Read excerpts from David Hernandez’s media interviews yesterday below. He was surprised to be voted off, He was planning to sing “Yesterday” with an acoustic guitar next week, and he thinks song choice did him in, rather than the stripper-boy scandal. Plus, he wants to make a Pop/R&B influenced album.
- Did he think he was going home? “I was genuinely shocked. I really didn’t think that I would be going home. Honestly, based on all the things the judges have said about my vocals, I thought that I would definitely be in the bottom three, [but] I didn’t think I deserved to go home. Everything happened for a reason. But when I was on the show and I said, “Wow, ” I was genuinely like, “Wow.” [Laughs.] I was definitely shocked, but I’m very happy. There’s probably going to be a lot of doors opening with this one closing.”
- Did the Scandal about his strip-club past hurt him? “I think it was based on song selection. I think America is smart enough to know by now that personal lives should not influence [an artist’s] musical career. … I did a pretty good job of blocking it all out. You probably saw on TV, you know, I watched my performance back from Tuesday night, and I was very happy with my stage presence and all that. It’s just unfortunately not the best song selection in the judges’ eyes, and America voted.”
Sources: Entertainment Weekly, MTV
More After the Jump
- On handling pressure, “I think adversity is my best friend. I think it’s something that inspires me. It makes me work harder. I don’t have anything to say to the people that tried to bring me down or count me out. I just tell them, “Count me back in, ” because honestly, that’s all you can do. In this industry, you have to have thick skin and know that people are going to say bad things about you, and if this is the worst thing that people are going to say about me in my career, then it’s OK.”
- Did he tell producers about his former job? “Uh-huh, absolutely. If they weren’t comfortable with it, I wouldn’t have been on the show. Everything is out there and open, and the media can be vicious sometimes, and thank God I have thick skin and a great family behind me.” Ken Warwick claims he didn’t.
- On singing the Beatles, “With the Beatles being so legendary, it’s really tough to cover them, kind of like how it’s tough to cover a Whitney [Houston] or a Celine [Dion] or a Luther [Vandross] song. Most people already have it set in their minds how they want the song to sound. It’s hard to change it and make it your own. … Actually, [“I Saw Her Standing There”] wasn’t my first choice. My first choice was “Let It Be, ” but that was already taken [by Brooke White]. … In my mind, I did the best I could and made it my own. … The [Beatles] course was really an elective course, and just because I took the course doesn’t mean I was going to sing the song any better.”
- What other songs did he consider singing? “Yeah, between that and ”Got To Get You Into My Life” and ”Let It Be.” ”I Saw Her Standing There” was my third choice. But if two contestants pick the same song, we pull out of a hat. That’s why I say things work out the way they’re supposed to. I didn’t get the song I originally wanted to sing. I was meant to sing this.”
- On Elizabeth Hasselbeck’s nutty theory watch it here, “Um, well, thank you, Elisabeth, for having my back. I love her to death and I think she’s amazing. I would like to think it’s a legitimate contest. To be honest, everyone has skeletons in their closet. I’m not ashamed of anything in my past. I am fully aware of people’s opinions on stuff like that. The only person I have to answer to is myself and God.”
- His best friends on the show, “Definitely David Archuleta and Chikezie and Luke and Asia’h. I just talked to her today. She was like, ”Well, I don’t think you should have gone home.” She’s a feisty little firecracker.”
- What he was going to sing next week, “I was going to do ”Yesterday.” I was going to have the acoustic guitar player sitting next to me. Maybe I’ll sing it at one of my concerts someday.”
- About David Archuletta, “I gave him a big hug when he got off stage. He’s a really sweet kid. When anybody does bad in that group, we always feel for them. When I got offstage last night, David came up to me and said, ”Don’t worry about it. Your vocals were amazing.”
- What he learned about the music business, “I’ve learned that all’s fair in love, war and entertainment. [Laughs.] You know what? It’s been an interesting experience, and I’ve only begun to see the tip of the iceberg. I really believe that this is the beginning of my career, and I’ve been given an amazing platform. … I have huge aspirations for myself. I’ve learned a lot about self-confidence and about being a great performer.”
- About his future, “I think there’s another door that’s going to open. There’s something coming up for me that’s going to be big. I’d like to have a major record deal and I’d like to have my album out in the next year. I’d like to do something with Alicia Keys and [producer] David Foster. This can’t be the end for me.”
- More on David Foster “I went up to him and shook his hand and said, ”You’re amazing. I would love one day to work with you.” He’s been one of my biggest idols. He was like, ‘We’ll see what happens.'”
- What’s next? “I’m going to be on “Ellen” and the “Today” show, and I’m actually going to shop around for a record deal. I’m looking for labels who are interested in me right now. I would like to have an album released in the next year, and then there are definitely other options, like Broadway. I’m definitely keeping my mind open to all that kind of stuff. I would love to do Broadway, but more importantly, on top of everything, I definitely want a record out in the next year. So that’s my long-term goal. I have been singing for a while, and that’s one of my passions ‘ I mean, that is my passion.”
- What will his album sound like? “My first album is definitely going to be pop- and R&B-influenced, and I would like to collaborate with people like Alicia Keys, [producer] David Foster, and also I would like to write my own songs on the album. It’s definitely going to be an eclectic kind of vibe. I’d like to put a little bit of rock and R & B in it too. That’s the kind of image I want to put out there. I’m more of an R&B, grit-and-grind kind of singer.”
