What could be juicier media fodder than a former exotic dancer vying to be the next American Idol?
David Hernandez, 24, had a glimpse of the downside of fame before he was voted off the talent show last week. Reports had revealed his having worked as a stripper at an Arizona bar that caters to mostly male clientele.
In an exclusive phone interview arranged by Star World, Hernandez made it clear he was not ashamed of anything he had done in the past. Americans, he said, were now smart enough to understand.
The singer was just as transparent about his eagerness to move on in the business. Several times during the interview, he managed to squeeze in his dream of landing a major record deal and releasing an album by next year. It seems Hernandez knows when to ride on to controversies, too.
With the first-come, first-served system, how do the contestants decide who gets to choose a song first? Is it true that you only have 25 songs to choose from? Yes. We normally just submit our top three [picks] and we choose from there. When two people choose the same song, we draw it from a hat.
How much control do the contestants have over the arrangement of the songs they perform? You’d be surprised how much the contestants are involved with the arrangement, but we have mentors who help us out.
Do you actually write the arrangement? We sit down with the piano player and the vocal arranger.
The result shows this year are an hour long. Does that make the contestants feel even more nervous? It’s nerve-wracking. It feels like our stomach is turning for a full hour, but on the flip-side it’s cool to see guest performers, so it’s like a mini free concert for us.
Was the paparazzi a problem for you and the other contestants? [At this point] I don’t think they even get to go out. Yesterday (the day before this interview), when I was going to get something, they had security with me.
When you auditioned for “Idol,” did you tell the producers about your past? Yes. If they weren’t comfortable with it, I wouldn’t have been on the show.
When you learned you would be in the Top 24, were you worried your past would affect anything? Absolutely not. The only thing I was worried about was my song selection.
Did all the news circulating on the Internet about your past become a distraction for you on the show? I blocked them all out by staying away from the TV and the Internet. It’s (focus on his past) actually been really good for me because I learned to have thick skin.
On the week that news about your past surfaced, you still managed to give a very calm performance. How did you do that? Adversary is my best friend. It inspires and makes me work harder. I don’t have anything to say to those who try to bring me down.
You looked shocked during your elimination. Did you not expect it?I was genuinely shocked. Based on all the things the judges have said about my vocals, I thought I would definitely be in the bottom three but I didn’t feel I deserved to go home.
Now that you’ve been voted off, what is your career plan? I will shop around for a record deal [because] I would like to have an album released within the next year. With other options like Broadway, I am definitely keeping my mind open to all those.
What will your first album sound like? It will be influenced by pop and R&B. I actually had an album that was never released and I had a single that was played on the East coast.
What have you learned from your nine-month experience with “Idol”? I have been given an amazing platform ... I learned a lot about self-confidence and how to be a great performer.
David Hernandez, 24, had a glimpse of the downside of fame before he was voted off the talent show last week. Reports had revealed his having worked as a stripper at an Arizona bar that caters to mostly male clientele.
In an exclusive phone interview arranged by Star World, Hernandez made it clear he was not ashamed of anything he had done in the past. Americans, he said, were now smart enough to understand.
The singer was just as transparent about his eagerness to move on in the business. Several times during the interview, he managed to squeeze in his dream of landing a major record deal and releasing an album by next year. It seems Hernandez knows when to ride on to controversies, too.
With the first-come, first-served system, how do the contestants decide who gets to choose a song first? Is it true that you only have 25 songs to choose from? Yes. We normally just submit our top three [picks] and we choose from there. When two people choose the same song, we draw it from a hat.
How much control do the contestants have over the arrangement of the songs they perform? You’d be surprised how much the contestants are involved with the arrangement, but we have mentors who help us out.
Do you actually write the arrangement? We sit down with the piano player and the vocal arranger.
The result shows this year are an hour long. Does that make the contestants feel even more nervous? It’s nerve-wracking. It feels like our stomach is turning for a full hour, but on the flip-side it’s cool to see guest performers, so it’s like a mini free concert for us.
Was the paparazzi a problem for you and the other contestants? [At this point] I don’t think they even get to go out. Yesterday (the day before this interview), when I was going to get something, they had security with me.
When you auditioned for “Idol,” did you tell the producers about your past? Yes. If they weren’t comfortable with it, I wouldn’t have been on the show.
When you learned you would be in the Top 24, were you worried your past would affect anything? Absolutely not. The only thing I was worried about was my song selection.
Did all the news circulating on the Internet about your past become a distraction for you on the show? I blocked them all out by staying away from the TV and the Internet. It’s (focus on his past) actually been really good for me because I learned to have thick skin.
On the week that news about your past surfaced, you still managed to give a very calm performance. How did you do that? Adversary is my best friend. It inspires and makes me work harder. I don’t have anything to say to those who try to bring me down.
You looked shocked during your elimination. Did you not expect it?I was genuinely shocked. Based on all the things the judges have said about my vocals, I thought I would definitely be in the bottom three but I didn’t feel I deserved to go home.
Now that you’ve been voted off, what is your career plan? I will shop around for a record deal [because] I would like to have an album released within the next year. With other options like Broadway, I am definitely keeping my mind open to all those.
What will your first album sound like? It will be influenced by pop and R&B. I actually had an album that was never released and I had a single that was played on the East coast.
What have you learned from your nine-month experience with “Idol”? I have been given an amazing platform ... I learned a lot about self-confidence and how to be a great performer.
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