Conference Call Interview With Jon Peter Lewis

[lobeck]

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to participate in a conference call interview with Jon Peter Lewis, the latest person to leave American Idol. Whether you like JPL or not, there's no denying that he made his mark on the show this season. Here's what he had to say:

One of the things that stood out about you was your unique, risk-taking, fun style. Overall, though, do you think that helped or hurt your chances on the show?
Uh…I think any person who is himself has no problem standing out, because there's only one of you in the world. I think that definitely helps somebody's chances, because they're noticed more for who they are.

Have you received any offers yet to remain in entertainment, whether it be music or acting, and which do you see yourself more focused on?
You know, it's been only a couple of days since I came off American Idol, so it's really too soon to tell about any offers. As far as music or acting, I will take whichever is given to me.

You assumed the "heatthrob" position for many of the females watching the show. How did you feel being put into that role?
You know, I guess I didn't give it a second thought. I mean, not that I'm used to it. I guess I accepted it, you know? If that's what it is, that's what it is, you know? There's nothing I can do about it. As long as I remain who I am, people can put me in whatever category they like.

Knowing that you had such a large following, were you surprised that you were eliminated this week?
Yeah, I was. I was surprised. Especially, you know, not because I've got this huge following or anything. But, because I've never been in the Bottom Three before. Having never been there before, I thought…yeah, I guess I was surprised.

Jon, if you had to critique your own performances, which would you say was your best and your worst?
My best performance…my favorite performance, I should say, was my final performance last Wednesday night. I feel like it was a strong performance. Probably my least favorite performance of my own…man, it's hard to say…I mean, you don't want to criticize yourself too much…but, I would say probably my least favorite one was "She Believes In Me".

Looking at performances from the other finalists, which ones have impressed you or really stood out to you?
You know, it's kind of hard to say which one stuck out to me. They all stick out in different areas. They are all different, and I like each one for a different reason.

Have you had any pen companies contact you for endorsement deals?
No, but that'd be cool (*laughter*).

What was your strategy for picking songs each week?
My strategy was just to have fun, man. My strategy was just to have a blast. After I did my first Elvis song, I felt comfortable with that kind of singing. But, I didn't want to immediately give that same type of performance again to America. I wanted to try different things, you know? Different speeds of songs, different types of songs, different styles of singing…you know, to see what America would accept me as and what they would like the most. But, I did return to an Elvis song, thankfully, before I was eliminated.

How does it feel knowing that people are selling JPL memorabilia on eBay?
Um, at the moment, I'm OK with that. I mean, there's not a whole lot I can do. In the future, we'll see. But, right now, I haven't really given it a whole lot of thought.

I know you have a bit of a theater background. Do you ever think about going back to that and doing Broadway or something like that?
That would be a really exciting thing for me. I'd love to do that. But, the future's so uncertain right now, and I'm just focusing on the next step. And, the next step for me right now is not theater. I do hope I get a chance to do some more acting, whether it's on film or on Broadway or whatever. That'd be fun.

How did you deal with the judges' criticisms?
You know, it's one of those things that you can't worry about too much. There are critics everywhere. Everbody's a critic, and everybody's got something to say. If Simon says something about me that he doesn't like, that's fine. He's certainly welcome to do that. That doesn't mean that I'm going to agree with it, though. If there's pertinent information there for myself, then I use it and run with it. If not, then who cares?

How do you feel about this group having so many younger people in it?
You know, I haven't really given it a lot of thought. I have a different perspective than you do, because I know each of these people more than America does. I really respect the younger people who are on the show, because I think that, for their ages, they've dealt with the pressure extremely well.

Did you feel a different level of nervousness on the night when you were singing a faster song and dancing all around than on the nights where you just stood in front of a microphone and sang?
Oh, I feel a lot less nervous when I get to move around. I mean, when I move around, I don't have time to think about other things.

In retrospect, do you feel that maybe you should have mixed it up and done something other than a second Elvis song?
No. I think I went out…I'm really happy with the way I went out. I went out in the way that I want America to remember me. I gave them the feeling that I was having a good time, and that's what I wanted to leave them with.

Simon told Leah to pack her bags, and she was off the next night. He told Camile that it was the end of the road for her, and she was off the next night. Then, he told you that he didn't think that your talents were necessarily right for a pop type of competition. What are your thoughts on the fact that he's been pretty dead-on in some of his predictions?
Well, I don’t think he's been dead-on. I don't think that's correct. I think he's negative to a lot of people, and they don't leave the next night. I mean, on the night I left, I think his criticisms for some of the others were more severe than his criticisms for me. I don't think that's right. I just don't think he's dead-on all the time.

Who are your predictions for the Final Two and the ultimate winner? Who would you like to see win?
I guess there are really no predictions for me. It's really too unpredictable to know. With the amount of voters that there are, it's really just too unpredictable to know who's going to be the next one. If I had one favorite…well, I do have one favorite, but I'm not going to tell you who it is, because I just don't think that's fair to them.

What is one thing about yourself that the average fan would be surprised to know?
I think I said it before in my bio on the Internet, but I think the average fan would be surprised to see me bust out speaking Spanish all of the sudden.

What do you think the people who voted for you all those weeks saw in you that the judges didn't see?
You know, that's a good question. I try not to be analytical in what people like and don't like, because I just want to be who I am, and hopefully that works. So, I hesitate to say, because I really don't know. I really don't know what they see. Hopefully, it's good music.

What's next for you? It sounds like you're really going to try and build on this experience.
I'm going to really work on an album in the next few weeks. You know, do a lot of songwriting, laying down some tracks, and things like that. Mostly, it'll be in my own home recording studio for now. Then, later on, we'll see.

Has anybody contacted you? Have you gotten any calls or offers?
Not really. Not yet. It's really just too soon.

Last season, a lot was made about image vs. talent, and a couple of times this season, the judges have specifically said that they think America is voting for personality over performance. How important do you think each should be in the whole mix?
How it should be…I think it depends on the business. On the music business, I think music needs to be more important than personality, period. But, for television, I think personality is just as important, and since it's a mix of both, it's an interesting animal that American Idol is. America wants to see people they know and trust every week, which entails personality. But, also, America wants to listen to good music all the time, I'm convinced. I think there are people who vote for one or the other, and I think it just boils down to the person.

In one of your video pieces, you talked about how you had wanted to go to medical school. Is that on hold for now? Is that something that might still be in your future?
It's definitely on hold for now. Maybe it will be in the future. I mean, it's kind of like, who knows what's going to happen next. So, at this point, it's like, "What's the next step?" and go from there.

If you could pick a theme and a guest judge for one week, what/who would you like to see?
A theme and a guest judge? Rock & Roll Night and Sting, maybe.

What did you think of Quentin Tarantino? Did it surprise you how much he knew about the show?
No, I'm not surprised that he knew a lot about the show. I like Quentin Tarantino. I like him a lot. I like his movies, I like his stuff. I thought it was really cool to have him on the show. He's the type of person that you wouldn't expect would be an American Idol fan, but I had heard that he was that type of fan of the show. I thought it was highly entertaining. I thought it was awesome.

A few weeks ago, Simon called you a "dark horse" to win the whole thing, then this week, he thought you were terrible. What do you make of that?
You know, I don't know. I don't know what happened. And, the honest truth is that I can't waste energy trying to speculate on why he changed his mind. It's just kind of the way it is.

You seem to take criticism. You are the textbook case of just listening to what the judges have to say and then walking away. On the other hand, Fantasia like to fight a little bit, and it seems to be affecting her popularity. What would you say to Fantasia to help her public relations image a little bit?
Well, what I would say to Fantasia I already have…which is next to nothing. I think that anybody who thinks her attitude is a serious problem of hers is wrong. What she is is playful, and she is fun. What the camera may not have picked up is that she…you know, most of what she says she says jokingly. She's a lot of fun. You should see her live…she's incredible.

In those video pieces, you always seem to land in the comical roles. Do you encourage that, or do they just put you there?
You know, it just seems to happen that way.

If you had stayed on the show for Barry Manilow Night, do you have any idea what you would have sung?
Um, I have an idea. I think when I started working with him, I was prepared to do an acoustic, rock & roll version of "I Write The Songs".

Are you all allowed to check in on the Internet and see what the fans are saying? If you do, do you change things based on what they're saying?
You're allowed to. They usually don't like that you do, but you're allowed to. I'll tell you what, though…I never have. When I first started appearing on the show, I used to look at the message boards and things, and then I started really thinking about what people were saying, and I didn't want that to happen. So, I decided not to look on the message boards anymore. I don't want what other people are saying to influence the way that I perform.

Were you surprised that you were America's pick in the Wildcard Show?
Absolutely. I thought that was great. I was pleasantly surprised.

Have you been getting a lot of attention from girls? Are you dating anyone?
No, I'm not dating anybody. Attention from girls? Yes, I've gotten a lot of it. I guess a lot more than I've ever had in my entire life, to be honest with you. It's cool.

Of the people who are left, do you have a favorite?
Well, I'm definitely rooting for somebody, but I'm not going to say who, because it's probably not fair to the other contestants if I told you.

What did you learn from your American Idol experience?
I learned that the entertainment business is just that. It's a business. It's a lot of hard work, and if you want to be successful, you've got to work at it.

Was there anything you wanted to sing that wasn't able to get cleared?
I believe there was. I would have loved to have sung a lot of the Beatles' songs. Anything from Van Morrison, I would have loved to have sung.

On the Wednesday results show, the cameraman seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time focusing on the fact that John and Diana were holding hands, while you were just standing there. Is something going on there? What was all that about?
I don't think there's anything going on there. I'm pretty sure there isn't anything going on between John and Diana. I didn't even know they were holding hands. I was just standing there, and if she had reached over and grabbed my hand, I probably would have held it! (*laughter*) But, it just didn't happen.

My thanks to Jon for taking the time to talk to us and to the people at FOX for arranging the interview.

[Google]

 

[Gizmo82]

Hm.... Great questions lobeck, but it seems like he wasn't really giving you anything in terms of answers, his response seemed to be "I didn't really give it any thought", or "I hadn't really thought about it" to a ton of questions... For someone who seemed like he had so much fun on the show, I thought he came across as pretty boring here.. oh well... we have 6 more people to get cut

[jasminefan]

Originally Posted by lobeck

Of the people who are left, do you have a favorite?
Well, I'm definitely rooting for somebody, but I'm not going to say who, because it's probably not fair to the other contestants if I told you.

I have a feeling it's Jasmine he's talking about

[pillbeam]

Thanks for the interview, Lobeck. It's interesting that he wanted to sing Van Morrison. Some of us JPL fans at the FORT have thought Van Morrison would have been good for him.

[Dinahann]

Thanks for the recap. I have thought for several weeks now that JPL should've done "Brown Eyed Girl". He and Van Morrison have a similar quality to their voices.

I have seen several similar Q and A interviews, and three televised interviews. One thing I've noticed is that he seems hard to pin down on certain issues - who his favorite is, what the contestants thought of each other etc. In my opinion that doesn't mean he's boring, it means he thinks before he speaks ( a good quality to have).

[AmandaFabulous]

Well, um, you know, that was a good interview.

Best of luck to him.

[Green Eyed Soul]

Originally Posted by lobeck

If you could pick a theme and a guest judge for one week, what/who would you like to see?
A theme and a guest judge? Rock & Roll Night and Sting, maybe.

Me too man, me too.

Good interview Lobeck. I'm gonna miss him tonight I don't see him as being boring at all with this interview - just thoughtful and diplomatic about what he says. Not a bad quality to have.

[BobDobolina]

Thanks for a throrough interview, Lobeck!

Originally Posted by lobeck

Simon told Leah to pack her bags, and she was off the next night. He told Camile that it was the end of the road for her, and she was off the next night. Then, he told you that he didn't think that your talents were necessarily right for a pop type of competition. What are your thoughts on the fact that he's been pretty dead-on in some of his predictions?
Well, I don’t think he's been dead-on. I don't think that's correct. I think he's negative to a lot of people, and they don't leave the next night. I mean, on the night I left, I think his criticisms for some of the others were more severe than his criticisms for me. I don't think that's right. I just don't think he's dead-on all the time.

Smart Answer.

Originally Posted by lobeck

If you had stayed on the show for Barry Manilow Night, do you have any idea what you would have sung?
Um, I have an idea. I think when I started working with him, I was prepared to do an acoustic, rock & roll version of "I Write The Songs".

What do you know? I guess grantaire was right last week. I suppose it pays to be tight with JPL's aunt.

Overall, he seems like a well-spoken guy. I hope he takes people's advice and gets some professional singing lessons/coach so he can work out the many rough spots he has. I think he holds a good deal of promise in the right genre with some development.

btw, the person I'd guess he was talking about rooting for is Fantasia. He seems to make an inordinate number of positive comments about her in this and other interviews.

[Gizmo82]

I agree that it is smart to think about things before you answer them, but on the same hand, none of these kids are celebrities, and if they ALL said the same things "it's not fair to say who I am rooting for" blah blah... then what is the point of interviewing them? We want to hear their thoughts, if they all give the generic safe answers, then I think it is pointless.. I dont want to hear the "right" answers, I want to hear the truthful answers

[Sarahgirl]

If the music, entertainment or medical industries don't want him I think he would make a great politician. He answered so many of the questions without REALLY answering the questions. I really liked his personality during the whole show, he spiced things up. Best of luck to him.