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Access Atlanta > American Idol Buzz > Archives > 2008 > April > 14
Monday, April 14, 2008
4/15: Michael Johns interview, part two
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here’s what I got from Michael Johns Monday while he was being ferried between media interviews in New York. He sounded understandably tired.
Q: You’ve lived in Los Angeles for years. Why did “Idol” list your residence as “Buckhead, Georgia”?
A: When the show asked me if I had a chance to move anywhere once the show ends, I said I’d move back to Buckhead. So that’s [where] they listed me living. I had no problem with that. I did find out later that Buckhead is actually a small city outside of Atlanta.
Q: Have you had a chance to re-watch the final minutes of the show?
A: About 50,000 times. Every [media outlet] would play it. It’s still a little painful to watch.
Q: How was singing “Dream On” that last time?
A: I wasn’t expecting to sing that night. I wasn’t really warmed up. But I got through it. It was probably one of the most emotional performances I did on the show. I really liked it.
Q: What made you decide to sing behind the judges?
A: It was spontaneous. It happened so quick. I wasn’t singing for the judges. I was singing for America. I walked behind them, looked in the camera and said thank you.
Q: Carly Smithson was a waitress at Fado [Irish Pub in Buckhead.] Did you two ever cross paths?
A: No. She wasn’t there the same time I was. I performed there in 2001-2002. She worked there 2003 to 2005. I did come back to Fado in 2006, so I think we just missed each other.
Q: What’s your take on Buckhead Village being torn down [including his former home base, CJ’s Landing]?
A: It’s really sad. The last time I went by there was just before going to Hollywood [in November]. It was unrecognizable. I have so many good memories down there.
Q: What made CJ’s so special for you?
A: I got to perform there every week for years. I took it as a big responsibility. The fact people came there on Fridays and Saturdays to see me sing on their nights off, I took great pride in that.
Q: Your friends said you loved doing Pearl Jam covers. Why?
A: I used to get a lot of tips when I sang Pearl Jam. I grew up with grunge. I could do a good impersonation of Eddie Vedder. I’d get $20 tips!
Q: Did you request to do Pearl Jam on “Idol”?
A: No. I didn’t want to do that. That’s not the type of record I want to make. I picked songs that showcase the style of music I’d sing on my own record.
Q: Were you surprised people kept pushing you to do blues/soul and not as much rock?
A: I have a rock side. That’s a part of me. But so is soul and blues. My record is going to blend the Stones, Otis Redding and INXS.
Q: Please tell us about your bacon obsession.
A: What isn’t it about bacon? It’s the perfect food!
In other “Idol” news:
Paris Bennett, my favorite interview subject, tried out for a role on “Legally Blonde,”according to the New York Post.
Paula Abdul won’t be performing live on the “Today” show after all. She hasn’t performed live in years. No comment from Paula in The New York Post..
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4/14: Bucky Covington interview, songwriters competition
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m speaking to Michael Johns one on one while he’s in New York at about 10:05 a.m. EST today so email me any questions to rho@ajc.com and I’ll see if I can get to them.
The folks at CMT have their big music awards show tonight at 8 p.m.. Three “Idol” folks have been nominated in various categories, including Carrie, Kellie and Bucky, who is up for “Breakthrough Video” for his first single “A Different World.”
Bucky Covington was the most available so the CMT publicist hooked me up with him to promote the show (though it would always be fun to talk to Kellie.)
Naturally, Covington is psyched to be nominated for something. “The video is really great,” he said. “We put the song out, it was in the 20s [on the country chart.] The video hit No. 1 and the single went top 10.”
Bucky said he’s living his dream and is amazingly happy. “A couple of years ago, I was working in a body shop, not making a whole lot of money. To be honest, I was happy as a lark then, too. I’ve just got a lot cooler hand dealt for me. It’s been awesome. It’s a real cool life. I’m glad my life has turned out the way it is.”
He lives in Nashville and hopes to eventually buy a big plot of land outside the city for him, his twin brother Rocky and his mom.
This got me to ask about whether his brother resents him and how he takes being mistaken for Bucky all the time. Bucky says Rocky doesn’t mind. “He loves the interaction with fans,” Bucky said. “He’s a real people person.” He says they’ve always looked the same, grown their hair the same. “It’s like a mirror,” Bucky said. “If it looks good on him, it looks good on me.”
He has marveled how slowly his two singles have climbed, which is typical for new artists on the country charts. (Just ask Sugarland). “It’s Good To Be Us” is knocking on the door of the top 10 right now in its whopping 31st week on the chart. “It’s amazing,” he said. “I had no idea it’d take this long.” [Since I did this interview 10 days ago, his song peaked at No. 11 and has begun slipping off. Georgia’s Lady Antebellum leapfrogged him into the top 10.]
Since he’s been able to steadily sell albums (approaching 400,000), he’s remained “very busy” the past year-plus, mostly touring, touring, touring. He’s now opening for Dierks Bentley with Georgia native Luke Bryan. Bucky has his brother and his best friend in the band so being on the road is fine, he said. (Jeff Cease, a former guitarist for Atlanta’s Black Crowes, is also in his band.) He also has gotten a girlfriend. “Single life would kill me right now,” he said.
He hasn’t had a chance to watch this season’s “Idol” and has hardly ever watched much TV. “It’s almost been there, done it. I know all the ins and outs. I know every angle. There are no surprises hardly to me.” He does like Comedy Central standup comedy and music videos.
He and his label Lyric Street is talking about a third single from his album, probably a ballad, “I’ll Walk.” (Ballads are generally a tougher sell on the charts so we’ll see.) He said the album has been around long enough that people in the crowd can now sing along to all the songs. “When you see them sing the songs back to you, nobody can cut you a check that big, it feels that good!” This means a second album probably won’t be out until 2009.
His favorite “Idol” moment two years later was spending time with Steve Wonder and doing a decent job with “Superstition.” “I really appreciate that now,” he said. And since then, he’s still amazed when bigger stars like Tim McGraw and Dale Earnhardt Jr. know who he is. “That’s flattering,” he said.
In other “Idol” news:
-That songwriters’ contest is back. Last year, we ended up with that pile of poo, “This is My Now.” The finalists are now available online for you to vote. You have to register to do so and to even listen to the songs. Ricky.org has all the songs in one place. Check it out. I never got around to sampling all the songs last year. Maybe I’ll try to do so this year. Then again, I don’t know if I’ll have the tolerance level to get through the dross.
-In a takeoff of those Geico ads, on Jay Leno last Friday, Michael Johns gamely worked with Gene Simmons here. Michael was almost too subdued. He should have totally gone goofball with a goofball like Gene!
-Ratings last Thursday were subpar because it was on Thursday instead of Wednesday. And people may have been “Idol-ed” out after 2.5 hours on Wednesday. Ratings were about 20.1 million, about 20 percent lower than normal.
-The Writers Guild has sent out a press release in which a dozen workers from some of TV’s biggest reality shows including “Idol” allege that they are not being paid proper amounts of overtime. See more here if you’re into labor disputes.
And totally unrelated to “American Idol,” but this dude (“Partyin’ Marty Hardy”) hosting “Solid Gold” in 1981 makes you truly appreciate the skills of Ryan Seacrest. Pour on the cheese! (If you’re under the age of 25, just be glad you didn’t have to live through all that gold lame and tight spandex.)
