American Idol 2006--Live Thread (Part III)

Fox ^ | 5-8-06

[silent_jonny]

always for Tammy

[Netizen]

She can have as many takes as they need in the studio.

But, NOT in concerts!

[Wyatt's Torch]

Do you think they care about concerts or do they only care about "units" sold?

[SirLinksalot]

GOT THIS FROM THE AMERICAN IDOL BOARDS. AN EXIT INTERVIEW WITH USA TODAY APPARENTLY.

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Yamin: 'I had the feeling my time was up'

Elliott Yamin says he'd love to collaborate with Kanye West.


By Ann Oldenburg, USA TODAY
The most recent American Idol reject, Elliott Yamin, 27, gave a phone press conference at 1 p.m. ET Thursday. He talked about not being engaged, about having more hair, about bonding with judge Paula Abdul and about wanting to work with Kanye West.
Here are some highlights:

• When he saw the three very-close percentages of votes separating him from Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee, he said it was "really flattering."

"I had that intuition. I knew my name would be attached to that 33.08, that bottom number. It was easy to take in and grasp. It was a lot easier to make peace with that.

• When judge Simon Cowell said Yamin had "potentially" the best voice in the contest, "It hit me, like, wow. I can't believe he actually said something that awesome to me." But Yasmin points out, "he used that word 'potential'. … I love the fact that he said potentially — I had to remind everybody quickly — not me, because I heard what he said — that he said potential. I'm used to being labeled the kid with a lot of potential. I'm trying to reach that every day."

• As for why Yamin is emotional, he says, "It kind of runs in my blood, my family's blood." And he says, "I'm an underdog, I'm viewed as a kid who came from nowhere. People know that I've beaten a few odds here and there and I think people can identify with that. It's real. It's who I genuinely am. It's me."

• He explained that when the judges are looking down, they are looking at monitors on their table, not dissing the singers. "Basically, they're watching what America is watching."

• Paula Abdul seems particularly emotional about Yamin. Why?

"I don't know. I just think she loves my voice and enjoys my singing and I think she just likes me as a person and the feelings are mutual. She's just a sweetheart, man. She's a joy to be around and we've had some good talks after the show. she's lovable, likeable. She's got a big heart, like I do and I guess that's why she can identify with me. We're both Jewish, too. You know, us Jews, we have a bond at birth. Maybe that has something to do with it."

• Is he engaged this his girlfriend Amanda?

"No, I'm not engaged. That's not the case. But we do have a great relationship, but I am looking forward to getting back into her arms."But it will only be for a brief time, as rehearsals for the American Idol tour start June 13.

• What a future album might sound like:

"I want it to have a soulful sound to it, a real soulful R & B sound." But he said, "I think I've proven throughout the season that I can be as versatile as possible." And, "The studio is going to be my haven. That's where I'm' going to be able to really shine."

• Right after the show, there were hugs, kisses and fast food:

"I had the feeling all day long and all night that my time was up and I was able to make peace with that and accept it and it was okay with me. After the show was great, I did exit interviews and got to hug a lot of the staff. There are so many wonderful people behind the scenes who are underappreciated and don't get recognized like we do. I got a chance to hug and thank all them."

He also met up with his mother and brother. "Everybody was crying." But there was no fancy meal to cap the night. "We didn't go out to eat, I just came home and had to pack and I think I went and got some Taco Bell at the drive-thru."

• Yamin was asked with whom he would like to work.

"I'd love to collaborate with so many people. Quincy Jones. Kanye West." He added, "I'd love to work with John Mayer. I'm very eclectic and love all kinds of music."

• On Taylor Hicks:

"Taylor's a really high strung dude. He's got a lot of energy and passion. He doesn't seem too relaxed when he performs. He's a great entertainer and he's doing what he's done his whole life."

And, he says, "I'm really close with Taylor. That's my dawg, man. We're going to be friends for life."

And later, he said, "Taylor — that's my home boy, man. We've gotten quite close and we've built a great relationship and friendship that's going to last forever. We've got a great fraternity here of guys and girls and we're all going to be bonded that way for the rest of our lives. Taylor's one of the funniest people I've ever met on this entire planet. He definitely knows how to keep things fun."

• On Kat McPhee:

"She's definitely very mechanical, you know what I mean? And that's a good thing. I've taken something way from that, too. She has a godly gift and she's got a beautiful voice and she's going to go so far. She already has. All of us are going to be successful and it's going to be awesome to watch us all grow."

• He's proud to be from the South.

"I love being a Virginian."

• Is it maybe better NOT to win American Idol?

"I don't want to use the term better. There are great things that come along with winning — you're guaranteed a record deal and hits and radio…The fact that I didn't win and won't have those obligations to the management company is not a bad thing. I'll have the opportunity to maybe go out and fish for the best deal I can possibly get. And I'm looking forward to that." Still, he added, "I wouldn't have minded at all to win the whole thing. "

• He has been approached already — indirectly, he says. "It's going to be great once that time comes to field those opportunities. But yeah, I've been approached indirectly and heard through the grapevines and wires what people think and what people want to do and that's… people are talking. That's what's awesome about it. I can actually see my future in front of my own eyes in the recording industry. I'm looking forward to getting started with whomever that may be."

• About his changing look throughout the season:

"I love it. I love the clothing I was draped in and the style that's been suggested. The main thing about my look is: all I did was let my hair grow out. I never knew there was this much to begin with. Having hair enables you to style it. I love the fact that I have hair. I've got something to hold on to up there. "

• And as for how he has changed:

"Before this contest started I was lost. I was still trying to find my way as a human being, as an employee, all of the above, you know. And now I've just feel like I've grown a lot, with confidence. I've accomplished what I set out to do. I've actually followed through with something in my life and that's something I haven't been accustomed to over my adult life. It's been a very humbling experience. I'm more responsible now. I'm more patient now. I'm all of the above. Anything you can think of to better yourself, I've gone through that. I'm a better man for it."

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SOME THINGS TO NOTE FROM THE INTERVIEW :

1. Elliott seems very close to Taylor. They're real pals.

2. What does he mean when he calls Kat "Mechanical" ? Does he think she's a FEMBOT or something ?

3. I didn't know that Paula was Jewish.... the family name ABDUL sounds Arabic or Lebanese to me.

[retrokitten]

Does he think she's a FEMBOT or something ?

LOL!! Yeah, "mechanical" isn't usually a compliment for a performer, but he makes it sound like it's a good thing.

I didn't know Paula was Jewish either.

[Wolfstar]

Hey, if we can convince him to leave Richmond and move to LA you might someday get a chance to tell him what you think of his music.

That would be a blast! But job #1 should be to hook him up with a first-class manager. That would do more for his career than anything at this stage.

[AmusedBystander]

"I'd love to collaborate with so many people. Quincy Jones. Kanye West."

Kanye West? My opinion of him just dropped 50%.

[Wolfstar]

Maybe it helps him.

I can only judge by my own father, who (as previously mentioned) had the same disability. I doubt it helps Elliott.

[SirLinksalot]

A ton of people thought Bo was going to win last year prior to the finale as he knocked it out of the park with "In A Dream". Then he had to sing the two beauty pageant songs and Simon said it wasn't good enough and said to Carrie, "You just won" and that was it. That is EXACTLY my fear for this week.

The one thing I’m sure of is that Taylor, regardless of his winning or garnering 2nd place, will be offered a record contract like Bo Bice did.

My question still is and has always been the same — will it HAVE TO, MUST IT HAVE TO INCLUDE the beauty pageant songs that are inevitably part of the finals ? If so, that’s going to be a mess of a record with songs like HELL OF A DAY side by side with A MOMENT LIKE THIS.

Perish the thought.

[Wolfstar]

why not get it, and then put it up on ebay and aution it off or sell it to the highest bidder (at a minimum that you choose) and send the proceeds on to a charity that Elliot likes. Maybe Juvenile diabetes?

I will gratefully accept it if misterrob can arrange it. Somehow to me, a personalized effort to help a child would mean more, but that's just me. Good suggestion, though.

[Wyatt's Torch]

Do you post on GreyCharles.com at Marketing Man?

[Conservative Texan Mom]

OMG! I can totally see that! That would be so fun! Can you imagine the audience? They'd be out of their seats. I wonder if they could come up with some kind of rocker/blues hybrid to sing together?

[Shelayne]

Dollars to donuts: Kat has been losing weight throughout the competition.

Prediction: The first order of business from her about to be media mogul controllers: Lose 20 pounds.

I bet you're right. They told Carrie Underwood last year that she was chunky. She said, "Chunky? I'm a size six, but oh well..." The poor girl was rightly confused. I hate what Hollywood does to women--but especially what it does to young girls. Grrrrrr.

[AxelPaulsenJr]

Accusations are flying in a few places that Kat fans used some phone program they downloaded to vote from the east coast during west coast time.

Hadn't heard that one........Sounds like some folks need to get a life.

[AxelPaulsenJr]

It would have been way interesting! Especially if Chris could pull out his guitar, and Tailor, the harmonica. That would have been fun!

LOL, much agreed.

[Wolfstar]

Good questions, grania. I only have some answers:

Could there be a technology where only one vote was counted from each phone or computer? (even if it took some time to eliminate duplicates)

This is theoretically possible. Perhaps even possible with current technology, although I'm not sure. The phone company would have to cooperate. But you have to bear in mind that votes are submitted several ways: via conventional land line, cell phone calls, text messaging; and via computer dialing over high-speed connections. It's challenging, which is why election voting is not yet done this way.

Could someone tap into a phone line for a contestant and for a short time "stuff the ballot box" for a few minutes?

In a sense, high-volume computer voting does precisely this.

Is an exact count statistically accurate enough to have declared an absolute winner and loser last night?

Don't know. They did get an exact count, but they never release their numbers. All we can go by is what they tell us. It is difficult to believe that each contestant got almost exactly one-third of the vote in percentage terms, but we don't know the actual numbers those percents represent.

Using a round number of 50,000,000 (we were told it was "more than" that figure), dividing it by 3 gives a result of 16666666.666666666666666666666667, or in round numbers, 16,666,667 per contestant if divided equally.

That they were separated by only a fraction of a percent, suggests that only a few hundred or, at most a few thousand votes separated them. Some people have posted a plausible explanation for how this might happen, but the fact is we simply don't have enough data to figure it out.

[Netizen]

Do you think they care about concerts or do they only care about "units" sold?

Let me put it this way. If I went to a concert and found out a person couldn't sing for crap. You can bet I would never ever buy one of their CD's no matter how much the studio 'doctored' it up.

My step brother went through something similar back in the 70's. He and his buddies were big Foghat fans and they went to a Foghat concert. They all complained when they got home how bad it was, and said that Foghat was the worst group they had ever seen in concert and you couldn't even mention Foghat around them after that, they just waved you off.

So, yeah, concerts matter. ;)

[Conservative Texan Mom]

I've heard a whole lot about this! Unfortunately, I've heard it's bigger in the Taylor camp. There is some email floating about from SoulPatrol, supposedly, informing people how to download skype, or something like that, and use it to vote in the three time zones. I'd like to say it's made up, but Tuesday I went over to the Taylor and Elliot threads on AI to see what was being said about phone issues. I found A LOT of posts on Taylors about this. Also, some very explicit instructions from one person on changing over addresses. This poster was describing what they did. I had copied it and posted it on MrDaughtry.com, because they were fussing about it too.

[Wyatt's Torch]

IIRC, Rockstar INXS restricted voting to a certain number per phone (or PC as I think they used online voting as well). No clue ho they did this but they said they did.

[SirLinksalot]

Do you post on GreyCharles.com at Marketing Man?

I post on many sites with different aliases.

[retrokitten]

I don't know how they would do it either, except for just not counting more then that # from any one phone line. Like if the limit was 10 and you voted 40 times, only 10 would be counted.