Chatting with the 'Idols'
Check out our exclusive interviews with the 'American Idol' finalists
By Dwayne Steward
Metromix Columbus
Associate Producer
August 25, 2009
The ratings juggernaut that is "American Idol" gave Columbus fans of the show their annual live fix on Aug. 25, as the "Idols Live Tour" stopped by Value City Arena.
The tour sends "Idol" champ Kris Allen and the other nine finalists on a dizzying trip though 53 arenas across the country.
We got a chance to talk with six of the top 10 finalists before they took the stage for the night.
Click through the gallery to see what they had to say about touring, their futures, and Paula's sudden departure from the show.
Kris Allen
Age: 23
Hometown: Conway, Ark.
Which "Idol" is he?: The soft-spoken 2009 "Idol" champion unexpectedly beat out Adam Lambert for the title. He became known as the darkhorse contender with his John Mayer-esque vibe and vocals. Many fans say it was his brilliant remake of Kanye West's "Heartbreaker" that sealed his victory.
Thoughts on the tour: "It's kind of bittersweet because it's almost over, but all of us finally get to start on our careers. ... Some of my favorite things are hanging out with the 'Idols' and crew and stuff. And I do love seeing the fans. 'American Idol' fans are the best. Worst thing is being away from family and friends. It's been really busy. We get a break every once in a while—we had one yesterday and we went to an Ohio State scrimmage game. It was pretty cool."
Thoughts about the show: "I miss the people that work on the show. We actually got to meet up with them in Atlanta, which was fun. But what I don't miss—I don't like the cameras. That's why I like the live show. I feel like without the cameras we can be ourselves and not worry about them. ... I got used to it, but still, it's not my thing to be on camera."
On his debut album: "I was flying back and forth to L.A. a lot at first [to work on the album], when we were doing shows near California. We started working on the album two weeks after the show ended. I'm just trying to get used to the co-writing thing. We're hoping for it to come out sometime in November. It's been fun. I got to work with [Joe King from] The Fray and Mat Kearney, they're helping me write some songs. But they've also got me writing a lot. On my 'days off' I'm writing songs."
On Paula's departure: "Personally, I think it's a sad thing. I'm glad I got be a part of the last season that she was on. She's so loving and caring. No matter what we did, she always cared for us. I think the show will miss that. But the show will go on. [It's] the biggest show in the world."
Lil Rounds
Age: 23
Hometown: Memphis, Tenn.
Which "Idol" is she?: Lil Rounds perplexed the world with her stage-name-but-that's-my-real-name "controversy." An early front-runner, the bluesy mother of two became known for not being afraid to state her opinions during the judges' critiques.
Thoughts on the tour: "I really enjoyed going back home and being able to perform on the home stage. Washington was nice because we got a chance to tour Capitol Hill. It was great because I had never been. Before the show had only been to five other states outside of Memphis, so seeing 50 is ... wow!"
On being a mom: "I can't bring my family with me to every state. It's really hard. But they've come to a few shows to see me and we use Skype, so it hasn't been too bad."
Thoughts about the show: "I miss being able to meet new mentors every week—that was really cool. I also miss the band that they had and being able to go to rehearsals. We would have so much fun in rehearsals. But I have to admit that the tour is better [laughs]."
What's next?: "Right after tour I'm going to a few meetings to see about a record deal. ... Right now I'm working on my writing. For the first album there will be a lot of co-writing, You won't see any full songs written by myself just yet, but I'm working on it."
On her sound: "An R&R and soul vibe for me especially. It'll be a little bit like the music now, like Beyoncé and Alicia Keys, but I want to bring back the live band feel of singers like Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin—that kind of warm sound. I also like jazz, so it won't be your regular all R&B album; there'll be a little bit of something for everybody."
On Paula's departure: "Paula will definitely be missed. Even when everybody else kind of gave you a whipping, she was the one that kind of said, 'Dry your tears, you're going to make it.' But it's still one of those shows that makes people's dreams come true, so I think it's going to go on, but I'm definitely going to miss seeing her smiling face on the panel."
Matt Giraud
Age: 23
Hometown: Kalamazoo, Mo.
Which "Idol" is he?: A dueling pianist by trade, Giraud snuck into the top 13 during the re-instated Wild Card round. He was most famous for his hats and his sexy crooning behind the piano. He also was spared with the hotly debated "judges' save" before his fifth-place elimination.
Insight about the concert: "We do a Billy Joel song and 'Don't Stop Believing' by Journey. We go head to head and it's pretty fun—it puts a little twist on the show. They actually rebuilt two pianos and put them together on one rig. It's pretty cool."
Thoughts on the tour: "It's great playing in these huge venues that you just always just thought you'd drive past. Before, for four hours I would do the dueling piano thing, I'd be this human jukebox. But now it's cool to be considered an artist and have people just sit and listen to you and not scream out "Journey" [laughs]."
Thoughts about the show: "There's not really much I miss from the show [laughs]. I liked getting a good comment from the judges every so often, but I'm just happy to have people making their own minds up about me now—and not having to worry about votes."
On Paula's departure: "I don't have much of an opinion. I love her to death and we keep in contact. She would say that she used to come back for the contestants and to help them out, so I think she'll miss that. But the show knows what they're doing, and no matter what Paula does, I'll be happy for her."
On his future: "I'm actually going straight for the Christian rap genre [laughs]. No, I'm just kidding. I'm going to be hosting an online show called 'Make the Cut.' It's an online singing competition on the Web site YOBI.tv. I'm just booking shows, and I was asked to work with some really great fundraisers. All the record deal stuff is in talks, but either way I'll be putting music out there. I'm excited to get out there and perform again. And just get out there and play music, for more than, like, 10 minutes [laughs]."
Megan Joy
Age: 22
Hometown: Sandy, Utah
Which "Idol" is she?: Deemed the wild "Idol" in some circles, Joy was the saucy single mother with vocals like Janis Joplin and a punk-rocker attitude like Pink. She became known for "cawing" during her famous "Rockin' Robin" rendition and later upsetting Simon for telling him she didn't care what he thought right before her elimination.
Thoughts on the tour: "My favorite part about the tour is knowing that when I get home I can move out of my mother's house and take care of my son myself. A close second is being up there for seven minutes and being able to do what I love to do."
On missing her son: "I hate being away from my baby, but we do have opportunities to bring our husbands and girlfriends to the show. No Skype for me though. It's kind of hard for my situation."
Thoughts about the show: "Glad to have that behind me. It was rough. [I do] miss the uncertainty of not knowing how far you were going to go. It was exciting climbing that ladder, but I'm climbing a much bigger ladder now."
On the debut album: "I don't have a deal musically, but modeling and TV are in the mix for me, which I'm supper stoked about. I've started a band back home with a super-genius, and I'll make music forever. It's going be a hip-hop/jazz fusion."
The story behind her tattoos: "My sleeve [on the right arm] is a castle, and then in the window is my fairy tale. There's me and Prince Charming, who isn't colored because I don't know what he looks like yet. And then my mom, brother and son are on the other side. I have my feet, my hands, my back and my hip done too. I have a little bit on my ribs, but I'm going to [add more and] do an 'American Idol' thing on one—not the logo, but a lucky charm I had throughout the whole thing, and then a treehouse on the other side."
Scott MacIntyre
Age: 23
Hometown: Scottsdale, Ariz.
Which "Idol" is he?: A seasoned pianist, drawing on the Billy Joel appeal, MacIntyre was first known as the visually impaired contestant (though he's not completely blind, he has severe tunnel vision caused by Leber's congenital amaurosis) but soon stood out for his musical abilities. Paula and Simon famously got into an argument over whether he should ditch the piano.
Thoughts on the tour: "I'm having the time of my life. There's about a thousand people outside after the show waiting for you. I love that part the best. It ends the night on a high note, and it's where you get the true reaction from the fans. I also enjoy the late-night talks with the 10 of us. You really get to know each other. I think we need a one-week reunion after the tour and then a one-month reunion after that, and then a one-year reunion [laughs]."
What's next?: "I'm in discussions right now with several major music publishers as far as representing me in writing for other bands and other artists. I've also been approached to write a book by random publishers, so I'm running in a lot of different directions [laughs]."
On his debut album: "My album's actually about midway through production. It's being independently published and should be out before Christmas. Once you're on 'Idol' you can't really say, 'I don't want to be a performer.' Our contract with 'Idol' ended Aug. 20, so we're free to start signing with other labels. I'm in talks with labels so it may still go that way, too."
What the album sounds like: "The album is going to be all original music along the lines of John Mayer, Gavin DeGraw, Vanessa Carlton, and a little bit of One Republic. It's very much that singer-songwriter meets pop rock genre, and very piano driven. You can check out some of the tracks on my Myspace page."
Danny Gokey
Age: 28
Hometown: Milwaukee, Wis.
Which "Idol" is he?: First became known because of his back story involving his deceased wife, but later made a name for himself with his raw gospel growl, evangelical past and clean-cut good looks.
Thoughts on the tour: "I like the music aspect and meeting the fans and even the money aspect, just getting paid to sing. Downsides are no sleep and getting used to the schedule. And also not having much freedom. But these are good problems to have [laughs]."
Hindsight about the show: "I kind of miss being on TV. It was fun being on TV. I kind of miss being a TV personality for a while. However, the pressure is the number one thing I don't miss. Mostly because I don't think I handled it very well. People say I was calm and reserved, but I was a mess behind the scenes [laughs]. I definitely don't think I gave my A-game when I was on the show."
On his debut album and new foundation: "I'm starting my project next month. I'm also working on my foundation, Sophia's Heart Foundation (named after his wife). We actually had a good day today. We have a food and shelter program, scholarship program and medical program. Two of the winners from the scholarship program are from Ohio, so we brought them out to the show and set them up with a gas card, a hotel room and we just had lunch with them. It was really nice."
