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Access Atlanta > American Idol Buzz > Archives > 2008 > January > 09 > Entry
1/9: Simon Cowell says Diana DeGarmo isn’t “current”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Simon Cowell was answering the last question of a 30-minute, fairly routine, press conference promoting “American Idol,” season seven. A reporter from the Palm Beach Post asked him the following question, which led into him using poor Diana DeGarmo as an example and not in a good way:
Palm Beach Post: You talked about this crop of singers being more current and younger. Then you talk about singing school kids who don’t have personalities. Is it hard to have talent and interesting people when you have kids who haven’t had a chance to become interesting and develop personalities outside of their training?
Simon: I don’t know. It depends on the individual. I’d pluck out Diana DeGarmo as an example. To me, she’s a talented stage singer, nice person, very good voice but just didn’t seem current to me or even relevant in the music business. Whereas a lot of the contestants during this conference call [he has talked about such as Daughtry] seem more edgy and current… They may not even be as good a singer as Diana but have something that could work today in 2008.”
I’m speaking to Diana tomorrow about her upcoming reality show “Gone Country” and will see how she reacts to that. Do you agree with him on this one?
As for other topics, he repeated that the show talent is up from last year and though that’s what Randy & Paula said last year, he claims he never said that for season six, a definite down year. And he wouldn’t say if “Idol” has peaked. He thinks that other networks have avoided “Idol” in the past couple of years in terms of scheduling and the strike won’t change that. “I’m more optimistic now than I have been in a long time,” he said. He equated the first audition episode (which opened a year ago at a record 37 million viewers) is like the Super Bowl [which draws about 90 million viewers.]. “Our auditions are the secret of our success. That’s the net that seems to catch everybody.”
We as reporters only had 30 minutes and one question (no follow up.) I was about 5th in line so I asked a question about his thoughts on Ruben and Taylor getting dropped from J Records. His answer was fairly innocuous:
Based on the record sales, I’m not surprised. Taylor—I’ve always gone on the record as saying I genuinely thought he was not the best singer of the year. He was the most popular person. I’m not overly surprised that happened. But you know— we always said from day one, American Idol is a reality show. We reflect the reality of the record business, which is unpredictable. Certain people are not going to do as expected. Chris Daughtry only came in fourth but he did amazing business last year. He was the No. 1 album of the year. [Okay, not quite, but he was top 5.] Someone like Ruben I thought was one of the better competitors but doesn’t do as well as you want. It’s not a great thing but at the same time, it’s the record business.
I wanted to ask him if he thought we’d ever hear from Sanjaya again. One reporter from the Hartford Courant (Roger Caitlin, nice guy) did ask if he thought Sanjaya hurt “Idol” last year. Simon said no though he was worried at one point about it. “Now I look back and laugh about it,” Simon said. “I think he was harmless. He had a run. He had some fun. He was a nice kid, very polite afterwards. I don’t think damage was done.”
I didn’t bother asking him what he thought of the auditions in Atlanta because Philly Inquirer and San Antonio reporters already asked him about the auditions in their respective cities and he said it’s all a blur.
Simon held a separate press conference with different quotes and comments on the same day. There, he said he wasn’t sure if he’d stick around after 2010, his ninth season. He dissed Fantasia’s brother. He was also disappointed that Blake and Jordin haven’t taken off. More here. He also provided some advice to Britney and his thoughts on the presidential election and the writers’ strike.
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By Deirdre
January 9, 2008 3:30 PM | Link to this
Rodney…I tend to agree with Simon on Diana…she’s old school in that she has a very good voice and focuses on the singing rather than the show going on around her. Today’s singers don’t necessarily have to have a good voice…they have to have good performance skills.
I once saw Christina Aguilera sing live on an awards show. She sang the whole song off-key but she looked fantastic so nobody seemed to care.
By ,,,=^..^=,,,
January 9, 2008 3:38 PM | Link to this
LOL…WE, i answered your question on the previous thread, if you haven’t seen it.
good point, D, about the “performance” factor!
By War Eagle
January 9, 2008 3:44 PM | Link to this
That’s pretty funny Linny.
I wonder what kind of numbers she will get when they move down south?
By Deirdre
January 9, 2008 3:49 PM | Link to this
I heard Alicia Keyes sing off-key during a live performance….that stuff isn’t tolerated on Idol and those kids sing just about everything live! If they sing it off key…they’re raked over the coals by both the judges and the bloggers. They’ve had people mentoring the contestants who couldn’t sing nearly as well as at least half of the people they were mentoring.
So is Diana current…no thank goodness!!! :-)She may never be famous or a pop princess BUT she’s a good singer!
By Nikki
January 9, 2008 3:54 PM | Link to this
I tend to disagree with Mr. Cowell. Yes, she’s a good singer, but she also has excellent stage presence and good performance skills…she certainly captivated my attention on Idol more than most of the previous contestants. I think she was marketable coming off of Idol in 2004, and probably can be today, it’s just more difficult now since so much time has passed since the show. Rodney, you should sneak in a mention about her Broadway career in your interview tomorrow. It’d be interested to know if she plans on going back anytime soon, and also, if she intends on actually going into country music after this show.
By ,,,=^..^=,,,
January 9, 2008 4:05 PM | Link to this
Hi Nikki! Good comments; personally i liked young Diana quite a lot, and could see a healthy show-biz career in her future. Not everyone IS destined to be a “pop singer” … and I think that’s the crux of this discussion… Simon has said all along that some of the people he’s seen are quite good, but what the show is supposed to be about is creating a pop star .. a solo artist… and being “broadway” or “vegas lounger singer” or “small bar blues” or (god forbid) “cruise ship”, in style is not exactly in the mold of “pop star” — as witness Taylor, who’s great in a more intimate bluesy, bar-sy environment because he reeks of charisma and personality, but whose records don’t bring across that part of his performance that makes him so special…
i prefer to look at the overall talent, so what if it’s not “britney spears or justin timberlake” (gag) … i’d rather reward REAL talent, lol!!!
rambling… me? naaaaaah never!!!
By War Eagle
January 9, 2008 4:10 PM | Link to this
I can’t vote for anyone named Hussein either.
By Lorrie
January 9, 2008 4:21 PM | Link to this
I like Diana a great deal and I’m not sure why Rodney thinks this is something negative said by Simon. Diana’s gift is musical theater, broadway. She’s an amazing stage performer with an incredible voice. So what if he doesn’t think she’s a pop star material? Rodney, you are always looking for the negative when it comes to Diana aren’t you?
By Justin
January 9, 2008 4:23 PM | Link to this
I disagree with him too I mean, come on, how long ago was she on the show? 4 years? Why does he still put her down… she’s great and she drew me to the tv when she was on .. although i do wish she’d do more now and she’d get recognized…
By dutch
January 9, 2008 4:37 PM | Link to this
Simon never picked Diana to go on and when she did he bullied her within inane criticisms etc You saw the show. Simon can never admit he was wrong and has been ever since gone out of his way to harass Diana publicly this is just another example of this sick man. Diana was never promoted,they gave her mostly mediocre songs,and you had to hire a detective to find her cd in stores. You don’t sell if you don’t make available. Simon expertise is way overrated. Diana is one of the best and versatile singers to come out of AI.She still stands out to this day and is America’s best kept secret. Glad she told AI and RCA where to shove it.
By Rodney Ho
January 9, 2008 4:46 PM | Link to this
Good to see Diana’s fans are still out in force! She’s doing just fine without a pure pop career. That is just one path and that’s not the path for her. From watching the first episode of “Gone Country,” she was pretty intent on making a good showing and winning the competition. I’ll post more details about what she said on the show and such closer to air date January 25.
By Deirdre
January 9, 2008 4:49 PM | Link to this
dutch…I agree with some of what you said but…..Idol doesn’t do a good job promoting ANY of the winners, never mind the second placers! They do not do much, other than schedule appearances on talk shows, to push any of the singers. Let’s face it….in order to get promoted..you have to have a hit on the BillBoard charts. It’s the cd that makes or breaks a singer and, so far, hit cds have been few and far between for Idol contestants. When Simon says she’s not current, I think he means she doesn’t fit the mold of the current successful pop singers. To me, that’s a compliment!
By Joan
January 9, 2008 4:56 PM | Link to this
I’m sure Simon meant what he said to be negative (because he’s always had a bizarre dislike of Diana) but I don’t think being a talented stage performer is something she should be ashamed of at all.
She’s an amazing talent who is going to be around for years and I’ll bet she doesn’t give a rats behind about what Simon thinks about her.
By ,,,=^..^=,,,
January 9, 2008 4:58 PM | Link to this
Rodney for a moment I wasn’t sure it was you…your name wasn’t in bold!
Lorrie, Justin, i think it was more Rodney reporting what he felt Simon was feeling than he was his own feelings;
and again, I think Simon’s points, while “negative” because he’s looking for POP singers, need to be taken in context… if he were doing a contest for broadway singers…. she might be the cream of the crop, for example!
i think (not sure tho’… with Simon, who can tell!!)
By Lorrie
January 9, 2008 5:49 PM | Link to this
Rodney has always been passive aggressive with his Diana comments and gets his digs in. He probably couldn’t wait to tell Diana all the stuff Simon said in hopes of getting a reaction from her. She’s not a favorite of his and never has been but he complains because she’s distant from him. She knows you’re two faced Rodney! Treat her with respect to her face and in print and maybe she will trust you more.
By Nikki
January 9, 2008 6:30 PM | Link to this
I think Simon has come a long way in his responses to Diana too. I remember he was still complaining about Diana long after her season of Idol was over and done with. It seems that a few years have given him some perspective. I might not agree with him 100% but his comments this time around, but it seems he’s finally able to articulate what his problem with her was those years ago. I don’t see his comments necessarily as a bad thing. Rodney, I hope when you relay what he said to her, you put the comment in context. It might give us a better reaction to what might be the first time in awhile that I can understand where Mr. Cowell is coming from.
By Tera
January 9, 2008 6:32 PM | Link to this
If by “current” Simon means rehab, not wearing underwear in public and generally making a fool of oneself publicly, then I think being thought of as out of step with pop music stars is a huge compliment to Diana, though unintended by Simon.
By Deirdre
January 9, 2008 6:46 PM | Link to this
Don’tcha just love people who spout amateur psychology? Diana has never been a favorite of Simon(does Simon even have any favorites)and Rodney was reporting his impression of Simon’s statement…and that makes Rodney passive-aggressive??? Nah…I don’t think so! Plus, Diana isn’t snubbing Rodney anymore…Paris Bennett is! Keep up!!!!