American Idol eliminated finalist, Amber Holcomb, spoke briefly with reporters today about her time on Idol and her hopes for the future.
The young, 4th place finisher is a confident girl, ready to face her future. Check it out below.
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How does Amber see herself fitting into the pop world. Will she need a harder edge to her style? “Definitely not! I feel like my style, personally, it changes, depending on what mood I’m in and how I’m feeling. Right now there’s nobody like me. Why fix something that isn’t broken?”
If she could change one thing about the whole Idol process, what would it be? “It would probably be the theme. That should be more negotiable, I feel, personally. ”
More on the theme nights, “2013. That was a great category, but we were only 5 or 6 months into the theme, so I feel like it should have been negotiated a little bit more. Maybe the end of 2012? The middle of 2012? Or something like that!”
At what point did she realize there was a lot of powerhouse female talent in the competition? “I knew from the beginning that all the girls were amazing. I feel like everybody was–I’m a girl, I’m going to stand up for my girls–we were all really good. I wasn’t startled, I just felt like we were all five amazing girls who had the opportunity and the chance to be the next American Idol.”
On her friendship with Candice, “Candice is a phenomenal person. She was my roomate. She was so sweet. We used to talk every night. She’s just like an all around good person. As an artist, she’s a powerhouse also. I see her on the jazzy, groovy kind of side of music. I see her going far. She’s great.”
Does she feel it matters that she didn’t win? “That’s kind of a trick question. All of go to American Idol wanting to be the next American Idol. It’s kind of bittersweet not winning. At the same time, I have more time to focus more on me than the competition. I feel like it’s an advantage and a disadvantage at the same time.”
Has she heard from Burnell since she was eliminated? “(laughs) We text a little bit. We’re just really excited to go on tour together and see each other on tour.”
What was going through her head during her last performance? “Before the performance we watched the little package video and that always gets to me, every single contestant. It’s just the song, and now the clips, then it was me. And I was like, ‘Man, I’ll have to sing’ and my Dad was crying. I was like ‘Oh my gosh, I’m going home! It was a lot.”
What changes would she make to help Idol get back to the ratings of old? “I think they should have a season where they bring people back. Not all of them, but maybe pick one or two from each season and have them all come back and battle it out. That would be so incredible.”
Do you mean people who didn’t win so that they have a chance for redemption? Who are some of her favorites that she would like to see compete again? “I did mean contestants that didn’t win. I would love to see Joshua [Ledet] back. I guess Jennifer Hudson wouldn’t come back because she’s a megastar now. Even Jessica [Sanchez]. Me! I feel like…yeah. We should all get a second chance.”
What was her biggest challenge throughout the competition? “Probably learning myself, and learning what I want to do and what I should do. That was the biggest struggle. And words, too, to songs. It was kind of hard.”
Where does she see herself in the next 10 years? “I see myself in magazine, on every TV channel, billboards, Grammys–all that good stuff.”
What was going on with her last night when she didn’t come out to the press tent right away? “It was really overwhelming being in the press tent, knowing that I won’t see them again and be able to talk to them about my performance that night. I was, ‘Oh man, this is like the end.'”
What is she hoping for the finale? “At this point, I would be happy with anybody. But I think whoever is in charge of that knows me, and knows what would excite me and make me happy. We’ll see.”
Amber is having a suitcase crisis, “When I got here, in all my spare time, I went and got shoes. I bought so many pairs of shoes. And I have shoes from wardrobe. Kree let me borrow her suitcase. That solved it!”
Did she think she was heading home, or was she surprised? “They always say an Idol can feel it when it’s time. I’m not even going to lie. I honestly did feel like I was the next to go. I was really sad, but at the same time I told myself that I still get to go on tour. Tickets are on sale today, by the way! I’ll see them again, so I was happy.”
Does she plan to do any acting or anything other than singing in the future? “Oh my gosh, most DEFINITELY YES. I want to be in movies, commercials, runways, magazines. The sky is the limit, pretty much.”
If she could be in one TV show, which would it be?, “That’s a hard one! I feel like Glee is really relatable right now for me.”
Was she allowed to chose her own songs? Were there any influences? “You pick your own song, but I get inside my head when I pick a song. I’m really indecisive. I’m like ‘OK. What if I do this? Maybe I should have picked this one?’ It’s ultimately up to you.”
Did her song choices affect the way the judges perceived her? “Of course. They stress the fact that song choice is the key. I guess they didn’t think it was the right song for me, but I still stand by ALL of the songs that I’ve chosen. I wouldn’t change anything if I could.”
How did she feel when Nicki would compliment her wardrobe and make up choices rather than her singing? “I don’t know one girl who does not like compliments. So I was like ‘yay! yay!’ I feel like with my style, and the way I do my hair and my makeup, I feel like I take a lot of time into that. I appreciate every compliment she gave me.”
On writing songs on the show. Has she written songs before? “I wrote before. I’ve been writing since I was 16. It was definitely not just because of the show.”
Final Remarks: “I want to say thank you to everybody who supported me. You guys come to the tour. Tickets went on sale today. And we’re going to 40 places, so I’m pretty sure we’re going to be in your area. Follow me on twitter AmberAI12. Just expect great things from me.”
Eliminated ‘Idol’: ‘I have what it takes to do it all’ – “I just wanted my name to be out there,” she says. “I could have cared less if I got cut before the Top 10 and they just showed me on the show. I just wanted people to know my name and know who I was. As the weeks went on and I kept getting farther and farther in the competition, I was just honored. That was more and more support, more and more people on my side.” Eventually, it came down to just four young women, who all became very close. “We were so supportive,” Holcomb says. “We love each other. At this point, whoever wins, I’ll be happy.” – Read more at USA Today
Hollywood Reporter
