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Access Atlanta > American Idol Buzz > Archives > 2007 > April > 19
Thursday, April 19, 2007
4/19: Idol on Oprah
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Two of the most powerful entities on TV mashed up Thursday. The “American Idol” finalists popped in on Oprah Winfrey. Like “American Idol” needs the promotion? They are pushing “Idol Gives Back” next week.
Simon, via satellite, said about Sanjaya’s departure: “I was on a very happy plane last night. I miss him probably in the same way I miss my favorite horror movie. And i don’t mean that nastily. I like horror movies. I hate it. I love it. A very sweet guy. Quite entertaining but a horrible singer. That was the problem.”
“If he made it to the top three, I’m gone,” he said. But “they wouldn’t let me.”
“I’m a little bit frustrated. I haven’t had enough ‘oh my god’ moments. I want to see a few more.”
Who does he like? “I have a soft spot for Melinda. Very sweet girl. I like her. Jordin was sensational this week. Chris I like because he’s contemporary. But I’m a little bit worried about singing through the nose… My top three or top two would be Melinda, Jordin and I’m not writing off LaKisha.”
Simon on Paula: “She’s gone sensible-ish. I love when she talks complete and utter rubbish. We haven’t had enough of that the past few weeks.”
Then Oprah talks to the final six. Some (bland) comments. In fact, she didn’t get much at all. Here’s a sampling:
Jordin: “It’s really awesome. I’m enjoying every minute of this.”
Melinda: “All I can do is try to take baby steps. I try not to listen to what’s going on. We’ve all been considered frontrunners at some point.” (Huh?) On Ryan forcing her to pick a side: “Why in the world would you do that to me. I wanted to cry. So I just sat down.”
Blake: “Being on this stage very week is very surreal.”
Phil: “My poor wife [about missing the birth of his second daughter to try out for ‘Idol.’]. I missed my first because I was in the Navy. So I’m not playing favorites.”
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4/19: Sanjaya “kind of knew” he was a goner
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sanjaya was, as expected, soft spoken and his answers were so brief, he managed to get through quite a few reporter questions in 30 minutes. I was like 8th in line and within 5 minutes, I got in.
Upfront, he said he sensed this was his time to go. “When I watched the show back Tuesday, I kind of had a feeling. I was in the dumps Wednesday. I kind of knew.”
“I’m not a country singer. That took a toll on me. I didn’t h ave a strong enough set of performances to have people forgive me for that. LaKisha, she’s not country either. But she had enough strong performances to get through. I didn’t think I did.” (This kid ain’t stupid!)
He only had an “inkling” over time how big a deal he had become:
“It’s been kind of surreal for me. I got inklings every once in awhile of something different, something going on that was a cultural phenomenon. I don’t think it has hit me exactly how big it is.”
Did he read the blogs about himself?
“I read online blogs to balance myself. It was impossible not to hear stuff. Oftentimes, it was negative. I kind of balanced the positive and negative to stay grounded.”
I asked him whether Bonnie Raitt’s “Something to Talk About” was his first choice. It wasn’t. He wanted to sing Janis Joplin’s “Mercedes Benz” but since Ford is a sponsor, the producers said, um, no. That’s kind of interesting in a random sort of way.
I had one followup and asked his favorite personal performance. Not surprisingly, it was “Busame Mucho” from last week, the only time Simon truly gave him a compliment.
His take on Simon’s negative opinion of him for most of the competition:
“I think he had gotten to the point that I hadn’t fulfilled my potential for long enough. He didn’t think I deserved to be there, whch is fine. Everyone has their opinion.”
He also reiterated what the executive producers have told us about Vote for the Worst and Howard Stern trying to subvert the voting process in his favor:
“That’s fine. I don’t think Vote for the Worst or Howard Stern had enough people voting for me enough times to make a dent in anything. The reason why I’m here is solely because of my support from my fans.”
As for the SNL skits and other shows mocking him, he said he was okay with it: “I love to poke fun at myself.”
One great question: Did you ever consider quitting out of deference to fellow singers?
Sanjaya: “No way. I was going to stay as long as I possibly could and work and learn from everything that happened.”
Did he think he had any prayer of winning?
“Every one of us wants to win. I was more focused on the learning aspect of this. I did get my GED after sophomore year. I saw this as my junior and senior year of high school. This is what I want to do. This is the way to learn it in a quick time. I got a lot further than I had expected.”
Sanjaya’s hair: “At a certain point, it had become my thing. Everyone looks for something to grab onto with each contestnat. I feel like my hair was that for me. That was my little joke back at ya.” Later, asked for his favorite hairstyle, he didn’t say it was the pony hawk: “My favorite style was when I did Busame Mucho. I always wanted my hair tob be curly like that. It’s a little curly naturally. That’s like my dream hair. I liked it.” He also confirmed that his hair styles were his choice, not the “Idol” stylist.
One questioner asked if there was a “turning point” when he decided to just go for broke?
“I think that throughout the competition, I grew as a performer and as a person. I did have a lot of things to learn from. And I think that I kind of found myself as I progressed. I don’t know when it happened. [The turning point, that is.] I do think I found myself and got more comfortable in my own skin.”
And as expected, when asked who he thinks will or should win, he punted: “The show is completely unpredictable. I honestly have no idea who will be cut next week and who’s going to win.”
His future?
“I’m definitely looking at a music career. I also will venture into acting and modelling and possibly Broadway.” (Sorry, with that voice, Broadway isn’t going to be his destiny.)
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4/19: Sanjaya talking to press at 2
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We’ll get our chance as print/online media to talk to Sanjaya at 2 p.m. I’ll update this blog item with quotes from that press conference. Or I might start a new one. Not sure yet!
Here are reasons why I liked Sanjaya and why I hated him, too. Either way, I’m going to miss him! Please include your own:
Good points:
He’s entertaining, pure and simple. He’s got moxie and the camera loves him. And he’s by far the most interesting contestant among the final 12.
His song choices have often been gutsy, bordering on crazy. He actually dared to take on the Kinks’ “You Really Got Me”? Even against Gwen Stefani’s wishes, he opted for No Doubt’s “Bathwater.” Last week was his best performance when he actually sang in Spanish during “Busame Mucho.”
That hair, that hair, that pony hawk, that hair!
How he transformed from that shy, modest boy to someone bursting with (over)confidence.
That grin, that grin, that monstrous grin!
That first name is so darn memorable, he’s like Cher or Madonna!
He had a hot sister who also tried out for the show but didn’t make it to the top 24. Guys would relish those brief moments of her in the audience cheering him on.
He rendered Simon virtually speechless a couple of times.
Bad points:
1- He never seemed to project his voice. If it had any heft, he almost never showed it.
2- His amateurish dance moves, if you’d even call them dance moves.
3- That hair, that hair, that pony hawk, that hair!
4- That grin, that grin, that scary, scary grin.
5- He’d make some absurd song choices that didn’t remotely fit his voice i.e. Bonnie Raitt’s “Something to Talk About” this past Tuesday.
6- That hula dancing he showed off one week.
7- That frightening 13 year old girl Ashley who couldn’t stop crying when he sang.
8- He took so much attention away from the other contestants that the rest of the show now feels anticlimactic now that he’s gone.
Also, Bucky Covington’s CD, based on first-day sales Tuesday, may open as strong as 60,000, which would place him in the top 10. That would be the sixth person from last year’s “Idol” to debut in the top 10 after Taylor, Kat, Elliott, Daughtry and Kellie.
Ken Warwick said it right yesterday, that last year was an unusually good crop, that it spoiled us so much that this year’s crew pales in comparison. Eight of the top 12 have record contracts, which is twice as much as a typical year.
Without Sanjaya, what are we going to talk about the next five weeks. Sniff.
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