by Gina Scarpa

The drama never ceases to exist on The Real Housewives of New Jersey but Melissa Gorga is doing her best to move forward and focus on the positive. Melissa and her husband Joe moved to distance themselves from Teresa, and Melissa is continuing to put her focus on her music career. The music video for her single "I Just Wanna" was released on Friday and this past weekend, she was out celebrating in nearby Connecticut at Mohegan Sun's Sweet (And Not So Sweet) 16th Birthday Party. She partied at Vista Lounge with fans, participated in a Q&A session the next day for them, as well as posed for photos and signed autographs. We caught up with the busy housewife in an exclusive interview about the recent reunion episodes, as well as her budding music career.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What's the fan reaction been like for you lately?
A. Melissa: You know what? It's been triple lately than it used to be. I don't know if it's just having another season or what it is. The first season, I could go to the mall and now I can't. It's like, everything is just changing and it's happening fast! It's a big change for me and for my family and for my husband and we're all starting to adjust to it. It's been crazy but it's always a great fan reaction. I never have anyone walk up to me and say a negative thing. They're all just so loving and warm. It's great. That's the best part of the job, hearing what they think of the show or what they think of me. If they tell me that I inspired them to reach for their dreams, that's what gets me excited.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Your fans really want you to put out an album. Is there any chance of that happening?
A. Melissa: There is! I just started working with, and I don't know if I've told anyone this or not, but I just started working with Johnny Wright, who is huge. He works with Akon, Justin Timberlake, The Jonas Brothers. He just took me on as his music manager so we'll see where it goes from there.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: There's been a lot of drama around Real Housewives right now, obviously, especially with the reunion episodes airing. Is it hard for you to watch?
A. Melissa: It is hard to watch, yeah. It's definitely hard to watch. It's definitely sad when you watch, especially when you watch the reunions because it's just like, everyone getting to speak to each other and not being able to get through. It's just the hardest part about it. But yeah, it's hard. It is what it is, it's reality. I feel like the show is so huge because it goes on in everyone's house and we are brave enough to show everybody. It is what it is and I think that's what makes the show so huge. It's very real, none of this is scripted, and it goes on in everyone's homes whether it be your cousin, your aunt, your uncle, everybody has an issue with somebody, a sibling. We're just stupid enough to show everybody!

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: There's rumors about a cast shakeup for next season. Are you nervous about new people coming into the mix or would it almost be a welcome change to the current dynamics?
A. Melissa: No, I wouldn't be nervous and I have a feeling that there are going to be new ones. I wasn't told there are but we all have a feeling that that's coming, if there even is a Season 5. We'll see, they haven't announced Season 5 yet.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What else is going on for you right now?
A. Melissa: I just released my first music video on Friday for "I Just Wanna" so I'm really excited about it. I'm getting such great reviews on that from everyone. That's it! "I Just Wanna" is on iTunes and I'm just working on that right now.

(Image courtesy of Mohegan Sun)

Follow Gina @ginascarpa