire, or I could come out with an opera record.”

* k.d. lang performs Friday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. 8 p.m. $28-$46. (714) 556-2787.