Lil Rounds spoke with the press yesterday about her elimination from American Idol this week. Check out what she has to say about sticking up for herself, losing the judges support, and making a song her own
After her elimination, did she have any words of advice for Allison? “I gave Allison the biggest hug that I could possibly give her. We were crying like, of course, two girls. That my baby. I just told her to make sure she keeps her head up and continue to be Allison and go out there and nail it each week like she been doing and hold it out for the ladies. So, there were a couple of words that was exchanged, but she such a phenomenal singer. She going to do absolutely fabulous.”
How did she feel about being one of the last two women standing? “I just felt like me and Allison were two really, really strong, girl singers. I just knew that, regardless of whether we went out there and sung until our teeth fell out or if we just went out there and just gave it our all, either way it went, I felt like America would see that we had great voices and they would vote regardless; but yes, of course, being the last two women, we felt like we had to push it a little bit more, but of course, not too hard. We did our thing though.”
More after the JUMP…
Lil’s thoughts on falling from grace with the judges. “I just feel like the judges gave their critiques based on how they felt the performance may have gone. It might not have been what they necessarily thought should have happened at the time whatever with how the performance went, but whenever they gave me their comments, I always took them in stride because I felt like they were giving me constructive criticism to improve me. There were times I felt like they would go back and forth a bit, but it was okay because, in the end, Im going to take everything that they gave me and push forward with it because I will definitely have some albums to come out. The things they gave me is going to help me to make that a great success.”
On the judges constant claim that she should “make a song your own”, “When I would hear that, I automatically would think ‘ first of all, I thought that I did make it my own, especially vocally, but I guess they wanted me to do more of a change as far as music-wise because whenever I would do a song, I always stayed true to the way that the music went with the song. I felt, vocally, I did do some changing there because I always wanted it to fit who I am as an artist. Of course, there would be me being R&B, soulful type singer. So, I always wanted to make sure that I got that vibe in there because that is true me.”
What did she learn from Idol? “Even in the midst of adversity, you just got to keep your head up, stay strong, and keep moving forward because the second that you give up, you drop your head, and you give in, that it. I feel like I came back each week, regardless of what the comments may or may not have been, I would sing my little heart out each week just because I love to do that. I feel like American Idol has given me something great; they gave me a great platform. Forty five million votes came in, so all I can say is, it been a blessing. It really has.”
About sticking up for herself this week, “I just felt like the judges, when they would give me their critiques or their comments, it seemed to me like it started going back and forth. One week they would tell me one thing; then, the next week, the same thing they told me the week before, theyll flip it and tell me to do the opposite of that. So, I was kind of like, ‘Eh, I dont know which way to go.’ I had to make it clear, not just trying to go toe-to-toe with Simon or the judges or anything like that, but I just wanted America to really know that I really, really am an artist. If in any way I gave the vibe that I didnt know who I was or what I was trying to do as an artist, I was trying to let everybody know that Im definitely an artist, and I love to do the R&B and soulful vibe.”
Does she think talking back had an affect on how people voted? “Im not exactly sure because America been keeping me in for a while now. So, Im not sure if that made an impact on me staying another week or not, but I will say that I felt that America got the message that I wanted them to get because the judges are great, but I really, really came on this show for America, to really get it out there and let them see my dream.”
How did she break the news of her elimination to her children? ” Well, I havent gotten a chance to see the babies yet, but they did get to watch the show. I just explained to them that my run on American Idol was up, but of course, I was getting to come home to spend some time with them before I went on tour. Theyre still so very, very proud of their mommy. Theyve been great during this. Theyve tried to understand what I was doing. Theyre really proud of me, so Im happy.
What does she miss about being home with her kids? “Im ready to go back home and take them to a park and just have fun. My husband actually bought me a puppy. So, were ready to go home and get my puppy and run around with the babies for a minute before the tour. So, Im going to miss that.
Did Lil think she was going home? “I actually had a good feeling. It might have been time right then for me to get ready to go. So, I kind of started coping with the idea that I might be leaving before the show.”
Why did she choose “I’m Every Woman? “I can remember when I was a little girl hearing that song. I always wanted to sing it because I thought it was a woman anthem. So, when I saw that I could actually sing it, I just went for it. I thought it was a really, really good song.”
About Lil’s hair extensions, “It was actually a collaboration with me and my hair stylist. He was awesome. I told him, ‘I think I want to go a bit longer.’ I didnt think he was going to take me this long, but he did. When he got finished, I was like, ‘Ooh, I like it!’ So, it was a collaboration.”
How did Lil go about choosing her songs? “My vocal coach, which is Bird ‘ she really, really great. Her and Dorian are really, really awesome. I would go to them and let them know how I was feeling each week. If I felt like I wanted to do a fast song, kind of vibey, then we would go for that, or if I felt like it was a week to do a slower song, like a big ballad or so, then we would go for that. So, it depended on how I felt emotionally and what I was trying to get America to see me as. That was not just being this poppy girl that could sing all these fast poppy songs, but ¦ I could also slow it down and do the slower songs, but still give you the R&B soulful feel.
Did she think her song was going over well Tuesday night? “It really was. I even saw Randy and Simon clap. Paula, she was up enjoying it. So, I thought that it was one of those performances where everybody was pretty much into it, enjoying the performance, and just have fun with me. It was really great. I really enjoyed Tuesday though.”
