Ahead of tonight’s American Idol XIII Top 8 performance show, judge Keith Urban answered questions from reporters about the competition and the remaining competitors. Read on!
How does he feel country music is represented on the show? Are the judges making a conscious effort to include more country music? “I think country has always been well represented. It might be a little more prominent now. I don’t know if that’s because I’m there, or what it is. I like that we’ve got diversity in the country area this year. You got somebody like CJ, who can fit into that genre. You’ve got somebody like Jessica Meuse who can fit into that genre. Idol has also played very very well in those places–midwest and those rural states that have huge country audiences. I’m really grateful to be on the panel because of that. Hopefully we can discover some exceptional country talent this year.”
What was his first audition song? “I did a few of these shows when I was very young in Australia. I think when I was 9 was the first time I went on. I did a song called “Life on the Hill.” That would probably be my first audition song.”
Does he prefer the country artists on the show, or are his tastes subjective? “I just respond to feeling. It’s not even about genre. It’s got everything to do with the sense of believability and authenticity. I’m going to react and respond to how it makes me feel.”
Who does he think is the front runner this season and why? “I really can’t say. I don’t really know at this stage. I don’t have a personal front runner. We’ve already seen the surprise of who ends up in the bottom 3 each week. It’s not really been consistent. I think what I’m liking about the season is [that] America’s responding to the performances from night to night. It doesn’t seem like there’s such an intense fan club for any particular artists [that] override the performance. That’s what makes the show interesting for me from week to week right now–is that anybody can be the front runner. It’s going to be interesting to see who’s going to be in the Top 3, let alone 1 and 2. I really don’t know who that will be.”
On the challenges the contestants face transitioning to the big stage, “It’s one of those places where you can be very very young–15, 16, 17 and have a great voice, be a great singer, have a good look. But if you don’t have any experience in front of an audience it can really throw you. We’ve seen that a little bit this year. I notice, even from rehearsal to the show that night, some of them–it’s a particular thing to be able to perform in front of an audience with the energy, and the cameras on, and all that sort of stuff. It’s been an interesting group. Now I’m watching a lot of them really rise to that. I think the very first show threw a lot of them. The second week, a little easier for them. Most of them are in their groove now and we’re seeing that consistency starting to rise.”
Does he think it was time for Majesty and MK to go? “It’s tricky. On one hand, if we don’t use the save, everybody boos us. You could really answer it by saying we agree with America. That’s why they’re singing, because they’re at the bottom based on everybody’s votes. The three of us haven’t agreed across the board on saving somebody. In a couple of cases, at least one of us would have wanted to save that person. But I think we’re really coming down to the wire now. This week or next, it’ll be interesting to see who we have to use our save for.”
How much does song choice matter? “Song choice matters a lot. For some more than others. I think there’s some artists in this group who can sing most things. Their vocal and the artistry comes through no matter what. I think other ones really have to pick their songs carefully to play to their strengths. I think we saw that with Ben Briley choosing a song that didn’t quit fit who he was and what he was doing. It’s tricky. I know it can seem contradictory that we ask everybody to show us something different. But you also have to know how to be different, and still remain yourself. It’s not just different for different sakes. It’s showing another side of you, not just this complete other thing that’s got nothing to do with who you are.”
What kind of advice would he give the winner on how to move forward? “For me, it’s the same advice across the board. It’s the same advice for the person who came 8th. It’s for the person who goes home tonight. It’s what you do with this going forward now, that’s going to make it either work or not work. Winning Idol doesn’t automatically catapult you into the stratosphere. You have to then set about finding the songs, and making the record, then you’ve got to go out and do interviews. You’ve got to do the work. It can get you to the front of the line a little quicker, but it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen right away. It’s been interesting with this show over the years that we’ve seen just as much success come from the non-winners as the winners. That’s also testament to the people the judges have chosen over the years–the Chris Daughtrys and the Adam Lamberts and the Jennifer Hudsons etc, who have gone on to have exceptional careers. It’s really what you make of it after the fact.”
Does he think this year’s more open-ended themes have had an impact on performances, “I think at the end of the day, you still gotta choose the right song no matter what the themes are. Each one of these guys and girls have to figure out how to choose something within the theme that still works for them and plays to their strengths. Some can do that better than others.”
Has sitting on the panel with Harry Connick Jr. and Jennifer Lopez changed his approach to judging? “Not at all. I respond to what I feel, what I see. I don’t over think it. The only time for me that it gets into…thought, is if I can then pinpoint what it is that I’m missing in this performance, and how they might be able to fix it. In some cases, you’ve got people that…hit a wall. You can just see. They’ve hit a wall, where they now need to go and live life and they need to keep either writing songs, or they need to keep performing live. They need to do something. Now they just need all the experience. I find there’s not a lot of advice you can give other than ‘You just got to get out there and live life and it’s going to take some time now.’ I think that’s what happened with Majesty last week. We felt like we were starting to see the same thing. She’s got an extraordinary talent. She really is gifted. But she now needs life. She needs to get out there and really define who she is and find herself as an artist.”
How did he feel about MK Nobilette and her coming out story? Is the story more important than the music? “The story is beautiful, and it’s very inspiring. As far as a singer, she has a really beautiful voice. I think where MK hit a wall with the show, was simply in regards to the performance and the fact that it is a visual medium too. It’s not just audible. Some sort of visual way of performing is really important. It doesn’t just mean running around the stage. It means performing in such a way, that it goes through the camera and connects with people. She’s obviously going to keep working on this. She’s really really gifted. I’ll be interested to hear more from her.”
When Idol approached him about being a judge, what did he consider the pros and cons? What was the most important thing that he wanted to give to the contestants? “A lot of the times I see artists struggling with something that’s very simple to fix. Harry’s the same. In my case, it’s things that I’ve had to figure out how to do–how to perform properly, how to choose songs properly–a myriad of things. I think a lot of that can be taught. You have to have an intrinsic talent to start with–then, hopefully, the work ethic that goes with that. It’s crucial. If you’re interested in growing and learning and listening, then I think a show like [Idol] can be extremely helpful. I love that part of it more than anything. Then, watching it from week to week to see if they’re listening to some of the advice that works for them. It’s not just about listening to every piece of advice. It’s about listening and registering the ones that feel right, and discarding the rest. It’s not all accurate for each person. We’ve got all our fingers on what they should be doing. But they’re an artist, and they’ve got to decide what that is. I love watching from week to week, seeing that growth. It’s really extraordinary.”
What does he think is the single most important skill that they can apply to their music from now on? “I don’t know if that’s a blanket sort of piece of advice. I think it’s always different for each person. Everybody is at different places on their artistic journey. It’s a contradiction in terms too, because we can be offering all this advice, but they also have an individualism and an originality about them, which can defy every single thing we’re saying. They can go against every single thing and create something extraordinary. That’s the beauty of art–there’s no rules to it. There’s the creation of the art, and there’s the response from it. That’s the only thing that’s true, is how people respond to it.”
What is his personal criteria on using the save for a contestant? “There’s a lot of them really. One of them is, Do we think this artist is growing? Was this just a particularly ill chosen song? Or an unfortunate performance and they’re much better than that? In which case…there’s much more to them yet to be seen. We should save them [if] we think the audience will like them next week if they get the right song. The other one is: Are there other people left in the group who we are worried might end up being in that bottom, that we’ll have to save? Part of that factors into that too. Then there’s just the reality of the person performing. If they just do a knock it out of the park performance, we’re all going to deliberate really quick, and probably change our minds. I think it’s a little bit of what was happening last week with Majesty. We really couldn’t decide on that. I’m really looking forward to a unanimous decision before too long.”
What does he think about the fact that only one guy has been eliminated so far? “I don’t know what to make of it. It’s just the way people are voting. Everybody is performing and everybody’s responding and voting accordingly. What I find interesting more so, is the fact that nobody seems immune to being in the bottom 3. You’ve got somebody like Sam that seems to have an absolute army of devoted female fans, and yet he can end up in the bottom 3 as well, if he does a sub par performance. That part’s been interesting to watch this year from week to week.”
