Interview with Bobby Bennett, 2/28/06

[hepcat]

Using humor to make his presence known, Bobby Bennett showed he could channel his inner Barry Manilow and deliver a performance that inspired comparisons to cruise ship performers and lounge singers. But viewers also liked his easy, fun personality. Choosing to sing a song beloved by his late grandmother may have hindered him from connecting with a younger audience, but as you will see in this media interview, he’s happy with his choices and his experience on American Idol.

Q: Bobby, you mentioned that you performed this song for your late grandmother. I was wondering, do you have any regrets about choosing that song now, and would you do any differently?

Bobby: Nothing. I have no regrets at all.

Q: None?

Bobby: None.

Q: You also mentioned the judges have called you like an entertainer, and your dream, you said, is to win an Oscar, a Grammy and a Tony. Which one will you pursue first?

Bobby: With the vehicle that I’ve already had, I think Tony will be the first one I can pursue.

Q: And why so?

Bobby: Because, one, I always wanted to do Broadway anyway, and I think that’s where I’m going to shine the most. And with American Idol, what a great thing to have on the back of a headshot.

Q: Is there any sort of performance that you would really like? What would be your ideal musical, I guess, would you like to star in?

Bobby: Oh, gosh, there’s so many. But I always loved Music Man. That would be really cool to do.

Q: Bobby, thanks for doing this. Now, it was very kind of you to sing for your grandmother, but what was your family’s take on that decision?

Bobby: They were totally supportive.

Q: Even before and afterwards, they were completely on your side?

Bobby: Completely supportive, always.

Q: When did you truly feel or know that you were leaving? You seemed to be one of the first contestants – Wesley said, “I know,” right before Ryan told you the news.

Bobby: The night before.

Q: Really?

Bobby: You just have that gut feeling. I knew, and I made my peace with it, and I was fine with it, and I’m not worried about my career; it’s going to be fine. So what a great vehicle for this.

Q: Bobby, on your bio, when asked, “Do you think the audition process was fair,” you said there are some things that you don’t agree with. What can you tell us about that? What would you change? What don’t you agree with? What did you mean?

Bobby: Sometimes I would see phenomenal talent not get through. Sometimes I would hear something that I thought was just out-of-this-world awesome, and the three judges didn’t think so. So I just thought that was a little weird. But the three of them have been doing this for five years; they know what they’re doing. So they’re obviously looking for something.

Q: I was just wondering if you think the judges are too mean, particularly Simon, from what he said to you and to others. Did that affect you at all?

Bobby: No. Simon speaks his mind, and you take what he has to say, you accept it, and you move on, you get over it.

Q: You don’t think he’s being mean just to try and get your goat?

Bobby: It’s a TV show, so of course he’s going to do something. They all play a character, all three of them play a character, and I play a character. You’re the contestant; you signed up for the drama. You take it, you accept it, and you listen to what he has to say, and then you’re done, you know? And you shouldn’t let it bother you, because if it bothers you, it’s just going to affect your own confidence and it’s just going to make you look bad the next week.

Q: So what’s next; are you coming back here, or what are your plans now that you’re off the show?

Bobby: I’ll be home later this evening. I have to fulfill my contractual obligations to the show still, so I won’t be able to do anything for another few months until after the show is over; so I will just be laying low with my own things, and then after the show is over, I can go and pursue my own career.

Q: Are you excited to be coming back home?

Bobby: No. But I mean it happened, it’s over, but I’m not worried about my career. But I wish – I wouldn’t have minded staying a little longer.

Q: Who do you think should win, now that you’re not in the running anymore?

Bobby: There’s 20 great people left, and all of them have a chance, so I couldn’t even call it; I don’t even know. Four more people are going home next week, so you can’t even call it.

Q: Not even your Ace, your fellow Coloradan?

Bobby: I wish Ace the best of luck, and I wish everyone else the best of luck.

Q: I just wanted to know, you kind of mentioned that you knew the night before that you would be the one to go, and I’m just wondering, when you were standing on that stage next to Ryan, what exactly was going through your mind before he announced?

Bobby: I just thought, all right, hurry up and say my name.

Q: Really? You just wanted to get it over with?

Bobby: Just get it over with, let me just sing the song and go – let me sing the song well, and go. And the reason I say that is because less is more, and when watching that first performance back, less could have been a lot more, you know? And so the performance I did last night for the elimination process was much better than the first one. So sometimes less is more and you learn things in this thing.

Q: Right. Now, are you proud with how you handled yourself during the competition?

Bobby: Very. Yes, I thought I handled myself very nicely.

Q: Because there is such a long gap between now and when you’re able to really move forward with your career, is it just frustrating that you have to wait that long? Do you fear that you’re going to lose some momentum, or people will forget about you? I mean, that kind of goes for everybody who’s in your situation, not just you.

Bobby: It’s a double-edged sword. The winner of this competition deserves to get the benefits of being the winner, and they need to have their time to shine. They deserve that, they earned that; and so it’s no skin off my back to wait a little bit to have my career come around, because it’s going to be fine; but the winner of this competition deserves to be the winner.

Q: What are you going to do to prepare yourself for that next phase? Are you going to practice every day, take classes, or what?

Bobby: You can never learn too much about any kind of craft, so I can always go back to my acting classes; I can always go back to my voice lessons. You can never learn enough about anything. So you just practice, practice, and work, work, work.

Q: Bobby, could you tell me sort of what was the best part of the experience and what was the worst part of the experience?

Bobby: The worst part was of course being eliminated. The best part was probably being able to say that I performed in front of 40 million people and that I made the top 24 of American Idol, the highest-rated show of pretty much all time. So that’s not half bad.

Q: You went to Kennedy High, right? Were you involved in music at all there?

Bobby: Yes, I was in the advanced choir and I was in drama class, and I was in all the shows.

Q: Bobby, I’d spoken to Patrick and I had asked him about that you and Stevie and him didn’t get those like kind of – those vignettes in the first couple Idols. I was wondering, if we had seen one about you, what would it have included?

Bobby: What I had hoped it would have included would have been my first performance in Hollywood, because I got three positive comments from all three judges, so that would have been great. I’d have loved that to be seen.

Q: Do you think that affected how people voted for you?

Bobby: Yes and no. I mean, it’s hard to vote for someone that you really don’t know very well on the show, who just kind of appears. But then at the same time, if you like someone, you like them, whether you meet them now or whether you met them three months ago.

Q: Any thoughts about going into standup comedy? You were really funny up there.

Bobby: That can become a part of just any kind of musical act. We think Bette Midler’s shows are just hilarious and fun to watch; so it can all be incorporated.

Q: Do you have any additional words for Simon and Company, especially since you had that connection with him, with Simon?

Bobby: I love them all, and I thank them all for what they allowed me to do thus far.

Q: Any hopes of meeting Barry Manilow?

Bobby: I’ve just totally put it out in the atmosphere; and I will meet him, and I’m going to call – I’m actually going to call the Hilton and just drop the Bobby Bennett name and the American Idol name and see what happens.

Thanks to FOX for granting the interview, and we wish Bobby luck in his future career.

[Google]

 

[bell]

thanks hepcat for the interview.

Q: You don’t think he’s being mean just to try and get your goat?

Bobby: It’s a TV show, so of course he’s going to do something. They all play a character, all three of them play a character, and I play a character. You’re the contestant; you signed up for the drama. You take it, you accept it, and you listen to what he has to say, and then you’re done, you know? And you shouldn’t let it bother you, because if it bothers you, it’s just going to affect your own confidence and it’s just going to make you look bad the next week.

this is for current and future contestants. great advice. just take it then leave it behind.

[Lex]

Hmmm. Cool. I bet he'll do well in theatre.

[sleepysluggo]

Thanks for the interview. He sounds like a smart kid.

[Krom]

Originally Posted by Lex

Hmmm. Cool. I bet he'll do well in theatre.

Yes. And I think he pronounces it "Brawed-way".

[Phoenix Gal]

I'm glad he got voted off. His performance was painful to watch and to listen to. I hate the song "Copa Cabana", even when Barry sings it himself.

[dahoney7]

He seems like a nice guy but just not right for AI. Thanks for the interview.