- 12 years ago
Season 13's third-place finisher sits down with Reality Check host Michael Slezak to discuss his Idol journey.
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00:00All right. Welcome, Internet. I'm Michael Slezak from TVLine.com. I am here with American Idol's Alex Preston in the
00:09house in New York. Thanks for coming in today.
00:10Thanks for having me, dude.
00:11We want to geek out about music, which I think, I'm hoping, will sound good to you.
00:15Let's do it.
00:16Let's talk about what was going on in your life before your audition and why you decided that season 13
00:22was your year to try out for Idol.
00:26I wasn't actually planning on auditioning, but I saw an ad to audition online, so I decided to do that.
00:33We got a callback, so I just took it step by step.
00:36To your laziness, you didn't want to go stand around in a pool of 8,000 people, but if you
00:40could do it online, not so bad.
00:42So you decide to audition with an original song.
00:46Yeah.
00:46Was there a thought in your head like, well, if I get cut during Hollywood Week, at least people will
00:51get to hear one of my originals?
00:52Was that your strategy?
00:53That was exactly the thought I had.
00:56I was like, I wanted to be either accepted or rejected, like, eating myself.
01:01Right.
01:02So I wanted to play my own piece of music because if they said no, I'd be like, all right,
01:05cool, because that's who I am.
01:07So this obviously isn't for me, but it turned out the other way, so that's good.
01:10And we had Harry Connick Jr., who's probably our most sort of specific music geek coach or judge in Idol
01:20history.
01:20And he started talking to you immediately about chords and harmonies.
01:25Were you expecting to have someone discuss that with you at your audition?
01:29No, I wasn't, because I'd never really seen that before.
01:33Like, I was really happy that he started, you know, he talked about pentatonic and, like, triads and all that.
01:39It was cool, like, the fact that, you know, he brings a whole different, like, aspect to the judging table.
01:47He loved talking to you about ending on the 9.
01:49The 9, yeah.
01:50For those of us who might be slightly, slightly confused or completely confused by ending on the 9, give us
01:56a little hint of what that is.
01:58Well, the 9 is just, like, the 9th note in the scale, or so it could also be the T.
02:02It's just the octave, and, yeah, it's a, I don't know, it's just not a very typical note to end
02:09on.
02:11Is it something you've always liked doing?
02:12Yeah, I think it adds a bit of mystery to it, and I think that ending on the 9 or
02:18ending on the 7 is always kind of cool, especially if you're playing a chord or a 7.
02:24Is that innately built into your brain when you're covering songs?
02:30Because I feel like a lot of times you could hear subtle shifts in the melody and phrasing, but if
02:35you're not, if your music knowledge isn't massive, you'd sort of wonder, like, what exactly is he doing there?
02:40Is that a way to sort of subtly shift a song and make it a little less karaoke?
02:45Yeah, I mean, whenever I sing, I don't really, I think I'm, like, the backup singer's worst nightmare, because, like,
02:53I do weird things, and they're completely unintentional.
02:56Right.
02:56Like, I don't need to.
02:58I, like, like, in Don't, for instance, Don't Speak, instead of saying Don't Speak, I said Don't Speak.
03:05Right.
03:05I didn't mean to do that, but it just came out, because.
03:08That wasn't planned?
03:09No.
03:10Really?
03:10Yeah.
03:11Interesting.
03:12I just thought, I was like, all right, we're going to do it.
03:14And they can't tell where you're going with it, so if they're doing backgrounds, they might collide with you rather
03:20than.
03:20Yeah, I mean, the note was still the same, so it still works, but it was scary.
03:25I didn't even see.
03:25Gotcha.
03:26Apologies to Allison, Iruhita, and company.
03:29Yes, exactly.
03:30So we get you to Hollywood Week, and you do Scream and Shout.
03:34Yeah.
03:34You actually did Will.i.am and Brittany Bitch.
03:36Yeah.
03:37Did you say bitch?
03:38Did they leave that out?
03:39What did you say?
03:39I said will.
03:41I was going to, but I was like, I can't do that.
03:45What made you pick that?
03:46And I'm going to jump way ahead.
03:49I kept waiting for you to do something like that for the rest of the season, like, pick something really
03:53poppy, electronic-y, and put an Alex Preston twist on it.
03:57So, A, what prompted you to do that in Hollywood Week, and B, why didn't you do it again?
04:01I did that in Hollywood Week because I honestly wasn't expecting to make it through, so I was like, this
04:08will be really cool, and, like, no matter what happens, I can still say I did it because, like, no
04:13one ever expected that.
04:15Right.
04:15And I was actually going to play Sexy and I Know It, but I ended up not doing that.
04:21Shut up.
04:22When were you going to do Sexy and I Know It?
04:23Rush Week.
04:24Really?
04:25Yeah, but I didn't think it was a good idea because it's, like, the first live show, so I decided
04:29to do Damien Reitz.
04:31Completely different.
04:32Yeah, you couldn't get more different than Damien Reitz and LMFAO.
04:39Interesting.
04:40Okay.
04:40And you didn't think about doing it again later in the season, picking that up.
04:44I feel like that would have shocked America.
04:48You know, and I know you're friends with Alex and Sierra, and they did a couple of those types of
04:52covers, like Say My Name and Toxic.
04:54Yeah.
04:54That sort of, just people love that.
04:56Yeah.
04:57I knew you had the capability to do it because you'd shown it in Hollywood Week, so.
05:01It's a risk.
05:02I mean, you want everyone to take you seriously, and sometimes you'd be like, oh, that's a gimmick.
05:07Like, what's he doing?
05:08But, like, that's, I was scared of the spring challenge, but luckily it turned out, like, good, but they're still
05:15scared.
05:16Yeah.
05:16No shirt, no shoes, and I still get service.
05:18I guess if you're going with that lyric, there is a fear of not being taken seriously.
05:24Exactly.
05:25Gotcha.
05:26Top 13 week, you did a beautiful mess.
05:29Because Harry was, his instant response was, it's a little too introverted and quiet.
05:35How did you feel?
05:36Because that's, as we got to see over the weeks, the kind of performer you are.
05:40You are, you're not bombastic and big.
05:43You do a lot of more intimate kind of music.
05:45And I think maybe as a judge on the show for the first time, he didn't realize how well that
05:49kind of music can do.
05:50But were you thinking, like, oh, crap, like, this is going to be a long, long 13 weeks for me
05:55if this is the feedback I get every week?
05:56Like, I mean, I was, like, I knew that that was going to happen because, like, in television, like, the
06:05big performances are always the more entertaining ones, obviously, because they're a little bit more captivating.
06:10But I have, like, influences, obviously, like, Passenger, Ed Sheeran, Damien Rice, Jason Mraz.
06:16So I play kind of just low-key stuff.
06:19And people, I think, kind of, like, grew on to it.
06:22Like, they didn't, I don't think, I don't think they really, like, the judges really understood it at first.
06:27They were, like, it was kind of different.
06:28But I'm really happy that they started to understand it.
06:32Yeah, I don't think you've got to give a sharp credit.
06:34I think, I don't think always the biggest, boomingest, or the most entertaining.
06:38I think a mix of both.
06:39Yeah.
06:40That's what makes Idol fun and exciting.
06:42Yeah, it shows artistry.
06:44I will ask, in Top 31, Top 12, and Top 11, you did Volcano.
06:49I Don't Want to Be and Falling Slowly.
06:51All of these songs were done in a very memorable way in prior Idol seasons.
06:56Phillip Phillips did Volcano.
06:58Chris Allen did Falling Slowly.
06:59These weren't just contestants.
07:00These were winners on the show.
07:04Were you a previous Idol watcher?
07:06Were you aware of those covers, going into doing those covers?
07:09Did that scare you at all?
07:11Or did ignorance blitz?
07:12I literally did not know that, like, any, I knew Falling Slowly was done, but I hadn't
07:16really seen it.
07:17Okay.
07:18And then Damien Rice was, like, one of my favorites.
07:21Volcano is one of my favorite songs.
07:22I was actually rehearsing.
07:24And someone was like, oh, Phillip Phillips did that.
07:25Are you scared of that?
07:26I was like, wait, really?
07:27He did that?
07:28Dang it.
07:29That is a song you wouldn't have thought was covered on Idol.
07:31Yeah, exactly.
07:31Like, I didn't think anyone really knew who it was.
07:35But, you know, I was just like, I'm a different artist, and hopefully people find different
07:41things that they like about it.
07:43Right.
07:43So you didn't have the weight of those performances on your back?
07:47Did you not just not watch a lot of Idol?
07:49Oh, um, I used to, like, a long time ago, but I, once I, like, started high school, I kind
07:56of just stopped for some reason.
07:59But then I started up again, like, season 10.
08:02Okay.
08:02Yeah.
08:03So which seasons did you miss?
08:04Like, six through?
08:07I didn't watch last season.
08:09I think, yeah, like, yeah, those four years.
08:11Okay.
08:12Wow.
08:13I was a big fan of Casey Abrams.
08:14Okay.
08:15Like, that's why.
08:16You got into season 10.
08:17Yeah.
08:18I'm a Hayley Reinhart fanatic on this end.
08:20I love their voices together.
08:21How great are they?
08:22The stuff they've been doing post-vital.
08:24Yeah.
08:24It's amazing.
08:25Like, they're both really nice to see.
08:28Um, you know, I could get on it.
08:29I could talk about Hayley Reinhart all day, so stop.
08:31She's so good.
08:32And, like, when, uh, her and Casey did the duet on...
08:36Oh, Moanin?
08:37Yeah.
08:37With the scab.
08:38Yeah.
08:38Yeah.
08:39Unbelievable.
08:40One of the best duets, and Idol duets are sometimes a little...
08:43You kind of get the sense that people didn't have a lot of time to prepare.
08:46Yeah.
08:46Maybe weren't on board with the song.
08:48Yeah.
08:48Wondering, like, how did we end up on this stage together?
08:51Because sometimes, but, like, they have such good chemistry.
08:53And you even got judged on one of your duets.
08:56Yeah.
08:57You're sitting on a couch, and suddenly it's like, hey, we're going to have Demi Lovato
08:59randomly appear and criticize you.
09:02I don't know.
09:03We weren't expecting that, but it was...
09:05Sam and I didn't really...
09:06We were just on the phone.
09:09It was funny, though.
09:10We were laughing after.
09:11So, top ten week you did Story of My Life.
09:14Was it scary to tackle One Direction?
09:16Like, that's a fan base that has...
09:18You just don't know how they're going to respond to anything.
09:22And I felt like you sort of gave the song a much more laid-back approach.
09:27You know, it's probably their least boy-band-y song of all their songs.
09:31Yeah, it's an awesome song.
09:32But you kind of stripped it down into this quieter place.
09:35Tell me about that particular cover.
09:36How did you end up with that song, and what was your approach to it?
09:40Um, I actually was, like, on the fence of not performing it.
09:43I forget what the other song I wanted to do was, but I ended up making that kind of indie
09:48arrangement going.
09:50And it was pretty close.
09:51Like, melody...
09:53There was only a couple melody changes.
09:55Right.
09:55But there was more instrumentation differences.
09:58And, I don't know, I had a blast doing it, and it got a really good response, which
10:02was cool, because, like, I almost didn't do it.
10:05So, it was a good decision.
10:06That was the Billboard Top 10s.
10:09What did you think about it?
10:10Do you remember what your other option was?
10:13I wish I did.
10:15It wouldn't have turned out, like, bad.
10:19It would have been, I don't know, it probably would have been bad.
10:21I think one of my favorite rearrangements of yours during the season was Don't Speak
10:24during Top 9.
10:25Really?
10:26Yeah, and that got somewhat lukewarm response from the judges.
10:31But I thought there was, like, an inherent sadness and drama in yours, but it wasn't
10:35that over-the-top kind of Gwen Stefani drama to it.
10:39Yeah, exactly.
10:40Was that your goal, and did you watch it back?
10:42Were you happy with it?
10:44Yeah, I loved it.
10:46Like, there's only a couple performances I was really stoked about.
10:48Mine, and that was, I think that was one of them.
10:51Just because, I don't know, I thought that it still kind of had that emotional aspect,
10:55but it was more me, you know.
10:58Mm-hmm.
10:58I thought it was cool.
11:00I thought you were going to tell me there were only a couple that you weren't happy with.
11:03Oh, well, no, like super stoked.
11:04Like super stoked.
11:06Really?
11:07Well, like, I mean, I was always proud of myself, but there was, like, a few instances
11:12where I was, like, bang.
11:14Like, I'm really happy about that.
11:16Are you your own worst critic?
11:17Oh, gosh, yes.
11:20Yeah.
11:20Clearly.
11:21That's, like, that question kind of already answered itself about 30 seconds ago.
11:25So, you followed that up with Fairytale.
11:27How excited were you that you auditioned with an original when they're like, we're going
11:31back to the start?
11:32Yeah.
11:32You and Jess must have been like, yes.
11:34Oh, my gosh, yeah.
11:35We were so stoked because, like, then we did the iTunes tracks for it.
11:39So, we got an opportunity to, like, chart and stuff, which was, like, a whole experience
11:44in itself.
11:45And then performing it up with a million people is another one.
11:48Did you stay up late watching iTunes charts, seeing...
11:50Yes.
11:51Do you know what you peaked at?
11:52I think I was, like, 30 in the world.
11:54Like, or, like, 25 or something.
11:56How crazy is that?
11:58It was amazing.
11:58Like, never thought I would have a song in my top 40, like, on iTunes.
12:03Yeah.
12:03And it's like a complicated little song.
12:07There's a lot of different shifts in sort of tempo and melody with it.
12:11Tell me about writing it.
12:12Do you start with music?
12:13Do you start with lyrics?
12:15What's your writing process?
12:16Do you write with guitar or piano?
12:17Or how does it all work?
12:20I'm kind of like...
12:21I kind of do both.
12:23I think that one was guitar first.
12:25I came up with progression.
12:27And then I came up with the lyrics.
12:28But I write on all different kinds of instruments.
12:30I think that if you write too many songs on guitar, you kind of lose your creative aspect
12:37of, like, songwriting.
12:38Okay.
12:38And so if you moved to piano, it offered a whole different vibe.
12:41And then you'd be like, whoa, like, I didn't know I could get this melody out of this progression
12:46or whatever.
12:46So, like, I think if you switch up instruments, it offers, like, a new, like...
12:53I don't know what I'm trying to say.
12:54Like, a new creative, like, breath of fresh air.
12:58Right.
13:00I get what you're saying.
13:02As long as you weren't going to stop with lose your creative ass, because you stopped
13:05that ass up, and I was like, you lose your creative ass on that.
13:09Were you at all afraid of doing your own song?
13:12Because if you went home on your own song, that would kind of suck.
13:15Or did you feel like, this is a pretty good song.
13:17I feel like I'm going to stand by this.
13:19I'm not nervous about it.
13:20No, I was nervous.
13:21Because, like, if they did say no, oh, man, that's the song I wrote.
13:28But still, you know, like, I was excited more than I was to get feedback from the judges.
13:3480s Week, you covered the police every breath you take.
13:37A very polarizing performance.
13:39Yeah.
13:39Some of the judges loved it.
13:40Some didn't like it.
13:42The blogosphere was very split on it.
13:44I know you probably love the blogosphere as a general noun.
13:47But what was your intent with the rearrangement?
13:50How did you approach it?
13:52And how did you feel about it once you'd watched it back?
13:57I mean, that, like, I don't know.
14:01I mean, I had fun arranging it, because, like, I don't know.
14:06It was the biggest change.
14:09And I definitely could have stayed a little bit more true to the melody.
14:12But I, you know, I was wrong with it.
14:15And there was a lot of mixed reviews.
14:17But that's expected, obviously, because it's such an iconic song.
14:20And a lot of people have emotional attachment to the song, because they, you know, I don't know.
14:25But, yeah, I mean, I thought it was kind of cool.
14:29Okay.
14:30And even the stalker aspect of it was under debate.
14:33I think a lot of people listen to it and just think, oh, it's romantic.
14:35He's following her.
14:37And, you know, and other people hear it, and they hear something much darker.
14:39Yeah, exactly.
14:40I don't know what the truth is, but I was kind of going through it for them.
14:45Gotcha.
14:46Rock Country Week, you had Animal and Always On My Mind, which I think, on the scale of your performances,
14:52Always On My Mind, I think was one of your best, and Animal, maybe not so much.
14:56Probably not the worst.
14:57Did you feel like Animal was not going well beforehand?
15:01Were you worried about that, or was it just night of that it sort of went a little awry on
15:05you?
15:05Um, I don't know.
15:08I think that I just got way too wrapped up in the emotion and, like, the energy of the room
15:14that I kind of just lost, like, my breath.
15:19But during rehearsals, it kind of sounded good.
15:22Okay.
15:22So I think I just screwed it up.
15:23And I totally knew, because I think there was a commercial break before it or something.
15:29Okay, right.
15:29And I totally knew that I had screwed up.
15:31But Always On My Mind, I thought that that was a cool audition.
15:37I worked hard with my vocal coaches with that.
15:40Like Orlin?
15:41No, I had Antonio and Tim.
15:43Oh, okay.
15:44Yeah.
15:44Okay.
15:45I go Orlin's awesome, though.
15:46Gotcha.
15:49I've got a note here on the side of my question.
15:51It's just about socks and rolled pants.
15:53Yeah.
15:54Are socks, like, is you not wearing socks like Samson's hair?
15:58Does it bring you a special power, or is it just a style choice?
16:02How important is it to not wear socks and to peg those pant legs?
16:07Well, I'm a huge, I don't know.
16:09I think it all started just by, like, being on the beach a lot.
16:11Okay.
16:11And just always, like, being too lazy to put on socks again after going in the water
16:17and then rolling up the pants so they don't get wet.
16:19Okay.
16:20And then I just kind of stuck with it.
16:22You spend a lot of time at the beach in New Hampshire?
16:24No, we go up to, like, Cape Cod.
16:26Okay.
16:26Yeah.
16:28Or York.
16:30Gotcha.
16:30I didn't want this interview to get too serious, so I thought I'd just randomly throw that one in there.
16:35Now we can get back to talking about music.
16:37So you get to Top 5 Week, and you have Sweater Weather as one of your songs.
16:41Were you feeling at that point pressure to do something up-tempo and have it go well?
16:47Because you've done a lot of mid-tempo and ballads at that point.
16:50We hadn't really seen up-tempo with maybe the exception of Animal, which was not maybe your best work.
16:55Was that in your brain?
16:56Yeah, absolutely.
16:57Because, like, I do a lot of up-tempo stuff, like, for my own gigs.
17:02And so that kind of vibe was, like, kind of like who I am.
17:08And there was a lot of lyrics to it, so I was kind of nervous on stage.
17:12But, yeah.
17:15Yeah.
17:15I had fun with it.
17:17Gotcha.
17:18That was also the week you did Say Something, which I think was one of your bigger moments in the
17:21season.
17:21Is that one of the ones you were stoked about?
17:24Yeah, I was pretty stoked.
17:25Yeah, I think that Stay, Say Something, always on my mind.
17:32It wasn't my best, but I had a lot of fun playing it just because of the guitar chords.
17:39And your friends with Alex and Sierra covered that.
17:43That might have sealed their victory on X-Factor, but I read that you said you weren't aware that they'd
17:47covered it.
17:48I didn't know.
17:50Because, like, I didn't watch the season, but I had seen them on YouTube before.
17:57Because I look up, like, X-Factor and boys on YouTube and obviously American Idol.
18:02And, yeah, I didn't know, and they brought that to my attention.
18:05And I was like, oh, dang, I've seen a lot of the same songs as them.
18:08So you met them after their X-Factor experience?
18:11Yeah.
18:12Okay, gotcha.
18:13So it wasn't like they were mad at you saying, like, you missed our big moment?
18:17No.
18:18Okay.
18:19I think around Top 5, Top 4 week is when Harry and Jen started saying things to you along the
18:25lines of, well, what is your concert going to look like?
18:27Yeah.
18:28And is it going to be varied enough?
18:29And almost sort of a suggestion, like, would it be interesting enough to watch you play for an hour and
18:34a half?
18:35How did you feel about that feedback?
18:37Did it bug you?
18:38Did it upset you?
18:39Did it feel like they weren't getting you?
18:42Well, like, even when I went home for the home visit, I had a concert.
18:47And, like, two minutes, like, a two-minute performance isn't enough to show who you're going to be on stage,
18:55you know?
18:55And so, like, at my concerts, I like to jam a lot and, like, have fun with it and be
19:02really involved with the band and, like, do guitar solos and stuff.
19:05And so it's a lot different performing on, like, a television show and performing a live concert.
19:10And so there is a lot more opportunity to do things that will captivate the audience for a long period
19:15of time.
19:15Right.
19:16But, yeah, I mean, that was a fair question.
19:19Like, a lot of people have been asking that.
19:22Yeah.
19:23That was also the week top four where you were supposed to have performed another original, all of the contestants,
19:29and then it got yanked out at the last minute, which I think is probably, even though I don't know
19:34how all the original songs would have sounded, I still think it was the worst decision of the season by
19:38the show.
19:39Were you bummed?
19:40What were you going to sing?
19:42What was it like having to change things at the last minute?
19:45Yeah, I was bummed.
19:46I mean, I think that that would have been a cool thing for I to do.
19:50Like, it would have kind of been revolutionary in a sense, letting people, like, the singers be artists.
19:56Yeah.
19:57It'll show, like, their longevity in this industry.
20:01Right.
20:01Because ultimately you're going to live or die based on what you put out after the show anyway.
20:05Why don't we hear some of it?
20:06Yeah, exactly.
20:07I thought it was a cool idea, but we ended up having to switch it.
20:10Like, I was so nervous, because, like, we didn't have any time, so I ended up just going on yours,
20:16and, like, it wasn't my best, because it was so karaoke-y.
20:22Like, I don't know, but, yeah, I really wanted to do the original song.
20:26What were you going to do?
20:28A song I have called Love Letters.
20:29Okay.
20:30Yeah.
20:31Can we find it on YouTube?
20:32Uh-uh, no.
20:33No?
20:34It's not, no, I got to record it.
20:36I wrote it during the show.
20:37Okay.
20:38Yeah.
20:38Really?
20:39Yeah.
20:39Interesting.
20:40So you were going to really test out some new material at that point.
20:43That's great.
20:44Yeah.
20:45Is Love Letters possibly about being in a long-distance relationship, or, as we know, we saw Gillian Jensen in
20:52the audience.
20:53Yeah, yeah.
20:53We also saw her in the awful holding room of Doom during Rush Week.
20:59How badly did that suck?
21:00That was a weird, that was another weird spin that I did, like, the not letting people sing, which is
21:06kind of strange.
21:07I felt bad, because a lot of them were, you know, my friends.
21:09Yeah.
21:10There's survivors, you have to feel excited to some degree, but there's also survivor's guilt.
21:14Yeah, exactly, yeah.
21:16I think that was the, I don't know if that was the worst twist of the season, or if top
21:20five results was the worst twist.
21:22And which did you hate more?
21:25Both of them equally.
21:27I think both equally.
21:29And your no vote during the top five twists, a little bit controversial.
21:34People were like, that's not nice.
21:35But on the other hand, I mean, I felt like, thank God somebody voted no.
21:38Thank God two people voted no.
21:40Because I think it's the rules of the show.
21:43Yeah, it's almost going home by the way.
21:45And so, yeah.
21:46I knew that it could have been me.
21:48And I voted no, because America's only role on the show is to vote.
21:52And you take that away, it's just like, well, that week was for nothing.
21:57Yeah.
21:58Were you expecting a little bit of a backlash from it?
22:04Well, I didn't know that.
22:07I guess so.
22:08I guess there's always going to be people who don't appreciate what you do.
22:12So, I mean, I didn't really care.
22:14I was just more mad at the whole situation.
22:17Yeah.
22:18I don't really listen to hate comments.
22:20Okay.
22:22Probably for the best.
22:23Yeah.
22:23Probably a smart strategy.
22:25I see those, so.
22:26I think it was also interesting on, I believe it was top four week on Twitter, you've gotten
22:31some of those remarks about, you know, I don't know if you can compete with Caleb and Gina
22:35from the judges saying, like, they're bigger.
22:38And, again, it's almost a recurring theme, but they sort of put that critique away for
22:42a while and then brought it back, top five, top four.
22:44And you tweeted, I can only do what I can do, you know, paraphrasing what you said.
22:48Yeah.
22:48But you seemed almost a little down.
22:51Were your feelings getting hurt a little at that point?
22:54I was, I mean, I was kind of down.
22:55And I'm like, you know, because, like, I can't, like, if I tried to do those big performances,
23:02I, like, I would fail miserably.
23:03And so, like, I do what I am.
23:05Like, I am who I am.
23:09And, like, yeah, I mean, I understood what they were saying, but I was kind of wrong.
23:15And you weren't, it's not like you were at risk or landing in the bottom three every
23:18week.
23:18So, clearly, you were resonating with a fairly large portion of the audience.
23:23Yeah.
23:23I feel like a lot of people appreciated what I was doing.
23:27Top three week, you wind up getting sick.
23:29You had bronchitis.
23:30Is that correct?
23:31Yeah.
23:31Yeah.
23:31I was on antibiotics.
23:32I think everyone was sick because of the home visit.
23:35Yeah.
23:35And that kind of took its toll on all of us.
23:38Right.
23:39And I think by that point in the competition, you're probably pretty worn down.
23:42Then you do the traveling.
23:43You're up all night playing shows.
23:45Change of weather.
23:46Right.
23:47Yeah.
23:48It was rough.
23:49Did you want to, did you want your own doctor on stage to talk about your own sickness?
23:55I, uh...
23:55He asks cheekily.
23:58I, I, I didn't, um, I, I didn't really ask, like, ask, because I didn't have, like, the
24:03whole, I forgot what Caleb had.
24:05The rupture.
24:06The vocal, uh, I forget the word.
24:09But, like, I had a very minor thing compared to him, but, um, yeah, it was, it was tough.
24:17That was a tough week for all of us, I think.
24:19I felt like there was a slight vibe at the judges' table that they wanted a Caleb-Jana finale
24:26at that point.
24:26Did you feel that way?
24:29Um, I mean, I could, I could see that.
24:31Like, I, I don't know, I mean, it was a really entertaining finale in that sense, because
24:36they're both such big performers and great performers, and they move around, and, like,
24:41I had fun watching it, and I had just been eliminated, so, like, it was a good finale.
24:46Right.
24:47That week you did Pompeii.
24:49You switched to drums.
24:50Yeah.
24:50Was your mic off when you switched?
24:53I couldn't tell if, like, at first I thought maybe you'd met him.
24:56I messed up trying to get to the mic, but then I, when I watched it back, it was, like,
24:59I don't actually think your mic was on when you switched over to drums.
25:02No, yeah, the mic was off.
25:04I, uh...
25:06How was that as a performer?
25:07Like, hey, my mic is off.
25:08I didn't know, because, like, it was still in my ears, so I didn't think there was a problem,
25:14and then someone came to me, and I was like, oh, oh, no.
25:17But, yeah, it was kind of, it was weird.
25:21Was it cool to have that moment, even though it was the week you went home, to be able
25:25to show that you play another instrument, to jump over there and do it?
25:29Yeah.
25:30I mean, I knew I was going home that week, like, totally.
25:34Before performing, or acting?
25:35Before.
25:36Yeah, I had an idea.
25:38Okay.
25:38So I was like, you know what?
25:40It's coming in the last week, so I'm just going to try something.
25:44Yeah.
25:46Was any of that in response to the judges' feedback?
25:48Was it just, I want to play drums, or was it, like, I have to show these people I can
25:52do something else?
25:53You even stepped out from around the drums and approached the sway bot pit, which is
25:57a little scary.
25:58Yeah.
25:58Because those people can steal your rhythm.
25:59Yeah.
26:00I mean, I think it was just to show people, before I got up, before the show ended, that
26:06I could do something else.
26:09Okay.
26:11I loved when you got assigned stay, when we saw you at your hometown visit.
26:15Your immediate response was like, what can I start doing this?
26:18Was that always your process once you'd settled on a song?
26:21And tell me about stay, about, you know, getting a Rihanna song.
26:23I don't think it's something we would have ever expected for you, but I thought it was a
26:26great choice.
26:26But, yeah, I mean, when I heard I was doing stay, I kind of went through the song.
26:31I had it real quick, and I was like, all right, this is going to be cool.
26:34It's like, you know, like, if I get a song, I'll know right away if it's, like, something
26:40that I can do or I shouldn't do.
26:42Okay.
26:43And stay was definitely a cool opportunity for me.
26:46I'm really happy that they chose that.
26:49And I had a really good time arranging that with my coaches and Ricky and stuff.
26:55Like, I thought that was one of my favorite performances.
26:58How long does it take you to come up with the, at least, the basic concept of what you're
27:03going to do with a song?
27:05It usually, like, maybe a couple hours, maybe, like, two hours.
27:12Okay.
27:12And my sessions with the coaches usually ran a little late because we would really tear
27:20it apart.
27:21And Gina was always after me, so she would always get, like, mad.
27:24She'd be like, oh.
27:25Do you start by, like, singing it along with the track and feeling it out, or do you put
27:31the original track aside immediately so you're not thinking about it?
27:34What's the process there?
27:35I usually don't listen to the original look at first.
27:39If I know the song already, if I don't know it, I don't have to.
27:41But, like, always in my mind, I didn't know that song.
27:44Okay.
27:44And so I had to go listen to it a million times.
27:47But if I know the song already, I'll just kind of look up the chords and then start playing
27:52it my way.
27:52And I'll listen to it and be like, all right, I've got to tweak this, tweak that, tweak this.
27:56Do you feel like if you'd done Stay last, you might have made the finale?
28:02Um, probably not.
28:04I think that America had already made up their minds.
28:06Okay.
28:06The story of my life, the graphics on it.
28:09Yeah.
28:09I was like, what's going on?
28:11It was so weird.
28:12What was it again?
28:12It was like a subway, but it was like a full green screen.
28:15It wasn't even, like, staged.
28:16Like, they zoomed in close enough, so it just looked like you were in a futuristic video
28:21game subway.
28:21I didn't care for it.
28:23Did you know you were getting that?
28:25Um, I never really, I don't really see it.
28:28Okay.
28:28But if I see it again, I'll remember.
28:31You'll have a little flash PTSD, PTSD-type flashback.
28:35Yeah.
28:36So to end your Idol run, you were supposed to have a single that you recorded at the
28:43same time as Gina and Caleb's.
28:44What happened to that song?
28:46Is it good or bad that that song has disappeared from existence?
28:49Do you hope it will see the light of day?
28:51I hope it will.
28:52I mean, I liked it.
28:53I thought it was, like, Drew Pearson, who was involved with Home by Philadelphia,
28:58Phillips wrote this, and it was sweet.
29:02It was, like, an awesome song, and I spent a long time recording it, so I hope that it
29:06gets out there.
29:07Okay.
29:08Yeah.
29:09What's next for you?
29:10Obviously, you've had a huge amount of exposure.
29:12You made it up until the very last week of the show.
29:14Yeah.
29:15What do you do with it?
29:16How do you try to make yourself one of the third-place contestants that goes on and has
29:20a long career versus, you know, potentially fading out?
29:24Exactly.
29:25I mean, that was on my mind, this whole process.
29:30Like, the moment I started this, I was like, how can this benefit me in six months, you know,
29:34when I'm actually trying to have a career outside of the show?
29:37Right.
29:37And so I really focused on networking and, like, understanding the music industry and, like,
29:42hanging out backstage and seeing how it all works.
29:45And, you know, I hung out with the guitar techs a lot.
29:49And, like, I don't know.
29:50I just, I really just soaked it all in.
29:53And I tried to, like, make as many connections as I could, like, Jason Mraz and, you know,
30:00just, like, past idols, like Casey Abrams, who jammed a lot.
30:04And I just tried to learn as much as I could from people who were already in the industry.
30:09Is it true that you'll be doing a little co-writing with Jason Mraz?
30:12Is that in the works?
30:13Yeah.
30:14I think so.
30:15He texted me yesterday and said, like, what, he asked what my schedule looked like.
30:19So I think we're going to try to do something after tour.
30:23And he seemed like a great mentor when he was on.
30:25Just little small hints that seemed something that you could actually put into effect and work on.
30:33Absolutely.
30:33I mean, like, he told me to put the mic up.
30:36And I did it.
30:37And it really made a difference with my connection to the camera.
30:41And I still, like, I played Kelly and Michael today.
30:46And I did it.
30:46I put up the mic.
30:47So I had a little bit more connection with the camera.
30:49So, I mean, that was great feedback.
30:51And it was such a small little addition to what he was saying.
30:53Did the guest mentoring outweigh the regular mentoring?
30:58I think the guest mentoring was cool because it kind of, it was usually, like, artists.
31:06And it was cool, like, having David Cook, too.
31:08Yeah.
31:08Because he had gone through this whole process.
31:10So it was, you could pick his brain and kind of see what works and what doesn't work in the
31:16show.
31:16I think they need to bring back more alumni as mentors for season 14.
31:22It just seems like it makes sense.
31:23Yeah, because they know it.
31:25They don't put them down that road.
31:26Yeah.
31:27Well, we appreciate you coming in.
31:28Who knows?
31:29Maybe you'll show up as a mentor next season.
31:30Help some of these kids learn how to rearrange because we want rearranging.
31:34We do not want karaoke.
31:36Yeah.
31:36We do.
31:37That'd be cool.
31:38All right.
31:39Thanks a lot.
31:39Thanks, man.
31:40We're going to turn off this Google Hangout.
31:42I'm hitting stop.
31:42Goodbye.