Eliminated Top 12 contestant, Brandon Rogers, spoke with the press Thursday about his Idol run. Read the highlights after the jump.
From MTV:
MTV: What was in your mind before you heard you’d been voted off of the show?
- What Brandon was thinking when he was voted off: I absolutely knew what was coming. I did. I really felt at peace with the decision. I think you get a feeling when it’s about time for you to go. I messed up my words and I hadn’t created enough momentum, musically, to sustain a mistake like that.
- About forgetting the lyrics: It’s actually kind of funny, because I wish I could chalk it up to nerves or the pressure of going first, as a lot of people speculated. But honestly, it was me having too good of a time. I went out there, had a great time, did my little dance, my little hip-shimmy and the crowd screamed. That was the loudest the crowd has been the whole time in the competition [that I was onstage] and I was like, “Whoa! This is awesome! What the heck are my words?”
- On Diana Ross: It was fantastic and she’s an absolute sweetheart, but incredibly intimidating. Being in the presence of [Diana Ross] made me so nervous. She basically told me [how to handle] those nerves. She said her father told her when she was little that nerves are the same as excitement. She told me to find my center and really concentrate on really finding my peace in performance and making sure the nerves don’t get ahold of me at the wrong time.
- Is Idol a singing contest or a popularity contest? I don’t know if it’s a singing contest or a popularity contest or which one is more valid ‘ but the fact of the matter is, it is a contest. It is what it is, and we all knew this going into it. You just try to do your best on the show and hope that it works out for you and hope that you can pick up some fans along the way that keep you going. I got all the way to the top 12. I’m pretty elated just to be there.
From Entertainment Weekly:
- Why Brandon sounds happy despite his elimination: I’m in a good mood. I was in a good mood last night. Somebody has to go every week. I’m just so glad I made it to the top 12.
- Did he really think he was going even with Sanjaya standing next to him? Yeah, I really knew. I felt fine with going home, too. I’d gone pretty damn far. I’ll take number 12 any day of the week.
- Does he regret his song choices? I have no regrets. I chose the songs because I love the songs. I probably should have been more concerned with picking songs that showed my voice. I wasn’t thinking like the audience. I was thinking like a singer
- About forgetting the lyrics: I own that and I don’t feel bad about it. There’s some strange comfort in knowing I went home for a mistake.
- What he planning to sing next week: ”Whiter Shade of Pale.”
- About hearing the judges week after week compare the rest of the group to LaKisha and Melinda: The judges are going to have their opinions and say what they’re going to say. They’re really underwhelmed by a lot of the people. A lot of people will disagree with me but having heard these people sing on and off stage I feel like this is the most talented season of Idol ever. This is a bunch of great singers. A lot of people have been thrown under the proverbial bus a little more often than they needed to be…To the people who use that information to step it up a notch, it’s helpful. They say it’s a two-way race so you better catch up.
