AI 6: Jared Cotter Int.: I'm sure there's more to life than being really good looking

[Yardgnome]

This was an interesting interview week. All the contestants were very close and eliminated in the final round. I definitely noticed some upset, anger and emotions when talking with them. Jarred was very open about his experience on the show and I wish him the best of luck. I was able to get through for a few questions and they are highlighted in red.


Last night you had mentioned that you were pretty surprised. You were pretty shocked that you got eliminated. How are you feeling about that today?

J. Cotter: I feel shocked, man. Honestly, it’s really hard for me to swallow, definitely. It was real disappointing. I never expected to be home this early.

Now, Randy said that you need more originality. Do you have any thoughts about repackaging yourself? What do you think about those comments that he made last night?

J. Cotter: You know what? I was doing songs where they recommend you not changing them too much. I was doing Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. I wasn’t doing 311, you know? I didn’t want to change those songs too much because then they would have said, “You know what? Don’t change those songs.” It was a lose/lose situation for me.

Do you have any theories, as to why you might have been eliminated?

J. Cotter: I honestly think it was Simon’s comments last week, man, and the previous week, actually. My performance did not warrant me going home. I’m still very disappointed and still shocked. I just did not expect to be going home this early.

You mentioned your song choices and compared it to 311. There are certainly guys this year who are doing contemporary stuff that Idol has never seen before and standing out because of that. Do you regret maybe not doing something newer?

J. Cotter: No, I don’t have any regrets. I think I would have changed the next week to Diana Ross, probably would have updated one of her songs a little bit to be more contemporary because that’s really more my style anyway. If you listen to my music online, you definitely notice the difference. I was just taking school of thought from previous winners and, unfortunately, it didn’t work out for me.

What’s going on? Do you think VoteForTheWorst.com is messing things up?

J. Cotter: I don’t know if it’s messing things up.

Dude, look at the people who stayed and you didn’t. Talk to me. Be honest with me here.

J. Cotter: No, I’ll be honest with you always, Steve. Sundance and Antonella were voted for the worst and they got voted off. I don’t know if it’s that. I think that they do, though, need to get a handle on all those Web sites, such as … vote for mad people like that.

Do you see this as effecting why you left so early? Maybe another way to ask this is, do you feel like the vote yesterday was really based on pure singing talent alone?

J. Cotter: No. Yesterday was definitely not based on votes alone. You had four contestants that were either extremely talented and/or in the media so much, that they would have gotten through, you know what I’m saying? Something is up. At the end of the day, I’m really happy to be in this position, only because I’m looking forward to these new opportunities that are coming to me after being seen by 30 million people a night for three weeks.

What are you planning to do in the future with your singing?

J. Cotter: Well, I have to wait a few months before I get a deal, but I’m sure there are definitely things on the horizon for me, as far as that’s concerned. I model and I act as well, so I’m going to stay in L.A. for a few more weeks and see what kind of opportunities there are for me.

Who is your top pick for who’s going to win now?

J. Cotter: You know what? I would normally give you an answer, but I really can’t call it. The way the voting is done, the fact that Sundance, myself, Sabrina and Antonella got voted off this week, you can’t call it.

Well, you kind of answered my question, but I still want to ask, where do you see yourself, what are you going to do next? Do you think you’ll stay in L.A.? What are your plans?

J. Cotter: I’m definitely going to stay out here for a little bit; 19 Management is kind of helping me out with some things. So I’m really looking forward to seeing what they can come up with. I’ll be out in L.A. for a few weeks at first and then I’ll bounce back to New York. I just can’t go back to waiting tables, I can tell you that.

How would you describe this experience?

J. Cotter: It’s surreal. I don’t think it’s anything you could really describe in words. To know you’re singing on stage in front of 30 million to 40 million people, it’s a dream come true. People know me in the street and actually, I’ve been pretty much isolated. I’m really looking forward to going home to New York and seeing my friends and family and walking through Times Square and seeing how many people notice me.

Would you do it again?

J. Cotter: I would definitely do it again.

Continuing on where you were a second ago, talking about just before you got on this show, were you waiting tables full-time? Were you doing some singing somewhere, too?

J. Cotter: No, I was just waiting there part-time to pay the bills, but I was still gigging and modeling and doing everything I could to get noticed. American Idol was just another audition for me. It really worked out.

What do you see? You mostly have been singing solo until then. If you do go to singing, what’s the next thing you do? Do you work up a club act? Do you look for a band? How do you take it to the next step?

J. Cotter: You know, I have a lot of songs recorded. I put out an independent release last year that did well on the independent circuit. I’ll just keep striving to do it independently until a label notices me.

Your Stevie Wonder song that you sang on Tuesday night, was that a first choice song for you, or was it farther down your list?

J. Cotter It actually wasn’t on my list at all at first. I actually had heard Elliot sing it and I fell in love with it. I thought it was going to be a great song for me. I think it still is a good song for me. The voting last night did not reflect what this contest should be.

I agree. Do you in retrospect wish you had picked a different song, maybe something that related more to the viewers?

J. Cotter Thank you so much. I don’t know. It’s a Stevie Wonder song, you know? It’s slow in the middle. I got to do my lady thing and have fun, of course. I don’t think it was the song. I really couldn’t tell you. I think Simon’s comments really killed me. Paula didn’t have my back either last week. I think those comments were definitely unwarranted. Those comments took me by surprise just as much as me getting voted off.

Well, when Sundance was told that he was going home that night, even the judges did seem disappointed. They were really very vocal about it. What do you think about Sanjaya making it to the top 12?

J. Cotter: Sanjaya making it to the top 12 is a great thing for him. I think the voting judges where people land and that’s just where he landed.

What are you going to miss most about Idol?

J. Cotter: I’m going to miss most the celebrity that you gain by doing this show. It’s instant and it’s a lot of fun. I’m just going to miss everybody.

At the beginning of the season, there as a lot of talk about the judges being crueler this year. As someone who has followed this show for a while like yourself, do you feel like there’s any truth to that?

J. Cotter: I honestly have never seen the show before this season, so I couldn’t even really comment on that. American Idol is a real new thing to me, so I was taking each day as it went along. From what I do know of the show, Randy was a lot harsher this season. I know Paula didn’t show me as much love as I thought she was going to, but it’s all good, man.

Randy has that thing where he always says, “You shouldn’t even try Stevie, you shouldn’t try Whitney. You shouldn’t try …” or whatever. Do you agree with that?

J. Cotter: I don’t agree with that. What are the songs there for, you know what I’m saying? What are they on the list for? The fact is that what’s good about those songs is that nobody is going to do it the same. I’m not going to do it like Stevie did it. I tried, but I’m not Stevie Wonder, you know? I’m me. I put my own different twist to it. As much as he said that I didn’t have any originality, I really feel like if he did his homework and went and looked at the videotape, that I did.

Do you think that over the years, there’s no longer a stigma attached to people who come out of American Idol and try to launch their career from that?

J. Cotter: Could you say that again, man? I’m sorry.

When Idol first started, there was a stigma attached to they’re trying to launch their career from this TV show. Do you think that’s sort of gone away with all the success the shows had?

J. Cotter: No, I don’t think so at all. I think a lot of people look at American Idol as a jumping board for their career. I know that going, in I was like well, even if I don’t win, if I make it far enough I can kind of spring it off to something really big. That was one of the main reasons I decided to audition.

I was just wondering who you were looking forward to working with the most of all of the guests that were coming on.

J. Cotter: I was really looking forward to working with Quincy Jones.

Really?

J. Cotter: Yes. He’s a legend, a musical genius. I was really looking forward to seeing what kind of comments he’d have for me, some criticisms and just learning from him. He was actually in the audience a few weeks ago.

Yes.

J. Cotter: I jumped off the stage right after the show and I went to meet him. It’s amazing. He’s Quincy Jones, you know?

I guess in that respect, you got something good out of the show when it comes to that, right?

J. Cotter: You know what? I got a lot of good things out of this show. I mean, I know sometimes, it sounds like I’m probably bad mouthing the experience, but you know what? This has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I’ve had such a great time. I’ve made such great friends. I consider some of these people lifelong friends. I couldn’t trade that for the world.

I’m from New York, it’s 15 degrees. I’m in L.A. right now, I’m outside in a t-shirt. I’m cool.

This is kind of going off the last question you just answered with Quincy Jones. Were you guys given a schedule of what each theme was going to be for the next 12 weeks?

J. Cotter: No, no. American Idol is very need-to-know basis. As long as you don’t need to know, you will not know. Obviously, we know next week, everybody knows next week is Diana Ross week, so Diana will be there. After that, nobody knows.

From talking with some of the past Idol contestants, they were talking about some of the close relationships they made with some of the other contestants. It seemed like it was a pretty close-knit group of people. Did you establish any really good relationships with anybody throughout the process?

J. Cotter I sure did. Well, myself and Paul Kim, although he got voted off the first week, we were roommates since Hollywood, so we’re very close. I talk to him all the time. Surprisingly after Paul left, Sundance and I became roommates. In the two weeks that we did get to stay together, we got really close. It was a real mismatch. We didn’t know it would work out the way it did, but he’s a great guy, a family man, and just a wonderful person. I’m glad to know him.

I just wanted to … when you spot Quincy Jones, the show finishes, you jumped off the stage and went right over and said hello and introduced yourself right away.

J. Cotter: Yes, he was in the front row and I was like you know what? This is Quincy Jones. I may never get to meet him again.

Yes. Go ahead.

J. Cotter: It’s cool. I just jumped off the stage and gave him my hand. He told me, “Man, I really dig you.” I was like, “Thanks, Mr. Jones. I really appreciate that.” It took me back for a second. I just told him what an honor it was to meet him.

Some of the emotions that we’ve seen on stage in the last couple of weeks, does it get really insular, just put in a hotel secluded from the world, probably all these PR events? There are two things I’m wondering. One, what is it like to be in that closed-off environment and does it really play with your nerves? The second thing is, how much time do you even have to focus on your music with all of the other mania surrounding the show?

J. Cotter: I think because we are so closed-off is how we do get to focus on the music. They prepare us very well for how we’re to perform. We rehearse all the time. Honestly, because we’re so closed off, also we become very close. We’ve been here for about a month or so.

Wow.

J. Cotter: I haven’t gone out anywhere. It’s just been us.

Right.

J. Cotter: We get very close, but it’s cool. You’re here for a bigger purpose.

Thank you to FOX for allowing us to participate in this media call.

[Google]

 

[jasmar]

He reminds me of some kind of character off Zoolander.

Good questions, YG.

[Krom]

No "Are you aware you look like a really tall Carlton Banks" question, eh?

That's okay. Your questions were still pretty good.

[LovesBoots]

I thought he was really cocky prior to reading this entire transcript. In other interviews I have read he comes off as arrogant.

[caramelbeauty81]

He was one of my favorites based on looks and I thought he was a good singer but Im a little bit dissapointed with his answers. He seems a little too full of himself.

[jasmar]

Hence the Zoolander reference. He's really goodlooking.

[Yardgnome]

He was actually really nice but I did get the "full of himself" vibe from him as well.

Yeah Jasmar, you caught the Zoolander reference. I am just sad I could not fit the complete quote in.

[ShrinkingViolet]

I didn’t want to change those songs too much because then they would have said, “You know what? Don’t change those songs.” It was a lose/lose situation for me.

It's not as though we haven't heard that one before.

No, I was just waiting there part-time to pay the bills, but I was still gigging and modeling and doing everything I could to get noticed. American Idol was just another audition for me.

I’m going to miss most the celebrity that you gain by doing this show.

Gasp! Did he just admit to using AI as a stepping stone to something bigger and better? Simon's not going to like that.

He sounds so arrogant. He's just an average-sounding singer, who thought he was really, really good-looking. I don't know why he thinks all these offers are going to fall into his lap.

Thanks for getting this to us, YG, and it's always great to see you got some questions in there.

[Leo]

Jared needs to know there's such a thing as thinking too much of yourself... he suffers a wee bit from it, I think.

Great interview, Yardgnome.

[ranger1rg]

seems arrogant to me, too -- especially for a guy who has no idea how to move onstage and has an average singing voice.

i'm also sick of contestants complaining about the judging/voting, and then giving lame answers to questions such as "what do you think about sunjaya staying?" that's when they defend the system -- contradicting all they said before.