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Talking about Top 5/Burt Bacharach Week on Season 1



"During my year it was Kelly, Tamyra, Nikki, RJ, and myself in the top 5. We were seasoned pros (or so I thought) at this point having come through Hollywood week, the top 30 auditions, and the grueling 5 weeks that comprised the first half of the top 10. It was at this point that I realized I had to step it up. There were only two guys left and I figured (correctly) that the majority of voters were female…so I had to put my best foot forward in order to keep up with the girls and RJ. Burt Bacharach had our ears that week…and I couldn't have been happier. I probably was given one of the greatest experiences of my career. Getting to meet, and then sing for, a musical genius was the icing on top of what was fast becoming an amazing cake.

We ended up going to a well-known hotel in Hollywood to tape our mentor segment. The kicker was that Idol rented out the most expensive and lavish suite in the hotel for our set. Needless to say it was the type of room…suite…that we had always dreamed of. You know you've got it good when your hotel room has a living room that dwarfs the size of most standard hotel rooms, add in the fact that there was a marble bar top meant to serve multiple guests (stools included) along with a fireplace and 2 bedrooms…well, you get the picture. It was something we had never seen before, except for in a James Bond movie perhaps.

I quickly came to find out that the entertainment business, well more accurately, the reality T.V. business was all about "hurry up, and wait". You know those "funny but true" statistics that we sometimes run across on the Internet? Like how we spend twelve years of our life sleeping in bed, or five years in the bathroom etc. Well, I could add at least one to two years of waiting around on Idol to my life's tally. I can't tell you how much time was spent playing cards, being mired in inane conversations, laying around sleeping, or trying to catch up on sleep amid the inane conversations buzzing around us, or generally staring off into space trying to remember lyrics to a song we had only found out existed the day before.
Fast-forward to my turn to sing with Burt.

After leaving the confines of the second bedroom of the suite, (and when I say confines I'm not taking poetic license) I was happy to find myself in the company of a kind and mellow musical genius, sitting behind a grand piano. Burt Bacharach needs no introduction, no explanation, and no…well, I can't think of what else he doesn't need, (certainly not anymore money) but I will say that as far as I'm concerned, he's the man. When I sang "The Look of Love" and he accompanied me on the piano, I had one of those rare moments, in my career, where everything just magically came together…without rehearsal, without forethought, just purely in the moment. I was moved, to say the least, and about a month ago, when I did a Bacharach-themed AIDS benefit I bumped into the songwriter for the first time in five years. We spoke briefly, and during our conversation he remarked how much he enjoyed our time together on Idol. I was touched by the fact that someone who has done so much, traveled so many places, worked with so many artists, (some of whom are my idols) would remember a brief encounter, five years earlier with me. It's one of the greatest compliments I have ever received, and its all thanks to a little show called American Idol."

"She's the Tamyra Grey of this year."

Errrr.....

Talking about Season 1's top 4 results and still using the "e".

"I'll never forget the top 4 results show my year, nor will most of the people who tuned in for that first year. It was the biggest shock of the season by far. Tamyra Grey, was voted off. Who? What? When? Why? And How? Who knows? The nation was shocked by what was as momentous and event as watching Muhammad Ali go down in a fight, as Paula would put it only moments after the announcement. I remember being shocked and gripping Kelly's hand in amazement. There was a chorus of boo's from the audience, and looks of incredulity from the judges. Even Tamyra was unable to totally hide her shock. For the briefest of moments it registered on her face for 30 million people to see, and then just as quickly as it came, it left , and was replaced by her gracious smile. She mouthed 'it's ok, it's ok' as the crowd jeered the decision. Paula's mouth was agape, and poor Nikki must have felt like she was instantly the most hated person in America. Now that's a strong statement, I know, and I can't speak for her…but I know that in her position, I would have felt that way. Nikki narrowly avoided the boot many times and was (only in circumstance, not in talent) much like this year's Syesha. Finding herself in the bottom two multiple times and escaping, must have been taxing enough for Nikki, and she did cry on almost every occasion…but beating out someone who had the potential to go all the way to the top, and whom many thought would give Kelly a real run for her money…must have been excruciating. How would you like to be booed, because you were safe.

What can I say about the group song that hasn't been said? In two words: step-touch. Ugh. I don't miss those days. It only gets harder as there are less people. I think the most difficult time for me was when it was Kelly and I were in the finale. We had to learn a song the day of the finale ("It Takes Two" I think), and we were so shaky on the lyrics, that they just put them in the prompter for us."

"Let's just go ahead and start from the top shall we? They're tired. They have to be. Kelly and I were and we didn't have to work nearly as hard as these kids do. We had it tough…16 hour days during those last two weeks, but these guys have it tougher. They've been working 16hr days for the entire season. Months of giving their all, beating up their voices, and now praying for it to just be over. I know we were."