Michael Johns in Atlanta – Interviews – Idol Producers Ask Him To Mentor for S8 Hollywood Week

After listening to a bunch of David Archuleta radio interviews it’s so different listening to all that talking going on with Michael Johns. Michael is so articulate and witty.

Thanks MJ for posting these interviews. Lots of new information in them. He’s going to be a mentor during Hollywood Week? That made my day!!

I’m soooo glad to hear that Brooke is recording! And I didn’t know that him and Brooke were close, good to hear that. I thought he was all about David Cook and Carly.

He also mentioned that Carly is recording (in addition to Brooke). YAY!!!

I love Michael. I just love hearing him talk. His accent and charm.

Love me some MJ. These guys come across so well in interviews. Lots of star quality on the show this year, fo sho!

I don’t know- I would think to be a proper mentor to up and comers you would need to have some long term success behind you. What success does he have to draw on after all?

I have nothing against him (aside from finding him a horribly derivative performer) but a mentor?
No.

Well, mentor for Hollywood week, they say, which I think may mean “help in keeping it together at the early stage of the Idol competition.” On the first interview he indirectly mentioned that, for all his joking around, he shared a lot of support for some of the younger contestants by virtue of having been around the biz for ten years. Helping people keep their cool and present themselves well, and just keep things in perspective, win or lose. Plus, the producers probably think he’s just good tv.

That is pretty cool. A lot of news. And it would be really great to see him mentoring. He was the BOMB in hollywood week last year.

I don’t know why the mentor for Hollywood Week would need to have had long-term success in the music business. At that point, it’s all about trying to get yourself simply into the Top 24 and, ideally, moving forward. So, I would tend to think that anyone from a season’s Top 12 with the right temperament and perspective could be a good mentor. This year, given that everyone got along so well and seemed pretty mature, I’d think that many of them could be possible mentors. It did kind of seem like certain ones (David C., MJ, Carly, Brooke before she started getting so emotional) had kind of mentor-like/parental/big brother roles this year, so it makes some sense to me that it might be one of them. Given the timing, with Carly and Brooke currently recording and David C. about to start the publicity blitz, MJ is probably the best option of those four for a mentoring spot at this time.

^Maybe but I do think a succesful long term artist will be better, or at least a person with the experience in the bussines… Kara herself will be a good choice for that…

This is not going to be a popular thing to say, but from hearing things Michael has said about DA to fans during the tour, I get the feeling he is a bit jealous of him.

I am glad that Michael is getting some gigs. Good for him. I think because of his “mature” age, compared to many who audition for AI, he will be a good choice for a mentor.

MJ isn ´t very popular with lot of people in different fanbases, in Castrocopia they don ´t like him at all, maybe his way to talk abo and act is difficult for people to like him…he sometines came out as pedantic guy that thinks he should have making it longer that he did in the show…

Thanks for the link!
Michael is awesome. I love his personality. So witty and a great guy.

I actually think he is very fond of Little Archie. He is always messing with him like he is his little brother. He also said Castro is great guy and plus they all went to his party so they all must like him and they seem to get along just fine.

Anyway, can’t wait for MJ’s album. It’s nice how he is keeping himself in the press.
Good for him.

I personally think that MJ is a good guy and often misunderstood. His humor is sometimes a little over the top, but I’ve seen that with other Australians. They are able to “snark” with the best of them. I’ll admit, if a person is a bit thin-skinned his sarcastic style of humor can be a bit grating. I guess I’m used to it – my family is like that, and besides, I like to hang out at TWoP-like sites. (I hope, MJ, it’s ok for me to admit to that?) I guess you could say that I’m not your typical David Archuleta fan. :)

maracaibo- I think he likes DA, but I also think he is a bit jealous, and I can’t blame him.

Oh, just to clarify the thin-skinned comment – I’ve had to develop a thick-skin since I’m both a David Cook AND David Archuleta fan, and I haven’t enjoyed the fan-warring that’s been going on – on this site, Rickey’s (which the Cook fan’s no longer frequent by the way), others, and especially Youtube. I personally feel that it’s uncalled for at this stage, and I’ll have to go elsewhere if it continues. To quote Simon Cowell, “Just an opinion.”

This may reflect that I also come from a family that teases to show affection, but I’ve never gotten a whiff of anything negative coming from MJ toward DA. The teasing seems pretty consistent with a brotherly relationship, where the older brother is a teaser. I suppose that mileage may vary on this, but all in all, I just get the sense that everyone on this year’s season liked each other and got along about as well as is possible where they were competing against each other for a limited number of brass rings.

All in all, I kind of agree with wordnerdarchie that at this stage, the Idol contestants who have been kind of “ours” are now wandering out into the bigger world, so whether there is jealousy or whether one is doing better relative to another doesn’t seem very important to me. Their futures at this point depend on doing well enough against the rest of the music world.

I think he likes DA, but I also think he is a bit jealous, and I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t blame him.

I just don’t understand. Why would Michael be jealous of Archie? They’re not gonna compete in the same market and totally different age group. If he HAS to be jealous of someone, it would be of David Cook ‘cos they share quite a lot of fans together and their musical influences are similar. But he sure doesn’t seem jealous of him. And I think it’s great that he’s mentoring during Hollywood week. He’s good energy. I remember how dreadful the group sings got after he was voted out.

I don’t want to get into a war or make a huge deal of this, but there were many times on tour, where he would make comments to fans when girls were screaming like crazy much more for DA. DA just had tons and tons of fans, and I am sure some people are thinking, why does this young pipsqueak have so many fans. I know that they all tease each other like brothers, and I know that they all got along just fine. That is not what I was talking about. Just an opinion and I will say nothing further.

I like MJ very much (think he is a good guy) and wish him the best. It is interesting how he talked about having had several label deals and that they fell through. Can someone speak to when the music business started to change as people say it has so drastically? Is it the digital thing that has hurt it so much?

wordnerdarchie- I have seen TWOP used in places. what does that mean?

MJ isn ´t very popular with lot of people in different fanbases, in Castrocopia they don ´t like him at all, maybe his way to talk abo and act is difficult for people to like himà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦he sometines came out as pedantic guy that thinks he should have making it longer that he did in the showà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

Not well liked by “different” fanbases? Um yeah, we all know fans at Castrocopia don’t like Michael. But most David C and Carly fans do(obviously), as well as many Archie fans from what I’ve seen. Not to mention I used to go to Jason’s other board Daydreaming Boy and many Jason fans over there had nice things to say about Michael. Overall you can’t please everyone. Almost every contestant from this season has a selected number of people who don’t like them(including Jason).

I don’t understand the controversy. What from this interview leads people to think he would be “jealous” of David A.? Because he made some jokes about him being at the birthday party? Or because he said he thought Cook was the right winner?

If it’s the latter that touched people off, note that he didn’t make a claim that Cook was the season’s superior performer (although WNTS stats verify that he was). He mentioned it in connection with the social causes that Cook promotes, specifically cancer awareness.

I’m not a big MJ fan but I think he would actually make a good mentor on the show. He’s very witty, easy to talk to and probably has a lot of wisdom he can impart. Success is all relative. He made it into the top ten and I’m sure that will be impressive to a lot of other contestants. Unlike a lot of the other musical mentors, he actually has first-hand familiarity with the American Idol experience, so it’s all good.

People who have issues with Michael Johns probably make up a small fraction of American Idol viewers, and to most people, he probably was a good contestant that got booted way too early. Personally, I just see him as a guy who likes to joke around and tease people a lot. I’ve encountered a lot of people like that in life and I certainly don’t consider them jerks, and from what the other top 10 have said, I think they appreciated the levity he provided.

I just donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t understand. Why would Michael be jealous of Archie? Theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re not gonna compete in the same market and totally different age group. If he HAS to be jealous of someone, it would be of David Cook à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹cos they share quite a lot of fans together and their musical influences are similar.

I agree with you bluejeans. Michael Johns is a 30-year old man trying to pursue a career in Rock/Blues. He is not an 18 year old guy trying to be the next teenage hearthrob in the world of pop music. I haven’t seen any evidence of resentment towards Cook, so I certainly can’t imagine him resenting Archie.

Noctum said,

“I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t understand the controversy. What from this interview leads people to think he would be à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“jealousà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  of David A.? Because he made some jokes about him being at the birthday party? Or because he said he thought Cook was the right winner?”

None of the above.

Sometimes I’ve found Michael Johns’ personality to be a bit over-the-top for my tastes, but I think he was sweet and funny in these interviews. He seems to be one of those people who comes off as brash when you first meet him, but as you get to know him you realize that he’s not really like that.

Nice to hear that Brooke is in the studio recording. I hope she can give us news about her album soon.

It is curious to me that Brooke is recording in Nashville. Maybe that means nothing anymore. I know that DA recorded in Maryland, LA and several other places. It may have more to do with who is helping them on a particular song.

I understand that everyone likes each other and they all hang out together and all. But sometimes MJ says snarky things that bite a bit, then he laughs and passes it off as a joke. So it could be taken either way depending on how you feel.

Personally I think he is mostly kidding, but that there is a hint of truth in his snarks. Like when he is in a good mood it’s a joke but another time he might mean it a little bit.

I think Michael is a snarky, outspoken guy and sometimes that doesn’t fly well with sensitive people. By all accounts anyway, the idols love him, he’s close friends with many of them and it seems like he must be on good terms with AI management too or they wouldn’t have invited him to tutor next season. I think a few people just get the wrong impression but that’s ok I guess, you cant please everyone.

All his projects sound very exciting! I love Gnarles Barkley!

I hope MJ will excuse me for clarifying TWoP for LK08, but since he/she asked the question I’ll answer it.

TWoP (Television without Pity) is another site that has discussion boards for many different TV shows, including American Idol. There are usually threads for every contestant (participating on the show) where intelligent, witty and snarky discussions are held pertaining to the contestants song choices, judging, performances, fanbases, idol tour, post show careers, and knollish conspiracies, etc. There have been some breakaway forums from this site appearing elsewhere on the web. However, once a TWoPper, always a TWoPper, even though one migrates to other forum boards. I hope that answers your question.

^Thanks. By the way, you must have a very thick skin if you are fans of both Davids, although things seem to have settled down quite a bit because of their behavior towards each other.

Yes, LK08, I’ve bought both Crush and Light On and I follow both careers. It definitely has been an interesting summer. I got on the two David’s bandwagon late – didn’t watch the show before April 15, so I had to watch a lot of Youtube videos, and I loved them both. They’re totally different performers, so I have a hard time understanding the rancor between the two fan groups. Some days I want edgier rock music, and other days I want calmer, more melodic music. So the Davids work for me.

Thanks for posting these great interviews!! I think Michael is
very funny and personable in interviews. Cute interaction
about little Archie, what a great kid he is!! Michael sure is
keeping busy and getting alot of good press. Having a mini
concert tomorrow at the Atalanta Motor Speedway and then
singing the National Anthem in front of 200,000 is a very big
deal. The NA will also be televised on National Television.
Can’t wait to hear him sing it again, and for all his future
projects and album!

Michael a mentor on Hollywood week? :wub_tb:

Honestly I don’t think Michael wastes any time being envious of any of the others. He had his chances when he was younger and unfortunately it didn’t work out but I’ve never seen anything to show that he was anything but happy for the successes of the Davids and the rest of the idols. He does have a sarcastic sense of humor and not everyone gets it but I also enjoy a little snark in my life, lol.

MJ isn ´t very popular with lot of people in different fanbases, in Castrocopia they don ´t like him at all,

Um yeah, we all know fans at Castrocopia donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t like Michael

I’ve seen this opinion a couple of times now and I just want to clarify that some posters at Castrocopia do not like Michael, but I wouldn’t say that as a whole Castrocopia does not like him. I personally love MJ and I know others on the forum have said the same. I am looking forward to his CD and think he’s a very funny, nice guy.

I am Jasons biggest fan and I never heard of those that love Jason disliking Michael?? Jealous of David A? Thats too funny and unbelievable. I think that Mj is warm and charming and witty. Perfect for mentoring, hosting, singing – whatever he does I am sure he will do well. He is really being noticied in Hollywood for his talent and his personality. I hope he goes far and does very well. Good for him

I think I’ve posted at Castrocopia maybe a total of 2 times or so, but I love their blog. Liz Lemon and McLovin have shown you can be a fan and still snark on your Idol.

I’ve rolled my eyes at a few things MJ has said, especially his comments on how he deserved to go farther on the show. That doesn’t mean I don’t think he’s going to put out a great record that I’m looking forward to buying.

I’m guessing that “mentor during Hollywood week” would be more on the order of Jully Black on Canadian Idol or Cat Deeley during the SYTYCD auditions, where she runs around and hugs people and makes friends. I’m kind of thinking they’ll bring in MJ to fool around (maybe even sing a little) with the Hollywood auditioners and stay up late (Jully Black did that) and commiserate and be his usual goofball self. The only difference would be that Jully got to stick around the whole season, while it sounds like Michael is only on for the H’wood round.

I’m an Archie fan and I don’t really get the vibe that MJ is necessarily jealous of either of the Davids. However, that being said, I, like others here, have rolled my eyes at some of the comments MJ has made regarding his progression on the show, so I can see how he might rub people the wrong way. I don’t view it as jealousy as much as him believing too much of his own press. So many in the media were telling him over and over again that some great injustice had occurred when he got booted off the show, but IMO, it wasn’t that shocking that he was voted off after his sub-par performance that week.

Regardless of some of the bone-headed comments he has made in the past, I think the guy is very talented and is a good person. I think he’d be a good mentor for S8 for the mere fact that he’ll know how to infuse a little humor into an otherwise stressful situation.