Other Great Reality Shows > American Idol

American Idol Season 7

<< < (10/101) > >>

marigold:
American Idol semifinalists to go home to talk about what went wrong

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20007164_20171835_20180044,00.html



American Idol's seventh season began more than a month ago, but now that the contestants' futures are in the hands of viewers at home, things are really getting good. America booted four semifinalists from the Top 24 last night: Garrett Haley, the 17-year-old Leif Garrett look-alike who sang ''Breaking Up Is Hard to Do''; Amy Davis, the sexy 25-year-old who slipped up with ''Where the Boys Are''; Joanne Borgella, the curvaceous 25-year-old who covered Dionne Warwick's ''I Say a Little Prayer for You''; and Colton Berry, the 18-year-old who took on Elvis' ''Suspicious Minds.'' And now, before they likely descend back into obscurity, EW.com gave them a chance to sound off about what went wrong, what they'd change, and a whole bunch of other topics.

GARRETT HALEY, 17, ELIDA, OHIO

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How are you feeling after being the first of the Top 24 to go?
GARRETT HALEY: I'm actually feeling really good. I told myself that morning that either way, even if I get sent home, I'm going to be happy and smiling and stuff. I'm still happy and I'm still smiling.

Going into the day, what were your thoughts about the likelihood of your going or staying?
I actually was shocked about leaving so soon. I don't know. I felt pretty good about it.

I was shocked with how quickly it all happened. Ryan didn't mess around. He was just like, boom! And you were gone.
It was pretty surprising. When he said, ''You're going home,'' or ''This is the end of the road for you,'' I thought he was kidding. But then the music came on and his face stayed serious. I was like, Oh my God, he's for real! Then I was standing there trying to remember the lyrics of the song I had to sing.

Simon was really harsh with his comments about you being pale and looking like you'd been shut up in a room for a month. How did that make you feel?
I thought it was pretty funny, the whole pale thing, because I know I'm a fair kid. I wouldn't change that for anything, because I love the way I am. This competition is about being true to yourself. If I went tanning, it'd just be like, ''All right, Simon, you are right.'' I'm happy with the way I am.

Did anyone tell you that you were on The View the next day? They had your picture up and were talking about you.
Yes, someone said something about that! I was like, Oh my gosh, that is so cool. I'm going to have to look that up or something.

Did you think you could have wowed America if you had one more performance?
This next song that I was about to sing was about to be amazing, so I was excited about that.

What was the next song you were going to sing?
I'm not allowed to say.

Okay...well, then, what other kinds of songs — just give me an example — would you have liked to sing?
A more upbeat song. It was definitely going to be upbeat and show my range.

I don't know what that means. Is it a Justin Timberlake song? A Beatles song? ''Upbeat'' describes about half of songs out there.
Yeah, it's like...pretty much that, though. Anything that would make you get up and dance.

You have interesting hair, to say the least. Would you have done anything crazy and Sanjaya-like with it?
I don't think I would go, like, crazy-crazy with it. I mean, I might straighten it because I like the way it looks straightened. But I don't think I would go with the fauxhawk or anything like that. Although that was really sweet on Sanjaya, but I don't think it would look too good on me.

marigold:

Interview with EW and Amy Davis



ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Going into the evening, how did you feel about your chances?
AMY DAVIS: Well, I definitely was not happy with my performance. It's really because I have a disadvantage: I'm trained to use an in-ear monitor. My brain is trained to use an in-ear monitor. I'm telling you, it's a bad skill on my part. Without an in-ear, I can't stay on pitch. I tried to do as well as I could without having that in-ear monitor, but it was obviously a very pitchy performance.

In what capacity had you used in-ear monitors before?
I don't have any vocal training, but performing with my bands back at home — I've been doing it for about four years — but once it became more than just two people performing in an acoustic duo, it was very hard to hear my vocals. So I said, I'm going to buy the in-ears because I know how important it is. I've been using those consistently for the past two years. For my own brain, the way it works, it's really hard for me to change from an in-ear monitor to a floor monitor. My brain is totally trained to use that. The good thing is that all the pros that are out there use in-ear monitors way more than they use floor monitors, so I know I can sing better. I don't normally sing so pitchy, but it's gonna take some work on my part to prove that to America post-Idol.

The monitor problem aside, do you wish you'd picked a different song?
You know, I really like that Connie Francis song, and there wasn't a lot of other choices that I would have gone with because I'm actually — and America may not believe this at this moment — I'm very strong at doing those types of songs. Maybe I should have chosen something else. I had a small amount of time to choose, so I went with the Connie Francis.

The song had a country vibe to it. Is that where you'd like to see yourself go?
I really have more of a preference for folk-country or folk-pop — just very vocally driven songs. My favorite artist is Patti Griffin — her style of music is where, when I'm performing or listening to music, I feel the passion. I'm not true, true country. I really like more of the folk styles.

Did you ever think, ''If I just had one more week...''?
Absolutely. Definitely. I don't know how long it would have taken for my brain to switch to the floor monitor style of hearing, but it would have only gotten better. It's not going to happen, but that's okay.

What are you going to do now?
I'm not sure if I'm going to go back to grad school now. I'd really like to keep focusing on music. I feel like I have something to prove to America, being the first girl cut, so I really want to focus on that. I'm definitely interested in continuing modeling. I really need to work, is what I need to do. I hope it's me doing something I have a passion for, which is music.

marigold:

Interview with EW and Joanne Borgella



ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What do you think went wrong with your performance of ''I Say a Little Prayer for You''?
JOANNE BORGELLA: Well, the judges were mostly focused on me personally. They were like, ''You look nervous.'' I know, for me, I was having a bad day, which shouldn't affect any performance.

Why were you having a bad day?
Well, no, I had a moment. I sadly let that show on camera. As a result of that, they said what they said. They weren't really talking about my vocals — they were talking about how I don't have confidence. Which is so opposite! When I get a microphone, you can't get it away from me. Basically, it was the one bad day on the worst day to have it because it's the most important day, and it showed.

After you got the poor comments from Simon, did you go into elimination night thinking you'd probably go home?
You know, I never really thought about it. Every week people are going to go home. I just happened to be the first week. Everyone has to have that in their mind — it's the reality of the show. But with American Idol, the beauty of it all is that you don't have to be the winner. I'm still going to do what I have to do. I'm going to have an album and I'm going to continue to model.

You say you don't have to be the winner to win on American Idol, but what does that mean? How do you get a record deal?
Honestly, I feel like the winner. Basically, I'm going to work on my music. Hopefully later on within this year or early next year, I'll have some music out. You're still part of the Top 24, you're in the American Idol home. You're still signed with great people, you're working with great people. I'm probably in the best position I could ever pray for.

What would the album be like that you'd create?
I'd love to do a blended album. I want to have those power ballads, but then I'd like to have a track produced by Timbaland or work with Kanye. I want to do a mixture of all that because I grew up listening to Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, and Barbra Streisand. The sad thing is no one has seen me performing my power ballads on American Idol. I did those on Hollywood Week, but they weren't shown.

You won Monique's F.A.T. Chance, too. Are reality competitions your thing?
It was a beauty pageant, not a reality show. I go out on a limb. I go out with faith, really. I tried out for that show because, being plus-size, it's not easy getting into an industry that's all about looks. Even with Monique's F.A.T. Chance, it was for music because I thought maybe this would be my stepping-stone for music. It was an amazing experience. From there, I went into my modeling career. American Idol was all about singing for me. Nothing can prepare you for what you experience on Idol. No other show or other job can prepare you for what you go through at Idol, because it's so amazing.

If you had to choose the one song that you wish you could have shown America, what would it have been?
The song I was dying to sing was ''One Moment in Time'' by Whitney Houston. That song would have been me all over it.

What's in store for you tomorrow?
I'll go back to New York, and basically you'll probably be seeing me everywhere. You're definitely going to see me modeling, you're going to see me at events, and you're going to see me smiling away.

marigold:

Interview with EW and Colton Berry



ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Looking back at your performance of ''Suspicious Minds,'' what do you think went wrong?
COLTON BERRY: I really don't think me leaving the show had anything to do with my performance.

What did it have to do with then?
I really don't know. I can't put my finger on it. I was really confident with my performance, and I watched the performance and the vocals weren't terrible. I thought it was a great performance, maybe it just wasn't the most dazzling in the world, but I don't know.

Were you scared to take on Elvis?
No, because I completely switched it up. I didn't agree with Simon when he said it sounded like a karaoke version of the same song. When I arranged it and put the vocal lines together, if you listened, my arrangement doesn't even sound like the same song. I didn't agree with that. I chose a song that would show my personality and show that I'm not boring or just a nobody. I definitely got that across.

What's your response to Simon's suggestion that you get a good job and don't pursue music?
You know, Simon chose us to be the Top 24, and we're the top 24 out of hundreds of thousands of people who auditioned. Obviously, we're all going to have careers in music no matter when we get kicked off. I mean, American Idol is the top of the top — you don't go any further than American Idol. Simon's job is to sit there and be mean. I expected him to say something like that, and of course, I didn't take it personally.

You've mentioned being interested in ballads, rock, and even R&B. With such a wide range, how do you coalesce your identity as an artist?
Here's an example: Kelly Clarkson. When she was on Idol, she didn't put herself in a genre. She sang whatever she wanted to, and she ended up becoming kind of her own thing. When you hear her on the radio, you were like, Oh, that's Kelly Clarkson. And she changed with the time. Her albums got more rock, more R&B — whatever was her feeling at the time. I think I'm the same kind of artist.

The dream was to get to the Top 24. What's your dream now?
You know, I've always had two dreams in life. One was to be on American Idol. That's off the list. And the second, and they said a little about it on the show, is to be on Broadway. I've been doing theater since I was young, but that's my ideal role and aspiration.

What's the ideal role for you on Broadway?
You know, Wicked is really hot right now.

Who would you play? Fiyero?
Oh yeah, definitely, that would be the role of a lifetime. I'm definitely going to start setting up auditions and maybe see if I can land something.

Maybe I missed this in an earlier episode, but what's the deal with the Teletubbies theme song? Last night's episode mentioned that you hum it sometimes?
That was my method for calming my nerves. I started doing it a long time ago. I just hum the song in my head because it was so weird and random. It's just something kind of quirky about me that I did. It kind of stuck with me.

Do you feel like people didn't know you very well? Do you think being featured more would have given you a better chance?
Some of the other contestants are obviously featured more than others. I don't think I necessarily did not or did sway America in a certain direction. I just think they voted for their favorites, and maybe I was stuck somewhere in the middle, and because I didn't have much exposure, it ended up landing me in the bottom.

RudyRules:
Thanks for posting the great articles, ca.  You always post good stuff, and so neatly! :tup:

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page

Go to full version