Nadia Turner: “I was trying to keep it real, I was trying to stay true to me.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

Rodney Ho of American Idol Buzz posted a very revealing interview with Season 4’s 8th place finisher, Nadia Turner.

Nadia was a favorite of mine that year. I loved her style and her interesting song choices, though after awhile, the audiences stopped digging her unique style-especially after performing a botched arrangement of Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” with her hair styled in a mohawk (pre-Sanjaya…she was so ahead of her time!) She was eliminated the following week after singing an unfamiliar Crystal Gayle tune, “When I Dream.”

Her performances of “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me” and “Try a Little Tenderness” are some of my favorites from the entire season.

Rodney’s interview reveals what a tough road some Idols find themselves on post-show:

She said her disadvantage was she knew zip about …Idol going into the show when she auditioned in 2004. …It was extremely overwhelming, she said. …Everyone else knew what was going on. After the …Idol tour, she said, …I needed to detox. So for me, I went into a cocoon. She said she needed time to absorb what had happened. …I was bartending and singing in bars. Then performing in front of millions of people, she said. …It freaked my brain out to where I needed to chill out.

Her ability to leverage her …Idol fame has been somewhat limited.

She lived off her …Idol tour money for awhile. …That kept me and my family afloat, she said. She made some dough making …Idol related appearances. Once that cash dried up, she spent 18 months working in a paid position as music director of Life House Ministries, including out reach for inner-city kids.

Professionally, after …Idol, she said she met with producers but nothing much congealed. She eventually recorded her own album using some of that tour money. It done. But she hasnt distributed it yet, outside a couple of iTunes releases. She funneled through three managers.

She also been taking care of her daughter. She stayed in Florida until recently moving to New York City four months ago. She looking for work there, both related to helping kids as well as auditioning for Broadway-type gigs. But she knows now her vocals arent quite ready for the rigors of Broadway. She working ot get her vocals back up to speed.

…I just want to perform, she said, …on a big scale. I want to act. I did a movie during this time called ‹Lord Help Us. That was fun. I want to do theater.

Exposure on the show is a foot in the door, it by no means guarantees a steady career in show business.   Take note, you would-be Idolers…

About mj santilli 34832 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!