Amanda Overmyer Exit Interviews

By On 03/21/2008 · 38 Comments · In Uncategorized

A post-idol interview without the words,  ”you haven’t seen the last of me yet…” or a breathless description of what that first album–the one the newly-minted Idol just knows is inevitable–  is going to sound like is pretty remarkable.   Amanda is so grounded, she doesn’t seem cut out for show business bullsh*t.   Her determination to be herself is admirable.   Unfortunately, I can’t see anyone willing to  bank on her with out changes.   Firmly rooted in classic rock, her sound doesn’t fit into any current niche.   Her one chance?   She might want to consider Nashville…  

Reader, Beesims, posted a quote in comments that I missed this morning:

That’s the attitude I’ve had with all of this. I’m thankful to be here and feel very privileged to have come this far. But I absolutely refuse to be nostalgic about it. You know why? That’s when you lose a sense of reality. I saw it happen with a few people. It’s just ridiculous. We have the potential to be stars right now. We’re not stars. All we are now is recognizable. That’s it. I’ve got a hell of a lot more work in front of me before I can exhale and say, ”All right. I’ve made it.”  

More excerpts from Amanda Overmyer’s exit interviews ahead:

Sources: Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Eonline, ETOnline

  • Song she would have performed next week for “Birth Year”, “On the Dark Side” by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band.
  • On Vote for the Worst, No, it didn’t personally hurt me at all. Votes are votes, you know? From what I hear, they weren’t too harsh on me. [Laughs.] I think a chunk of them liked me for real.
  • Her favorite and least favorite performances, The two that I did on the big stage were both equally my favorite, because I was more in my element there with a crowd in front of me and everything. The least favorite would have been all the group numbers we had to do. [Laughs.] But if I had to pick my least favorite one, it would probably be the Kansas one ["Carry on Wayward Son"]. Personally, I liked it … but that’s the one I got slammed on.
  • About the judges comments, Their comments weren’t going to sway me one way or the other as far as what I’m going to do. The objective of being on the show was to just go out there and show America me à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  perform like me à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  and see how well it would take. The comments from the judges were more often than not about trying to win, and I just had a different agenda.
  • About singing a ballad, I wouldn’t have done it. If we got to do four or five songs, sure, I’ll throw a ballad in there. But when you’ve got people like Carly and Syesha and big ballads are what they do, I’m not even going to try to do a big ballad. Take Chris Daughtry’s song ”Home.” Excellent song. But put it right there next to a Celine Dion ballad and whose is going to be better?
  • When Simon told her “You can smile now”,   That particular day I had caught the bug that everyone else had already. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to sound like, ”Oh, woe is me. I am sick.” Now that I’m off the show, I can tell you I just didn’t feel good and wanted to get off the stage as quick as I could.
  • Does she think the spat with Simon hurt her? I was just being honest with him. With Simon, the only thing with him is he’s a male and men have huge egos and pride and they gotta have the last word, but he didn’t get the last word. I did. I didn’t consider that an argument. I was just being honest when I said it’s fine if I’m selling 50 tickets in a bar in Lafayette.
  • Would she ever go back to being a nurse? I might have to. You never know. Number 11 is still pretty far down there on the food chain. Hopefully I created enough attention that somebody wants to pick me up and let me do something with music. But chances are they won’t and I might end up right back where I started. I’ll probably give it a good six months or so and beat the pavement. If this ends up being my 15 minutes of fame I will gracefully bow out and move on to do something different. This will not be the unicorn I will chase for the rest of my life.  

 
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  • bruno

    i really like amanda. and i will miss her. she is refreshing in her approach to life and idol. the entertainment factor of this year’s idol just took a nosedive for me.

  • GwendolynD

    I love her!

  • MrsTrep

    I love that she’s grounded enough to realize that #11 may mean returning to her ‘old job’. I hope it doesn’t. I also like that she was staying true to who she was, she was playing to win (not singing ballads because she knew she couldn’t beat others with them) but win as herself by not letting the judges push her into something she wasn’t comfortable doing.

    Did that make sense?

  • beachn

    If we had heard this much from Amanda earlier, she might have had more support. She is very grounded and not delusional at all about her Idol fame. I love her statement: “This will not be the unicorn I chase for the rest of my life”. Some of the past fallen Idols could use this advice !!

  • Ladybug

    She was both gracious, intelligent and brutally honest in her responses. I really like her even more after this interview.

    I wish her only the best.

  • beesims

    I may not have loved all of her performances, but I love her clear-eyed sense of who she is and what Idol is all about. She knows it’s mostly a big popularity contest and refuses to fall into the trap of buying all the BS foisted upon you by the producers. I loved this quote from EW

    You sound very grounded and normal about this whole experience. Good for you.
    That’s the attitude I’ve had with all of this. I’m thankful to be here and feel very privileged to have come this far. But I absolutely refuse to be nostalgic about it. You know why? That’s when you lose a sense of reality. I saw it happen with a few people. It’s just ridiculous. We have the potential to be stars right now. We’re not stars. All we are now is recognizable. That’s it. I’ve got a hell of a lot more work in front of me before I can exhale and say, ”All right. I’ve made it.”

    I wonder who she was referring to as the one who had lost a sense of reality?

  • poporange

    Amanda sounds grounded somewhat realistic thier are other contestants to or some that enjoy what thier statements are not in the public.. Singingwise I an not comment because I could understand half her words and she was yelling to me. Amanda had more atitude then Chris Daughtry and I think it cost her more tham she know exspecially rude talkback with Simon. You do not talkback to Simon like that you lose and it turned people off including me.
    Speaking of Daughtry why immulate him on idol part of the reason he was kicked he was nearly a one–trick pony with almost all the songs he sang turned rock which he planned.except when he could not.The diference is he was a “very good” rock singer.

  • panz

    Amanda has really got her head together. She’s not a fake or a phony.

    She was always different from the other contestants and I think this is, in part, why. I admire her for it.

    Personally, I LIKE when they talk back to the judges who, after all, are only offering opinions. It’s refreshing that they seem freer to do that this season.

  • poporange

    Crap frustrated cans still not delete….

    correction—–Past contestants were also grounded but only heard in a tibit here or thier they were not as direct as Amanda. The attitude she protrayed was nearly smuggness like she did not want to be thier. Contradictory statement she was grounded but they atatude she protrayed was too good for this show and not wanting to be there..I know why not leave the show and let someone who wanted too.

    Yes I know the yeller will be voted back but I will not buy the cd all I need is a cd full of yelling..crap I am in the minority.

  • Chicago-sally

    Poporange: you may want to spell & grammar check your message :smile_wp: because I didn’t understand a thing you wrote.

    Anyway about Amanda — if you read this — they are casting for Janis Jopin movie, see if your agent can get you in.

    The problem with American Idol is that it started out as “POP” Idol — does anybody remember that? They were looking for the quintessential “pop” star (ala Whitney, Celine, Beyonce, Mariah, Diana), someone who had range and could sing jazz to blues to popular music. Now, the music industry has been segmented. Country/jazz/southern rock/hip hop etc. It’s rare to find a country singer who can sing pop pablum, or a jazz singer that can sing southern rock. (I doubt that Leona can sing country or jazz)

    So now to appease EVERYBODY, American Idol judges find a couple of rockers, a couple of country singers, a couple of Broadway singers, and they say, okay, you should be able to sing all genres. That almost seems unfair. I totally understand where Amanda is coming from. They have to accept HER, and she shouldn’t have to mold herself to fit what they want.

    It’s like that audition girl ranted, “AI doesn’t want anyone who’s unique and different…they want the same-o same-o….and they do, and that’s why David A. will most likely win. If not him, then Brooke. A long-shot is David C or Syesha.

    Now, does anybody else keep hearing Ryan putting emphasis on the “TOUR”? I don’t remember last year the show putting such a big emphasis on the top 10 and touring (vs. getting a record contract).
    Things change.

  • Chicago-sally

    I wonder who she was referring to as the one who had lost a sense of reality?

    Well obviously being a nurse she was very perseptive. They have to be. If I was a guessin I would say David H., Asia or Danny N. I think Alexandria had no illusions because she’s been in competition before.

  • beachn

    I love her choice for next week, John Cafferty’s Dark Side. I would have loved to hear her sing that. And I’m also impressed that she chose this. The music from both Eddie and the Cruisers movies is great by John’s Beaver Brown Band !!

  • jpfan

    Maybe they keep talking about the tour because it was such a bust last year. They seem to be doing serious promo to push it if the rumor about the IGB thing is true.

    Repeat ad nauseam -NO one is guaranteed a record deal except for the winner (and the runner up also gets one too although that may not be contractual.) Season 4 and 5 were the only seasons in history where Clive Davis signed one or two additional contestants. Plus the big prize of the record deal isn’t much of a prize when two of the past winners have already been dropped by their label. Maybe they don’t want to remind people of that.

    Amanda seems very sane.

  • Kirsten

    Season 4 and 5 were the only seasons in history where Clive Davis signed one or two additional contestants.

    Tamyra (J Records) and Nikki (RCA) also signed with Clive. RJ Helton signed on with GospoCentric Records which is a sub-label of Sony-BMG (which also owns RCA and all the labels Clive is in charge with). 19R signed Christian Christine. All from Season 1.

    I believe that Seasons 2, 3 and 6 were the only ones that didn’t feature multilple Clive signings (but some of the other contestants were still signed by other labels, some with majors)

  • jpfan

    Thanks I didn’t know that. I didn’t follow the show then but did those people release albums? I’ve never heard of any of them. Let’s be honest and say the Clive signings that have meant the most are Season 5 with Daughtry going multi-platinum and Pickler outselling the winner. Mario Vasquez had a radio hit but the album bombed.

  • Kirsten

    Thanks I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know that. I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t follow the show then but did those people release albums?

    Nikki and Tamyra were both dropped by Clive before they released an album (Nikki for not wanting to sing what Clive wanted her to sing and Tamyra for being crazy difficult). RJ Helton did release a CD for Sony/BMG that went to Number 20 on the Billboard Christian charts. Tamyra did release an album for 19R and was featured on Season 3 of Idol several times (and was part of the Season 3 tour for a while).

    Tamyra was also guilty of writing the Season 3 coronation song.

  • http://myspace.com/girlgeek mj

    I loved this quote from EW

    That’s the best quote from the whole article! How did I miss that? I must have been in a fog this morning when I read it. I have to add that out front…

  • http://www.myspace.com/gundomom CarieB

    Amanda may be the most grounded Idol contestant. Ever. I hope she makes it in music, but if not, she will surely do just fine in life.

  • beesims

    Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s the best quote from the whole article! How did I miss that? I must have been in a fog this morning when I read it. I have to add that out frontà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

    I also loved this analysis in EW from your fave JPL about picking songs as it applies to Michael Johns:

    Another positive for the both of them was their song selection. It’s not hard to screw up with the Beatles songbook, and I’d like to make an observation. Here’s a list of songs:

    ”Love Me Do,” ”From Me to You,” ”She Loves You,” ”I Want to Hold Your Hand,” ”Can’t Buy Me Love,” ”A Hard Day’s Night,” ”I Feel Fine,” ”Eight Days a Week,” ”Ticket to Ride,” ”Help!,” ”Yesterday,” ”Day Tripper,” ”We Can Work It Out,” ”Paperback Writer,” ”Yellow Submarine,” ”Eleanor Rigby,” ”Penny Lane,” ”All You Need Is Love,” ”Hello Goodbye,” ”Lady Madonna,” ”Hey Jude,” ”Get Back,” ”The Ballad of John & Yoko,” ”Something,” ”Come Together,” ”Let It Be,” ”The Long and Winding Road.”

    Those are all No. 1 Beatles hits. Last night’s strongest performances were all on that list. Last week’s strongest performances were all on that list too. I’m not saying that you have to pick a hit to win, but a hit is a hit for a reason. Especially a Beatles hit. Those are all killer songs that show great range, and there are more than enough of them for this week and last week.

    That was a lesson I learned from the Idol producers. I used to submit for clearance the most random songs, like ”Rockin’ the Suburbs” by Ben Folds. (I actually submitted ”Hallelujah” and every Beatles song possible, but they didn’t spend as much money on the show back then.) I had no rhyme to the reason à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  I just liked those tunes. But Ken and Nigel would always give me suggestions-that-weren’t-really-”suggestions” (because that would be unfair), saying that I needed to pick something the public knows and likes and that shows off my voice à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  essentially, a hit song.

    But bad song choice wasn’t the only bad move last night. I like Michael Johns. I think he’s got a cool voice, but there were a couple of things about his performance that reminded me of some typical Idol errors, some of which I know from experience. I had a hard time coping with the bubblegum image of American Idol back in the day. It wasn’t something I could identify with at all, which is why I used to submit so many random songs. I think I was trying to tell them, ”Hey I’m cool, look! I’m a fan of Motà ¶rhead, yippee!” But luckily they didn’t let me sing ”Ace of Spades.” They did let Michael Johns sing ”A Day in the Life,” however. That’s such a cool song in its entirety, but chopped up, it’s like a bad movie adaptation of a favorite novel.

    You might protest and say, ”But it was a dedication.” And while I definitely think it’s important to pay tribute to friends who pass away, dedications in general bother me on this show. They remind me that this whole thing is more like a political primary than a music concert.

    I would have loved to see JPL do some Ben Folds but as he wisely learned, your life on Idol depends on picking songs that the masses relate to.

  • http://myspace.com/girlgeek mj

    Those are all No. 1 Beatles hits. Last night’s strongest performances were all on that list. Last week’s strongest performances were all on that list too.

    Well…Chikezie’s Top 12 show stopping-performance was an obscure Beatles song, “She’s a Woman”. There are times when Idols pull off performances of unknown songs, and it’s worth the risk. Elliott’s “Moodys Mood for Love” comes to mind. But, by and large, it is better to stick to the well known.

    Btw, I saw JPL perform Ben Fold’s “Luckiest” live. It was pretty awesome…

  • abbysee

    While I commend Amanda’s sense of self, playing to place 8th was truly self fulfilling prophesy. If she had indeed played to win, and was creative enough a la David Cook, she could have hung around a bit longer to assure herself that someone would see her and liked what she did. Not compromising almost assuredly will keep her off the tour, bad her, bad for the tour. People smile when they are sick, if they see a bigger purpose. If she could not see that, she is not as smart as she thinks she is. Maybe she didn’t want this enough. That’s sad, cause she’s mad talented.

  • Lu

    I not a fan of Amanda’s music but I like her. She has her head on straight and appears to be a realist. If music is what she wants, I hope she finds her niche and can make a living at it. Good luck to her.

  • sciencefan

    Was the Tour a bust last year?
    What I remember is the price of the tickets skyrocketed.
    I think ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s gonna be $45 to go see them in September.
    Wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t the price closer to $30 in the first couple of years?

    I agree with the opinion that ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s best to choose songs that have been big hits. The more familiar that song is, the more people will be able to relate to it, but then of course, you also run the risk of not being as good as the original, or changing it too much, or not changing it enough, and so on.

    I really like Amanda, but I think sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s lucky she got as far as she did. Realistically, sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s vocally very limited, and has difficulty carrying a tune on slower material. Listen to Carry On My Wayward Son again to hear what I mean. But sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s good at what she does, and I think sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll get some offers to do shows. Maybe sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll even open for some bigger southern-rock bands. Hey! Maybe even Daughtry!

  • Kirsten

    Was the Tour a bust last year?

    Well, they probably made money doing it, but attendance was way down from the previous two years (at the half way point, down about 40% from Season 5 and 25% from season 4). Plus, it was the first year that there wasn’t a single venue that sold out (with 56 of 60 concert dates reporting…the missing 4 are from state fairs and word is that will likely never see those results, but the way they are structured, you don’t sell out a state fair…no I don’t have a Pollstar insider, but my favourite numbers guru does)

    What I remember is the price of the tickets skyrocketed.

    Average purchased ticket prices:
    Season 1: $31.38
    Season 2: $38.26
    Season 3: $45.34
    Season 4: $44.47
    Season 5: $54.50
    Season 6: $60.72

    Note, that when you aren’t selling out, you tend to have higher average ticket prices because people tend to buy the more expensive tickets first. That’s likely why Season 3 purchased ticket prices were higher than Season 4.

  • http://myspace.com/saltwatercures pj

    I agree that Amanda didn’t have the vocal chops. It wasn’t her style that I didn’t appreciate. She was just an average singer and performer. Oh, and yes, I agree she’s far more interesting that KLC.

    Sciencefan, hopefully one of the number peeps will respond to you, but the tour didn’t do nearly as well as it did in Season 5. I don’t know if I’d call it a bust, though. I enjoyed it.

    I really like it when they sing songs that are less familiar, as long as they’re good songs. Didn’t Constantine get eliminated singing a crappy Nickelback song? Doing a familiar song doesn’t always work. But I get JPL’s point. I think it was Sarah who advised MJ to quit picking songs he loves, but to pick ones that suit him. I think that’s more key than whether the song is super familiar.

    I’m still stuck on the idea of Jason doing a stripped down, acoustic version “Last Night I Dreamt that Somebody Loved Me” by the Smiths. Will never happen. But if it did, it could be a “moment.” Sigh.

    ETA: I see Kirsten addressed the tour being a bust issue. :-)

  • sciencefan

    Thanks, Kirsten, for all that info!
    I guess I’d better start saving up now!

  • gabam

    I really don’t like it when Idol contestants say that they didn’t care about winning but just wanted to make the tour. To me, it just feels like that person is taking the place of a talented person who wanted to win but did not get a chance because that person was picked to compete instead.

    Of the 107,000 people who tried out for the show, I’m sure that there were thousands who were more talented than Amanda who would have been in it to win it. Her odd look and odd voice probably enticed the PA to put her through to the second round.

    Good luck to her. It’s nice that she has a career to fall back on.

  • poporange

    No grammer check or spelling on this computer on the internet…Making sence it is called ADD it happened before i was born you can complain to my mom

  • dukesterathlete

    Haha I just had to comment on the pic of Amanda being hugged by all the other idols after being eliminated- the look on ther face is priceless…hahaha.

  • poporange

    The words to those uneducated on this manner the computer works but the output devise does not work as well or sometimes the input. I know that I do not. it is frustrating..sorry mj I need to defend myself on that manner.

  • dukesterathlete

    God would i love to see amanda on tour- after thinking about it she was prob my numb 2 fav contestant (and dvid h and danny were 3&4) but there is something inside me that just really wants danny on tour because i think he has more of a shot at making a career, not just in singing, out of the idol experience.

    oh and i love amanda’s personality- a simon would say, “its a breath of fresh air” from all the bubbly, smiley ppl idol has all the time.

    having said that…GO DAVID A!

  • MrBennett

    AWWW! Now I am even more disappointed that Amanda is gone. I just love her.

    I live in Chicago and would gladly get some friends together to make the 2 hour drive to that “50 seat bar in Lafayette” she wants to sell out.

    Better yet, Amanda, come to Chicago. There are plenty of venues here where you would be appreciated.

  • Lu

    Pop – Dont you worry about it. We all have posts where we have some things out of place. Sometimes the brain works faster (or in my case slower) than the fingers. :wink_wp:

  • Chicago-sally

    she is not as smart as she thinks she is. Maybe she didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t want this enough.

    Your second point is probably true. I don’t think when she auditioned she thought she would go to Hollywood. I think she was just getting her groove when she survived the 12 spot.
    Like she stated this is all new to her, being in Hollywood, she will be out there for 6 months to see what happens. I can honestly see her as a sidekick to Leno or Kimmel. She gives off a sidekick vibe to me.

  • http://myspace.com/saltwatercures pj

    LOL. There are plenty of rocker chicks in Chicago that pwn Amanda. Just sayin…

  • http://myspace.com/girlgeek mj

    Poporange: you may want to spell & grammar check your message because I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t understand a thing you wrote.

    Please don’t mod your fellow posters. Don’t comment on their spelling or grammar. It’s rude. Thank you.

  • J.S.G.

    Wasn’t sad to see Amanda go because her voice sounded the same in everything she did and it had become chalk on blackboard for me.
    I think she made an error not changing it up by singing a ballad, cuz no one knows if Amanda’s voice is flexible enoughh to do justice to a slower song.

    Amanda turned every song she did into some sort of rock anthem, so maybe the Star Spangled Banner is in her future.

    Other than the voice, I liked everything about her. She read about the rock industry(at least during the auditions) and it showed in her approach, and stoic reaction to the judges’ criticism.

    In a way it is too bad she is not on tour because I think she would write an insightful insider’s account of life in the AI bubble.

  • siny

    Season 4 and 5 were the only seasons in history where Clive Davis signed one or two additional contestants.

    Actually, Season 4 was the only season where nobody other than the top 2 were signed by any record label. Only 3 finalists from that season released CD’s – Carrie and Bo on Clive’s label and Constantine – on his own label.