American Idol 14 Top 5 eliminated contestant, Tyanna Jones spoke with reporters today about what she learned on her Idol Journey, the songs she was planning to sing, and the upcoming tour. She didn’t have a great telephone connection, unfortunately. I cobbled together what I could from the transcript.
What’s the best advice she got from one of the judges? “Jlo told me that if I just keep being Tyanna and keep going on the stage and doing what I love to do, that I’ll be OK.”
What kind of album would she like to make? “I’m not the type of artist that puts myself in a box. Whatever I can sing, or whatever I can do to connect with the audience at that moment, I’ll do. I’ll sing R&B, soul, pop–anything that connects with the audience.”
What was the second song she was planning to sing this week? “My Judges Hometown [song] was Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus Take the Wheel.”
What was running through her mind as she prepared to perform her sing out song? Was she expecting to perform after being eliminated? “We already knew that we’d get a chance to sing a goodbye song from here on out. We knew that we’d get to sing a song anyway. Being in that chair and waiting for it to turn green is probably the most nerve wracking part about the whole thing. But then going up on stage…is the easy part for me.”
One she hit the stage she felt ok? “I was comfortable, and I was ready to sing my song.”
About getting emotional during her goodbye montage, “I was watching how far I had come and I realized…it finally hit me. It takes a while for it to hit you, how far you actually come in the competition, and how much you’ve grown. And just seeing the clips…it really showed me how much I’ve grown, even though people have been constantly telling me that. I realized…all of the things I was going to leave behind, the people that I’ve grown to love.”
On Clark’s confrontation with mentor Scott Borchetta, “Knowing Clark personally, I know what he meant. Being on a show like this, a lot of people want to tell you what they think you should do, or how they think you should take on the song. Really, in the end, it’s about how you feel. If you do go home next week, you want to leave it all out on the stage and make sure that you go home satisfied with yourself. I completely understand where he was coming from. I don’t think he meant it in a way to offend anybody.”
How has her upbringing in the church shaped her perspective or played a role in her American Idol experience, “It definitely had an impact on my faith. At times it can get really hard…you struggle with yourself. At times you feel really down because you didn’t like your performance that week. Me being brought up in the church has had a big impact on my life in general. My faith and my beliefs have helped me through a lot of this.”
Who would she consider one of her main musical influences. “One of my main influences is Beyonce.”
What inspired her to choose the song “Run the World”? “I have wanted to do that song for so long on the show. I’ve had it on my list a couple of times. Every time, it got pushed to the side because I ended up doing something else. I was really happy I got to do it. And when I did it, I knew that I had to make sure that it was one of the best things I’ve done on the show because of Beyonce…how she does it is just amazing. I had to make sure that I put my all into it.”
How does she see herself as a role model, and what is the message she wants to impart to all her fans, “Me being so young, and me pursuing my dreams–a lot of young people my age and even younger want to be where I am right now…whether it’s American Idol or not. Just to see somebody their age actually get to do it and make it to the tour and be successful.”
What was it like being so young in the competition? Did she get a lot of advice from some of the older contestants? “All of us kind of take each other under our wings and [give each other advice] and help each other out with our songs and arrangements.”
What did she learn from last week’s Nashville trip? “It was a lot of fun. I was happy [to be at the place] where we could…have been for the next year of our lives, working with [Scott Borchetta]. He wanted show us where we would be, and who we would work with.”
On visiting Big Machine’s studios, “The studio at American Idol, is just a small studio. [In Nashville] it has all these buttons and knobs and things! It was a huge studio with instruments in it. It was really cool!”
When she was in the bottom two with Rayvon, did she think she was safe? “I already had the feeling that I wasn’t going to make it through. Of course, you still have a side of you that hopes you did make it through, because you don’t want it to end. I’m so proud of him [Rayvon] and I’m so happy for him because he fought his way through the twitter save so many times and he’s still going really really strong.”
Why did she think she would be eliminated? “It wasn’t’ that I wasn’t satisfied in my performances. it’s just a feeling that…knowing there’s such great talent and I’m so young and don’t have as much experience. It was me being satisfied with whatever the outcome [had] been.”
On the rough patch she had in the middle of the competition when the judges were pushing her to do something different. Was she still trying to find herself? Was she feeling stressed? “I don’t know. I guess you could say that. All of the stress [in the] competition and all the things everybody [says] in your ear…not really having time to yourself…[it’s] stressful and frustrating at times. But I have to go out there and do my best to sing.”
Who is she rooting for to win. “I can’t really say! Everybody is so good. They are really deserving of the positions that they are in. Whoever [comes out] on top deserves it.”
Was she looking forward to singing with anybody in particular in the finale? “I would like to sing with either Beyonce, Sia, Rihanna…”
What are some fun facts that her fans don’t know about her. “I actually try to tell them everything! I’m Jewish. I guess they don’t know that.”
Does she have some dream songs she’d like to sing on tour? “I really want to do a song by Sia on the tour. She’s such an amazing writer and artist.”
If she had stayed in the competition longer, would we have heard a Sia song from her? “Next week, I was going to do “Titanium.” On the tour, I’m definitely going to do one of her songs.”
What’s been the most fun about the American Idol journey so far? “Two things. First, performing is the overall best part. It’s something that–even when I’m feeling down, I can always count on. I’m just in love with it. And also, meeting so many wonderful people along the way.”
Would she like to act? “I really love the show Empire…it would be such a dream come true for me. I love [Cooke]. Taraji, she’s amazing.”
On the tour being cut from 10 performers to 5, “Because there [are] only 5 [performers] now, we have a longer period of time on the tour to [perform]. It should be a lot of fun and a better way to show ourselves as artists.”
Curtain Call: Tyanna Jones
https://youtu.be/eR7N-IAwRlA
