Four of the recent castoffs from "American Idol" participated in a conference call on Friday afternoon, and I was thrilled to take part in finding out about of these contestants' influences, experiences on the show, and expectations for the future.
First up was Janell Wheeler, who brought the energy and positivity both to the Orlando auditions and to her rendition of "What About Love." When I asked about some ofter musical inspirations and plans moving forward, here's what she had to say:
"I can't even list them. A funny song I found before coming out here was one of the versions of a LeAnn Rimes' song mixed into a dance track that people would play in clubs. I thought that was such a cool idea. I've worked with so many different artists, and I have so many different types of friends, music is my life...I really want to strive to kind of bring together all of these elements and types of music I have been involved with and give country a kind of refreshing take. Nothing over the top...it's a growing genre right now and it's such an awesome genre. I would love to use a couple of different styles and make it my own."
Ashley Rodriguez, however, spent a little bit more time speaking about the judges on the show. While she said she was eternally grateful for the experience (it gave her "a taste of the dream," she was also shocked by the way the judges came out "throwing punches" on the very first live show.
Nice guy Joe Munoz didn't receive a ton of airtime throughout "Idol," but he said that he couldn't concern himself with editing. Therefore, we instead talked about his decision to perform Jason Mraz's "You and I Both:"
"I just love the song, I think it's a wonderful story to tell...I really look up Jason Mraz as a performer so it was just a perfect song for me."
The final interview came courtesy of Tyler Grady, who relentlessly (and smartly) promoted his band, Wailing Waters. He said his intentions during the results show were not to act "bitter" towards the judges, but rather to speak his mind about the criticism he received.
In terms of Tyler's influences, he applauded Kings of Leon for "keeping rock alive" before claiming that Led Zeppelin is his "favorite band of all time, for sure."
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Who are you sad to see leave? Let me know your thoughts with a comment and stay tuned for more "American Idol" news.
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Comments
I liked Janell and I'm sad she was voted off first..there were much worse singers than she. Too bad Adam Lambert can't be a contestant again, there are no superstars this year..just yawn!
I CAN NOT BELIEVE JOE MUNOZ WENT HOME.... HE IS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE WITH GREAT VOCALS AND STAGE PRESENCE!!!!!! WHO COUNTED THE VOTES???!!!!! THERE MUST HAVE BEEN A MISTAKE BECAUSE TIM SHOULD HAVE GONE HOME! I DON'T KNOW WHAT SHOW PEOPLE WERE WATCHING TO BELIEVE THAT TIM IS WORTH KEEPING AROUND FOR ANOTHER WEEK!!!! GARBAGE...... I'M VERY DISSAPPOINTED!!! I DON'T EVEN WANT TO SEE WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT WEEK!
Actually, I was pretty surprised by nearly all of the cuts made in the results show. I don't think any of these people had any chance of winning, but I did think their performances were head and shoulders above some of the other folks, like Tim and Lacey. They should have had a couple more weeks to try to show what they've got... or not.
Tyler Grady went home? What is wrong with people? This guy is like Morrison and Jagger wrapped into one. Stupid voters.
Joe Munoz WAS BEST WHATS HAPPEN????????????????????????????????????????????????????/
VERY DISSAPPOINTED!!! I DON'T EVEN WANT TO SEE WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT WEEK!
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