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Access Atlanta > American Idol Buzz > Archives > 2008 > May > 01
Thursday, May 1, 2008
5/1: Brooke White exit interview, Kellie Pickler in Cherokee
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
During the exit press conference today, Brooke White was bright, peppy and sweet, everything you’d expect. And she has a knack for spinning cliches but not in a bad way.
On the pressure: “You feel like you’re sinking, then swimming. You realize you’re here, you have to make the best of it. The pressure is so incredibly difficult. I was here to do my best. I was true to my heart. Even with the challenges I faced, I was able to do that.”
On her state of mind: “I’m an emotional girl and I’m passionate. It really came across on stage. I felt very vulnerable every time.” Later, she added: “Tuesday, I felt a resurgence of confidence, a lot of joy and gratitude being in that place… it felt great. And even though I went home, it’s wonderful I left on that note. Simon said [‘I’m a Believer’] was a nightmare but I personally thought it was a great moment… Finding that inner confidence has been a struggle for me. Idol definitely helped me work on that.”
On her own voice: “I didn’t start singing until David Achuleta’s age. I never thought I had a nice voice. It wasn’t pretty. It was this low, raspy thing. I didn’t have big range. I think I was very intimidated by the other singers, especially on ‘American Idol.’ … [What ‘Idol’ taught her was] it’s okay to be different. It’s important to accept it and make the most of it. There are people who appreciate it. You have to go with it.”
On lyrical issues: “I didn’t have problems with lyrics until ‘You Must Love Me.’ [That’s when she started, stopped, then re-started.] Suddenly, it freaked me out. You play head games. When I was singing ‘I Am I Said’ in rehearsals, I felt like ‘palm trees’ wasn’t sticking in my brain.” [So she stuck the word palm on her palm.] She said just the act of doing that helped even though she couldn’t see it while playing the piano. She said it was an added challenge this week to learn two songs vocally, plus the instruments. “It increased the workload a lot,” she said.
On getting to play an instrument: “I didn’t know going into it they would let us to do it. When I found out, I thought, ‘Gosh, this is it. This is the year I needed to do this.’ It’s something I love to do but it’s very difficult.”
On Paula’s snafu “I don’t know exactly what happened with Paula. It’s just a human moment that happened on the show. It’s live. Things change very quickly. They kind of decided to change things in the middle of the show. She got lost in the moment.”
What couldn’t she get cleared: [my question] “I would have loved to have sung Fleetwood Mac or James Taylor.” [Though she did get to do Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend,” which James Taylor turned into a big hit.]
What would she have sung next week for Hall of Fame week? (my question) I hadn’t completely decided. One that I was definitely thinking of was ‘Help Me’ by Joni MItchell.”
Speaking to her idol Carly Simon I spoke with Carly Simon (right) this morning. It was amazing! She was incredibly supportive, very generous with her comments. It really boosted my spirits. It kind of gave me a motivation to keep going in the direction I am. I do relate to her and those singer-songwriters from the ’70s. I connect with what they do. I hope I can make that happen in 2008 in a more modern way.” [Video below, courtesy of MJs Big Blog.]
In other “Idol” news:
-Kellie Pickler will pop into Etowah High School Monday for a private concert. Kicks 101.5 held a contest asking for students at metro area schools to text message their school and her name. In the end, they got more than 2 million texts!
-Sales were slow this week as Jordin Sparks remains the top-selling “Idol’ at No. 20, with 19K sold and 697K total. She will surpass Taylor Hicks (at 701K) this week; in fact, she should be ahead of him in sales now. And she is nearing 3 million in download sales of three singles. Plus, Chris Daughtry has just passed 4 million sold, according to USA Today’s Idol Chatter.. Carrie’s “Carnvial Ride” is at 32, with 15K sold and 2.04 million total while “Some Hearts” moves up to 65, with 8K sold and 6.39 million total. Josh Gracin is the other “Idol” on the Billboard Top 200, at 175, with 3,500 or so sold and 34K total after three weeks. Kellie is at 751K, Kelly’s “Breakaway” at 5.98 mil with two months away from hitting 6 mil; “My December” is at 763K, Bucky is at 339K, Elliot at 506K, Randy at 28K, Bo at 49K, Mandisa, 78K; Fantasia, 512K; Kimberley, 20K; Clay, 525K; Kat, 370K; Ruben, 237K and Constantine, 25K. Paris is being “retired” after several weeks of selling fewer than 100 copies a week. Her final total: 21K.
