American Idol 3/16/06: Interview With Melissa McGhee

[hepcat]

Although earlier in the competition one judge praised her “sexy, sultry voice”, Melissa McGhee found herself in the bottom three after her performance of Stevie Wonder’s “Lately.” It’s not the first time a contestant on American Idol has forgotten the lyrics during their performance, but some would say lyric flub is the cornerstone of the Hollywood episodes that has no place in a top twelve performance. In this interview, Melissa sat down with reporters to talk about what we didn’t see when the cameras cut away from her good bye performance. Was she able to remember the words when performing in front of icon-slash-legend Stevie Wonder himself?

Q: Hello, Melissa. Fantastic job this season.

Melissa: Thank you very much.

Q: What percentage of the published decision to vote you off do you think might be attributed to the fact that you flubbed the lyrics a little bit, and was that little bit of flubbing just some Stevie Wonder-fueled nervousness?

Melissa: I think probably it weighed a lot on the actual decision because America is not that forgiving and it was definitely nerves. I started thinking about my lyrics way, way, way too much when I got onstage. I just started thinking about them way too much and it threw me off.

Q: In retrospect, would you have done anything differently at any point during the competition?

Melissa: No, not at all. I’m really proud of myself for staying who I’ve been through this competition and staying focused on everything that’s been going on.

Q: Where’s the moose?

Melissa: Actually, I have him with me. I just had him in my interview this morning and he’s actually sitting here with me right now, too.

Q: Obviously, you got to a place where very, very, very, very, very, very, let me add another very, few people ever get to go. But did you kind of look at them afterwards and say, “Hey, your luck’s run out,” or something?

Melissa: No. His luck’s been pretty good and it’s not his fault at all. It’s mine. I’m not going to place the blame on him. He’s still important.

Q: After Ruben was successful, a lot of people started wearing shirts with his area code on it. Are you going to be working on maybe doing some kind of endorsement deal with Moose the horse or doing an animated series? What’s on the docket for you now?

Melissa: I actually haven’t thought about that but that’s a good idea. Right now, I’m going to go home and relax and take some time to kind of absorb everything that’s been going on. And then hopefully I can start writing some music and get myself into a studio to pop out an album or so. I’m trying to stick with the music because that’s what I want to do.

Q: In terms of the writing, do you tend to focus more on lyrics or do you actually write sound and instrument?

Melissa: More lyrics. Lyrics is a little bit more my thing.

Q: Did you ask Stevie for any advice about lyrics at all?

Melissa: No, I didn’t. I should have but I was just so nervous just to even be in his presence. I don’t even think I could get a normal word out.

Q: Now how did you get through the performance after the flubs? That must have been very tough.

Melissa: It was tough. I actually ended up laughing at myself. Other people on the show were like, “If that was me, I would have totally just stopped and probably cried.” But I just kept going and making up words as I was going and it was just – My goal was just pretty much make it through it by that time.

Q: Can you explain how the song was a last minute change?

Melissa: What happened was I was going to do “Ribbon in the Sky” but then I kind of doubted myself on the song. And then I went down and picked “Superstition” and it was just a big mess because it was someone’s original song and then they didn’t want to do it and then they wanted to do it again. So then I ended up going back to “Lately.” So, it was a big mess.

Q: Is there anything that surprised you about the Idol experience?

Melissa: That actually surprised me? I guess I kind of didn’t realize how much really goes into it. That is one of the biggest things that surprised me. You kind of just see the show on TV when you’re at home. You don’t realize how much is really put into it. That was a big shocker.

Q: I just wanted to pick your brain a bit. Even though it’s still early in the competition, there seems to be some clear frontrunners. Chris Daughtry is always getting rave reviews from the judges and Taylor Hicks is doing well as well. Is there a general consensus in the house about who is pretty much like landing on top right now?

Melissa: Actually, no, there’s not. Right now, everyone that I’ve spoken with kind of feels the same way as I do. It’s really up in the air. There is a lot of unbelievable talent and right now, it’s a week-to-week basis. And it’s who performs the best every single week, you know. And they’ve got to bring it every week. If it drops one week, then that person is in jeopardy.

Q: I think a lot of people were surprised last night Ace and Lisa happened to land in the bottom three. Do you think that that kind of reality kind of made people really aware that no one is really safe in this competition?

Melissa: Oh, yes. Definitely. I was speaking to both of them and obviously they were shocked, too. It was crazy but I think it’s going to be a shocker if you put anybody down in the bottom three.

Q: Melissa, how important is it for contestants on American Idol to get early screen time during the audition and the Hollywood round? Some people would say that if you don’t get a lot of screen time in the beginning, viewers aren’t going to know who you are. How do you feel about that issue?

Melissa: To a certain extent, I do agree. I think that when it’s put in a position where you haven’t had that much face time, you have to bring it every single week because you don’t have that – You don’t have that little extra cushion to kind of maybe not do as well as you normally would or had a bad night, and for your fan base to pick it up for you. So you can’t have a bad night. You have to bring it every night and that’s kind of how I feel about it.

Q: Some of the other contestants almost were created into characters by some of that screen footage they got early on like, “I’m from Birmingham,” and we’re all looking at Taylor and the segment on his hair. Did you kind of wish that they were turning you into more of a character?

Melissa: No. That was my biggest thing is I said I wanted to come in the competition with being me and I didn’t want to change. I just wanted to be me through the whole thing and stay genuine and that’s what, so far, everyone has told me and I’m proud of myself for doing that. I don’t want to be turned into something that I’m not, you know. I don’t know. Just as long as I stayed me through the whole competition, I’m really happy about it.

Q: Can you give me your opinion of Taylor Hicks as a singer and a contestant on the show?

Melissa: Well, I personally love him. But you end up with more attachment there because you’re with those people every day. I don’t know. He’s just him and he does what he does awesomely and he’s great.

Q: Some fans on the Internet, some people love his movements and the way he acts and some people don’t. Some people like the hair and some people don’t. I’m just thinking, you know, tell me your position. How do you fall on that? I know you like him as a person, but what do you think of him as a singer? Is he any good?

Melissa: Definitely, definitely. Any of these contestants that came here, they wouldn’t be in the top 12 if they weren’t good singers, to a certain extent.

Q: A lot of the contestants had makeovers the other night and I was just wondering how much input you had in picking your new clothes and the hair and all of that stuff; if that was something that interested you and you took an active part in?

Melissa: Actually, you have a big say so. They do give suggestions to you. For instance, my dress, I did pick my dress out. But I did have the stylist there with me, Art, and he obviously gave me his opinions about things and what we thought would best suit me. And my hair more or less – My hair kind of was more of Dean’s idea, which I totally agreed with. If it’s something that I don’t feel comfortable doing or wearing, they totally listen to you and you definitely have an input on what you want.

Q: How much time would you say you spend on that stuff? Is it in general, for all the contestants like an hour, two hours, three hours?

Melissa: Your hair and makeup is kind of all day long because you get it done in the morning and then you’ve got to touch it up for rehearsals and things like that. But then they set an actual shopping day for you to go with a stylist, so it was a blast.

Q: Speaking along the lines of style, do you think you’re going to keep up the new style that you took up along the show?

Melissa: I definitely will. That’s kind of – when I came on the show, that kind of puts me – that is pretty much my style. I like to switch it up and everybody knows that about me. One day I might decide that I want to be total rocker chic and wear, you know, the rocker t-shirt and the ripped jeans and things like that or if I want to go surfer girl. I’m really – I have a big variety of what I like to wear. I will wear a dress or – I don’t have certain set, you know, set-in-stone kind of style.

Q: Has your publicity from American Idol opened any doors for you as far as future projects? Do you have anything in the works?

Melissa: I haven’t really been able to have that discussion yet just because of the fact that it’s so soon. So, I’m sure there are plenty of them out there and this has been an experience to have those doors open so hopefully it will be something good.

Q: Who are your role models when it comes to singing?

Melissa: As far as singing? Faith Hill is my biggest role model. She is my idol. She has this successful marriage, career, she’s still very faithful. She’s a successful mother. She’s just awesome all the way around.

Q: You don’t have any clear favorites for who you’d favor to win now?

Melissa: No, not yet really. Right now I think it pretty much could be anybody. This year’s talent is so strong, I think anybody can pull it off this year.

Q: A fan on the Internet was saying they ran into a few of the contestants out on the town eating dinner and one of them was drinking a chocolate milkshake. I was wondering, would you drink a shake the day before the show or would you avoid dairy and chocolate because they’re supposed to affect your singing voice?

Melissa: I’m one of those that don’t care. I do. You’re not supposed to but I kind of look at is the day before and I’ve still got a whole night to sleep through it and hopefully, the phlegm will be gone. Some people don’t even touch dairy the whole time they’re here, but that’s not me.

Q: You all seem to have colds and throat problems. Is there some kind of virus spreading among the contestants?

Melissa: No. There was actually a little bit of a virus going around and it kept getting passed around everybody. But with me, it was more or less the dry climate. I’m used to Florida’s humid climate and out here it’s so dry.

Q: Well, stay hydrated, okay?

Melissa: Oh, I definitely will.

Q: Last night, Fox cut to a commercial after like ten seconds of your performance and I wanted to ask you, did you remember your words?

Melissa: Did I remember my words? Actually, last night was my best performance I’ve had on the show.

Q: Are you serious?

Melissa: I am not kidding and everyone told me, “They cut away from you so quickly.” And I was like, “Well, I remembered all my words. I hit every single one of my notes, didn’t crack.” It was great.

Q: Now, afterwards, does everybody – Did all the contestants, do they come up to you and hug you and stuff like that or do people like – Are they freaked out and they stay away?

Melissa: No, they all come up and hug you. You try not to do it so much because you have to do an interview as soon as they tell you you’re voted off and when I start getting around those people, I start getting really emotional and I start getting choked up and I try to hold it back. I mean, I’ll take like quick hugs real quick and then move onto the next person because I don’t want to get too emotional because it gets hard.

Q: Chris Daughtry got like strobes and smoke machines and it seems like he gets better production than some of the others...and they gave you a stool. Do you ever think that maybe they treat some people better than others?

Melissa: I don’t think they treat anybody better than others. I think that might have been Chris’s idea. If you have an idea of how you want to perform on a stage, you can throw it out there and then they can tell you what they think of it. Me, personally, I didn’t really have any ideas because the first time I didn’t have that experience. And Chris had had that experience. So, it could have been his idea that he threw out and they just went with it.

Q: I just wanted to know whether you got to meet Stevie Wonder after your performance and did he say anything to you?

Melissa: Actually, I didn’t get to see Stevie after the performance but someone had let me know that he said that he was impressed and thought I had a really good voice and my music career will go far.

Q: He didn’t make any comment about the lyrics and all that, right?

Melissa: No, he didn’t.

Q: Were you surprised to get such positive feedback from the judges?

Melissa: I was. I thought I was going to be butchered. It was kind of nice to leave the show without having any kind of negative comments because I’ve been kind of battered these past few weeks.

Q: Why do you say that you weren’t surprised that they voted off? Were you really, really expecting it?

Melissa: I can’t say I was expecting it but I was kind of preparing myself just in case because forgetting lyrics on the show where you have millions of viewers watching you, it’s kind of a big boo-boo. I think it played a big role.

Q: Did you think that you deserved it because you obviously weren’t the worst performer that night?

Melissa: I mean, necessarily I don’t think I deserved it, but you’ve kind of got to be ready for anything.

Q: Did you have to learn the song “Lately” only recently for today’s performance?

Melissa: Yes, actually I learned it over two days. Two days was the time I learned it in. I was not a person that grew up on Stevie or anything like that, so I wasn’t familiar with his music at all. So, I had two days to learn it.

Q: When you realized while you were singing that you forgot the lyrics, what were you thinking?

Melissa: That’s exactly what I was thinking. That I messed up my lyrics and that I just wanted to pretty much just make it through and even though I can’t remember the lyrics, just kind of make something else to make it sound good.

Q: How personally satisfying for you was it that you got to do it last night with Stevie there and not get the lyrics kind of screwed up?

Melissa: It was – Personally, I was really proud of myself. But as soon as they told me I was off, a huge brick was lifted off of me and I was able to relax and then just have fun with the song, which is what I should have done in the first place. It was a little difficult for me to do it.


Q: It seems like you contestants have different styles in reacting to the judges and taking the criticism, especially from Simon. Do you prepare yourself for that? Do you like go and, okay, no matter what he says, I’m just going to – Or do you kind of play it by whatever he says?

Melissa: I’m pretty much going in there whatever he says because you can’t ever sit and try to read Simon’s mind, that’s for sure because you have no clue what he’s going to say. For instance, I thought he was going to butcher me and he told me that it was one of my best performances. So that goes to show you really cannot try to ever read his mind and just be prepared for the worst and the best.

Q: After the shows like during the semifinals, did you, as a group, watch the replays together or do you watch –

Melissa: Yes, we all get to watch it together.

Q: Do you come across as a different appearance from being in it than when you’re watching it on TV because that’s one of the things I know that Simon always says that. He says sometimes the way it plays in the theater isn’t how it’s going to translate on TV.

Melissa: You know, it’s very true. A lot of people could think something sounds so awesome live and then they hear it on TV and they’re like, “Oh, that went sharp, that went flat.” There’s a big difference between live and when it comes out through the TV.

Q: What obligations do you have until the show ends as far as Idol? Do you have any or are you just free and on own now?

Melissa: Right now I’m pretty much on my own until – Well, since everything happened so soon, I don’t really know what’s in store and I heard my schedule is going to be busy, but I’m not sure what’s going on with it though. I haven’t had the lowdown yet.

Q: You weighed in on Taylor earlier and I just wanted to get your take on Kevin because I think a lot of people are kind of surprised that he’s made it so far in the competition. He didn’t even land in the bottom three last night. So, do you think that he is getting the granny vote, kind of what Simon said earlier in the week? What do you think it is about him?

Melissa: Right now, pretty much what I say is America wants Chicken Little and they love him and that’s why he’s still there. They love it.

Q: Next week there was supposed to be a fifties theme. If you were supposed to be on the show, did you have a song picked out already of what you’d like to do?

Melissa: I was going through songs. I was trying to think of doing like a bluesy song. There was a song by Bonnie Raitt and John Lee Hooker that I was looking into. And also there was one, it’s called “Smile.” So I don’t know, I was getting them narrowed down, but I hadn’t exactly picked on yet.

Q: You shared on American Idol that you were in a beauty pageant contest before. What pageant was that and how do you compare that experience with your experience on AI?

Melissa: Actually, I’m the titleholder for – It’s called Miss Sunburst Florida and the experience is totally different. Competing in a pageant, obviously, you’re being judged but it’s more on your poise and things like that and your interview. This is more of you’re trying to make a career out of it so you’ve got to be you and it’s your dream that’s coming true. With pageants, it’s just a competition that either you’re trying to win the money or just win the title, and this was more for my career.

Q: I also heard that this is your second time to audition on American Idol. It seems to me that you’re making a career out of joining contests. Why is that?

Melissa: The first time I tried out was second season and I didn’t even make it to the first round. It’s just, right now I’m just trying to – I’ve been trying to do this for so long and since I was about 14, I tried to start getting into the industry. And American Idol just is a way to open tons of doors and not only musically, but in the entertainment industry, period.

Q: What do you miss most about AI?

Melissa: The rest of the contestants. I’m going to miss them so much because that’s who I spent my days with all the time and we’d lounge around and hang out and talk about everything and that becomes like a big family. Yes, that’s the hardest part is I’m really going to miss my AI family big time.

Q: I was with your dad the other night watching the show. He was kind of excited that Simon finally praised you. If you could have picked any song throughout the competition, is there one that you would have liked to have performed that you think maybe would have shown you more than what you were able to perform?

Melissa: There were two songs. One I hadn’t had a chance to perform yet because I thought of it kind of late. “There Will Come A Day” by Faith Hill. And the other one was “My Immortal.” I really wanted to do that one but it couldn’t get cleared.

Q: How are you feeling now. I know you said it was like a brick was lifted off, but I guess it’s bittersweet?

Melissa: It really is bittersweet because obviously I don’t want to leave. I love everyone here and the experience has been amazing. But also, at the same time, I miss home and I’m ready to go to the beach and kind of hang out and I’ve heard there’s been beautiful weather back home. And me – California is supposed to be warm and it’s been cold here.

Q: You get to be on the album?

Melissa: Yes, I get to be on the album, the compilation album.

Q: Do you get to pick your own song or is that –

Melissa: I think they do it. I haven’t really been briefed on it too much.

Q: And do you get to tour?

Melissa: Tour is top ten. I missed it by two spots.

Q: Well, that’s too bad because I do think that a lot of people who were here today thought maybe there were three or four people who should have gone before you did.

Melissa: Yes, I know.

Q: Your dad said that the more people spend time with you, the more they like you. I guess if we’d just gotten a little bit more time...

Melissa: Yes. That’s the biggest thing. I’ve had people, even in our kiss-off center, I was told by all the other contestants, “Well, I was just started getting to know you during the top 24,” which is true. I really didn’t hang out with very many people and I stayed to myself because I wanted to stay focused. And everyone was like, “You’re such a genuine person; we’re going to miss that.” And one of the producers said that I was the idol of the idols as far as – I listened to everything everyone said and was – Listened to all the rules and paid attention and was never late. And so they were funny about that. But I’m going to miss them a lot.

Many thanks to FOX for granting us access to the contestants this season.

[Google]

 

[YummyMummy]

Thanks for the interview Hep! Melissa seems like such a grounded and sweet person....I know I'll miss her! I'm sure she'll have a great career!

[Dinahann]

Thanks for the great interview, Hep. Melissa seems like a nice girl. I enjoyed her performances more than some of the others that are still on the show. Still, maybe her time on the show will open some doors for her.

[Leo]

She went out earlier than she should have, I think. At least it seems she'll get some good out of the show. Thanks for the interview, hep.