AI7 Interview with Syesha Mercado: Out Goes a Classy Lady

[Yardgnome]

Today I had the opportunity to participate in a media call with Syesha Mercado. She talked a lot about her future plans and her experience on Idol. I wish her the best of luck in all her future endeavors.

I think almost more than anybody this season you sort of really sort of in some ways symbolized what the Idol journey is about. It’s about pushing your limits and improving and upping your game every week, and it seems like you were really doing that through the whole show. How did that sort of work for you? Was it sort of a conscious thing where you were consciously trying to improve upon the past week or was it just sort of the natural result of the experience?

S. Mercado: Well, I consider myself a hard worker, and I’m always rehearsing. I’m always trying to improve. And when I first stepped into the competition, I was really in a little shell and – because of the vocal resting and it kind of separated me from everybody else, so I don’t feel like I was at my full potential because of the entire negative mind frame that I was in because of, like “Oh, nobody really sees who I am.” And I was so focused on that that it was really harming my performance. And once I got my mind right again like it was in the beginning of the competition, my first audition, I became more comfortable with myself and the stage. And the feeling of being overlooked completely subsided, and it was just a matter of being consistent every week and eventually, people would recognize me, and that’s exactly what happened. And I just enjoyed myself more every week, and I separated that line, that fine line, between overworking and doing so much to the point you’re unfocused, not enjoying yourself, and doing enough and trusting yourself and letting go and taking it all in. So my goal every week was to feel satisfied after every show. And I felt more satisfied the more the weeks went on.

I’m not going to ask you for your pick, but I’m going to ask you, what do you think is special about the two guys that are left, about the two Davids? What do they each have individually, you think?

S. Mercado: Well, of course, they’re unique. But David has that – David Archuleta has that beautiful smile, and he has that really, really good connection with kids, the younger audience. And David Cook has that connection with the younger audience. The girls go crazy over him. And the older audience too…really, really charming, like all the older women. I feel like I’m a little sister and a big sister to both the Davids. And once everybody was gone, we really had the chance to really, really have a more intimate relationship and just really – just have fun and kind of that brotherly/sisterly love. And people would be like, “Oh, David Cook! Oh, my gosh, I love you so much.” And they’re like “Syesha, Syesha, could you just tap David on the shoulder and get him for me?” I’m like, “Okay, sure, guys. Okay, here’s David.” I’m like, “Okay, guys.” So it was like that kind of relationship. It was fun. So this competition can go any way, so I just wish them both the best of luck. It’s all about what the voters want.

Paula twice on Tuesday said you sang songs that didn’t really define who were you were, so I wanted to ask, in your mind, who are you exactly as an artist?

S. Mercado: I’m a mix of a lot of things. I think that’s why people are like, “Oh, she’s Broadway” because they see me doing some Broadway thing. They’re like, “Oh, she’s Broadway.” I’m just like – I’m like a black Christina Aguilera/Alicia Keyes. I definitely can see myself putting together a Christina Aguilera album, the one that she just recently did – and an Alicia Keyes album like The Diary of Alicia Keyes. I’m definitely into a lot of the – I like pop, and I like R&B, and I like the old school/new school thing. So I’m growing as an artist. I’m evolving. And I’m glad that I did do American Idol because people were able to see that transition that I went through, and I’m still learning more about myself everyday. And I think that’s beauty of doing this competition. You just learn so much. So people will know who I am. You’ll know who I am once I put out that album. You’ll know.

You compared the civil rights movement to your own experience on Idol to that Sam Cooke song. And some people thought that was a rather odd comparison, like uneven comparison. I wondered; could you clarify exactly what you meant by that?

S. Mercado: A comparison. The thing is, before I did that song, before I do any song, I do research on the song, who sang the song, what it means to them. Then I write down what it means to me, and then I go into the whole, “What am I going to wear with it, wuh, wuh, wuh.” So I definitely do my research. And Sam Cooke, there’s a lot of meaning behind that song for him, and when it came out, it came out during the civil rights movement, so I was just telling people, this song – what this song meant to everybody. The song is like – let’s see, how can I say this, so I can explain it to you as well? It’s known. It’s like a signature song for the civil rights movement, but for me, it meant something different. I know it meant that to everybody, but for me, it took on a totally different meaning. That’s why I brought that up because it touched me. When I was listening to it, I was thinking about all those things, the civil rights movement. And then I was thinking about, “Well, what does this song mean to me?”

Well, that – it came out during a transitional time in history, and for me, this is a transitional time for me in my life, and it took on a different meaning for me. And I’m the last female standing. I’m still here, and I feel like I’ve changed a lot for the better, and people got…. And I think that has a connection. It came out during a pivotal time in history, and it came out during a pivotal time in my life, so a mix of both of those together. It’s just emotional, and it’s just the message, “A change is going to come.” Back then it came, and for me, it’s going to come, so –

What did you learn from your experience on American Idol?

S. Mercado: Wow. I learned a lot. Where do I begin? Well, I learned that there’s a fine line between over-rehearsing, like overworking, and then just doing what you need to do and trusting in yourself and just letting go and letting it be the way it is because I worked so hard every week, to the point I wasn’t really able to enjoy myself. So I’ve learned how to relax and what to do, whether it’s talking to someone really close to me, someone I confide in, or whether it’s reading a book that’s really uplifting. So I learned ways to deal with stress. And I’ve learned ways to deal with – how to prepare for a performance, to the point where you’re able to enjoy what you’re doing. And you’re working, but you’re not so focused to the point where it’s just a stress ball for you. So I’ve learned to relax more.

What’s the best piece of advice you received, and who was it from?

S. Mercado: Well, as far as American Idol goes, like with the mentors, it would be Andrew Lloyd Weber because that was my shining moment on the stage. He really encouraged me just to perform the song the way that I wanted to perform it instead of following any guidelines because I’m like, “I can perform it the American Idol way,” which is don’t do Broadway because then they classify me, but I’m couldn’t think like that, so I just did it the way I felt. He just told me, “Be animated.” Once he told me, “Be animated,” it kind of helped me just be myself because I am really crazy. So he helped me just break out of my shell.

I was kind of struck by your dad’s comments last night in which he was talking about his struggle to overcome alcohol and drugs and so forth. I was wondering; how did that shape you? Was this going on in the house when you were there, and how did that shape you as a person and your drive and attitude and so on?

S. Mercado: Well, the struggles that we go through, I’ve always seen it as it can either make you or break you. And for me, it made the strong person that I am. It made the sincere, humble person that I am. Having my dad struggle through that, it really, really – it really made me sad a lot of my life. It actually made me understand people more and be more…. I told myself that I’m not going to let this determine what my future is going to be. I’m going to do something good. And I’m going to help my dad and encourage him and be there for him. And I’m going to make him proud, so that he wants to make me proud, and that’s exactly what he’s doing now. He sees me doing something good, and it’s really motivating him to stay sober and stay clean. And it’s just a beautiful story to tell. One day I’ll tell it, maybe in….

And what you’ve been describing here is you’ve got a very extreme work ethic. In other words, you’ve almost worked too hard and some points. And it sounds like some of that is from that, you as a kid, when a grownup was having trouble around you, you learned to be very hardworking and to focus on what you’re doing. Is that right?

S. Mercado: Yes, actually, yes. I’ve always been a type of – I’ve been a busybody, and in school, I always had to be in some play. I had to do some things because I always inconvenienced my mom all the time, but she was like, “I’m just going to do this for her, and it’s going to pay off in the long-run.” And it did. It really, really did. I just told myself that I’m not going to be what my dad is showing me right now. I’m going to be something better than that, and I’m going to show him that – be proud of me, Dad. And one day, he’ll make me proud. And that’s what he’s doing. Like I said he’s doing that, and I think, yes, it had a lot to do with that. Your past has a lot to do with the type of person you are.

So what are your plans now after Idol, obviously after the tour wraps? What are you hoping to do, and is any wedding planning in your future?

S. Mercado: Well, as I tell people, I want to do everything, and I’m really goal-oriented, so I know that whatever goal I set, it can be accomplished, whether it’s within a year span or whatever, ten year. So I want to make an album. I want to star in a film. I want to do Broadway. I want to open up an organic restaurant, and like a lupus foundation, homeless foundation. It just depends on what comes first, but I have goals that I want to do, and I write them down and going to continue to look at them. Basically, whatever opportunity comes first and what’s the best career move for me, that’s pretty much what’s going to happen.

Are you going to start any wedding planning with your fiancé or anything anytime soon, or is that kind of overwhelming?

S. Mercado: I’m the type of person, I live in the now, and what’s going on now, that’s what I’m going to take care of. And he’s so supportive, and we both – we have a mutual understanding about everything, so when the time is right, we’ll do it. But right now, we’re focused on the career, and what’s the next move to make as far as that. And everything else is going to fall into place.

I wanted to know, because you’ve made that bottom three or two so often, how did you deal with that, that roller coaster of – I don’t know if you were packing your bags all those weeks, or how did you deal with that? Because you seemed so strong and smiled the whole time while other people really cried a lot.

S. Mercado: I – every week is new. And I never packed my bag. They told us, “You got to pack your bags.” I’m like, “I’m not packing my bags because I don’t want to go home yet. I’m not ready.” So I think if you want something, it’s going to happen for you. If you want to be top three, you’re going to get top three. If you want to win, you’re going to win. Whoever is the most passionate, they’re going to win. Whichever David’s the most passionate, they’re going to win. So every week, like I said, I set a goal, and I just wasn’t ready to go home. I didn’t pack my bags because I wasn’t ready.

And the way I dealt with that was I just talked to my family a lot, and they really helped me stay strong, and they told me so many things that helped me when I was on that stage. I tried my best to pray before every performance and get that positive energy flowing and hold everybody’s hand and be like, “Burst of energy and positivity.” I just tried to clear my mind. You become stronger and stronger. And just being there, I just think I got a lot stronger every week.

I also wanted to ask you about the last performance, the last week, especially when – “Fever” because Paula thought, I think they – or they – at least two of them thought, “Well, that’s not really a good choice.” Any thoughts about what, about that song selection? Do you think things could have turned out differently if you had maybe chosen more of a showstopper kind of thing? ….

S. Mercado: At this point, I’ve shown so many different sides of me, and I think what I have – like everybody has something different. David Cook has this. David Archuleta has this. And with me, I think I’m good at performing, so I sing. And I like to perform. I really like to – I like – if I had more time, I’d do everything. I’d like to put background dances and do so much more stuff, but there’s a time frame, and there’s limitations. You can’t do everything. So I made up in my mind that I wanted to do a song that was performance-driven, so that’s why I did that.

I had other choices in mind, but I couldn’t do them, so – maybe if I had a chance to do them, I wouldn’t have got that comment, but you go with the flow. If you can’t do something, you do something else. You just work with that. So I did that song, and I have no regrets. It works out the way it was supposed to work out.

I just wanted to know, what was it – what did David – what did the Davids say to you on stage after the results were announced?

S. Mercado: I don’t remember…they did. At this point, we were just – we were like probably top four, we’re all like, “Man, we’ll see you on tour.” It’s kind of like, go home and be with your family, or go home and do what you got to do before tour. So it’s like they were just encouraging. They’re like “Oh, man, Syesha, you’re so good. Man, I just love you, Syesha.” It was just kind of like that. It’s not the end of the road. I’m going to see them again, so they just were – they were happy for me and just letting me know that they care, giving me hugs.

I also wanted to ask you about acting. Do you intend to pursue that at all now?

S. Mercado: Of course. I’ve said it time and time again, and I’ll continue to say it. I’m goal-oriented, and I want to do everything. That’s make an album, star in a film and do Broadway, and I definitely see myself doing film. And I can’t wait to do a film one day. It just depends on what comes first. And I just have to make the – a wise decision when it comes to what career path I want to do, where I want to go first with my career, so I’ll have….

Who’s someone that you’d love to act opposite?

S. Mercado: Man, there’s so many people. I don’t know. Off the top of my head, I couldn’t tell you.

Could you talk for just a minute what it was like maybe to get this close and then not quite get to the finals?

S. Mercado: To me, I made it. On Americanidol.com, I put – they were like – they asked the question, “What happens if you don’t make it on American Idol?” And to me, well then you don’t make it. I think anybody who is on the show makes it. You do – success is different for every person. And for me, this was very successful making it to top three. I made it, to me, in my eyes. I made it. I set a goal, and I got there, and I’m very, very, very happy. I’m at peace. So I feel like I’ve made it, and only great things can come from here on out.

And maybe, just from your perspective right now, how does it feel like this might have changed your life and the lives of the other people who maybe made it to the final three?

S. Mercado: Well, I don’t even think we know what’s in store for us. We’ve had a taste of it when we went to Las Vegas, hundreds of people pulling on us and saying, “Oh, my gosh, I love you,” our fans. So I know it’s – we’ve been in a bubble. I know it’s changed a lot. I know there’s going to be good and bad with that, but you have your family who’s there for you. And sometimes they understand, sometimes, they don’t. But – and then you have friends. So, yes, that’s pretty much, yes.

We’ve heard a little bit about some of the harder times when you had when you were younger, and it sounds like everything’s been getting a lot better. Your dad’s been getting better and all that kind of stuff. Do you feel like being on Idol and doing so well on Idol is in some ways a kind of end of that chapter in your life? Can you look back on the hard times now?

S. Mercado: Oh, yes, it definitely is. I think every family has a struggle. And the reason I even brought up my struggle in the beginning, at my first audition, is because my past doesn’t determine who I am. And I don’t feel ashamed of telling encouraging uplifting stories to people because they’re going to – everybody’s going to find out eventually my story. And some people are going to get the story wrong, and it already has been gotten wrong a lot. People are like, “Oh, you’re homeless.” I’m like, “What? What are you talking about?” Ask me what my story is. One day, I’ll be able to maybe star in my movie, or something, telling my story, write a book about it, but I definitely think – well, I know that chapter is over with. And I’m doing something to make my dad proud, and he’s actually making me proud at the same time, so it’s like – goes hand-in-hand.

Your experience on The One, the other singing contest you were on. Do you think that was an advantage for you going into Idol?

S. Mercado: I think all of us had advantages, a lot of us had a lot of experience beforehand. I don’t think it hurt me. I think it really let me know what’s in store because it kind was the same format, but more reality. So people really actually got a chance to see my personality because with American Idol, it’s not as much reality behind scenes, but it’s more the hour show, what you see on stage. And a lot of my songs weren’t really showing who I really was, but I definitely think it prepared me a lot for this show.

I wanted to find out what you thought when you were given the producers’ choice song for Tuesday night because I and a lot of our readers were really, really kind of puzzled by that choice and just wondering what you thought.

S. Mercado: I told myself – I was like, “That’s strange.” …. But I think my nieces and nephew liked it because I know they like that movie Happy Feet. And I actually did – I heard it before on Happy Feet because they watch it over and over and over again. But it’s not like I could change it, so I had to try to make the best of it. I’m very optimistic and positive, and whenever something kind of comes in my way that’s going to be like - “Oh, my gosh, it’s horrible. It’s not going to work” – I block it all out. And I’m like, “What can I do to turn this into something positive? What can I do to make the best out of it?” And I tried to do my very best, so –

It didn’t seem like much of a singer’s song, though, right?

S. Mercado: No, it really wasn’t. And I’m the type of person, if I’m doing a song like that, I like to go all out, and I wasn’t able to have backup dancers. And most of the song, there is – most of the song was backup singing. It’s like over – that whole studio techno kind of stuff. So it was weird because most of the song, I wasn’t even supposed to sing.

When – at what point, if any, did you get the feeling that the finale was going to be the Davids?

S. Mercado: Probably the night before. After I’d got done performing, I was like, “It’s over.” It’s not over, but it’s like – I got too many bad comments from the judges to keep me there. At this point in the game, you couldn’t have that many bad comments to be there, so I accepted what was, and I moved on. And I made peace with it. And I couldn’t be happier right now. I don’t feel defeated. I don’t feel like I’ve failed. I feel like there’s only greatness that can come from here on out. And I felt like I grew a lot, and I showed America a lot of different sides of me and what I’m capable of. And I’m capable of a lot more. And I can do a lot more, and I’m just ready to show everybody what I’ve got, just ready.

When do you think you might get back to Sarasota? Is there anything you want to do when you get back?

S. Mercado: Oh, man, I want to go to Siesta Key. I want to go to the…beach, and I definitely want to go visit my schools and visit family and friends and people who really, really helped me start my career, just encouraged me to sing and just be nice to people. I just want to have fun, just hang out with –

Do you think you’ll get back here before the tour, or are you – you got to perform next week, right?

S. Mercado: To be honest with you, things get crazy from here on out. The schedule is hectic, and we start rehearsals today. And tickets go on sale online May 17th. And we’re going to be focused on that, so I’m not sure when I’m going to get back there.

Did your family have anything to say to you last night to boost you up after what happened?

S. Mercado: Oh, for the first time, my family was actually happy on a result, the results show. It was crazy. I’m like, “They’re happy. This is crazy.” So everything worked out perfect. I didn’t have to get them to smile. They were making sure I was smiling and stuff, so it was a good –

What Broadway musical would you like to do?

S. Mercado: One Summer’s Island, The Color Purple. I heard…is a good one. Well, whatever, Chicago. There’s – I love musical theater, and I love regular music too, making album like an artist, so I’m not just Broadway. I love so many things, but given the opportunity to do a Broadway musical, that’s my dream, though, One Summer’s Island. I’ve played it twice, middle school, high school. Now, my next goal is to do it on Broadway. And if they have to make my skin dark, I’m all for it.

So one thing that’s come up a bit - I know that you’re the last – you mentioned that you’re the last standing female, which is huge – one thing that’s come up over the weeks of some of the departing female contestants is that maybe there was – maybe not a bias but a real preference among female fans for male singers. I’m just wondering what you think about that, or if you have any thoughts on overall what the voting trend was this year.

S. Mercado: I’ve never focused on what everybody wants because what everybody wants is going to be obvious in the end, so what’s the point of pointing it out or assuming because it is what it is. And whoever wins, that’s who’s supposed to win. So I just never focused on that. I just was proud of myself for making it this far and being the last girl standing and just honored to have a great opportunity like this.

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

[Google]

 

[MotherSister]

S. Mercado: I’ve never focused on what everybody wants because what everybody wants is going to be obvious in the end, so what’s the point of pointing it out or assuming because it is what it is. And whoever wins, that’s who’s supposed to win. So I just never focused on that. I just was proud of myself for making it this far and being the last girl standing and just honored to have a great opportunity like this.

Well that's a pretty wise answer. I'm kind of warming to Syesha now. It's not like I'm sad to see her go (heavens, no), but best of luck in the future. Thanks for the interview, Yardgnome!

[bbnbama]

I actually had the opposite thought...I like her less after this interview..something about it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.. ...she's wants to star in her life story movie? HUH? I'm sure razor will be first in line for it!