"The judges were not hard enough on them," Caryn said. Caryn bemoaned that there was no Simon Cowell but Katy Perry did sharpen up the final two episodes. Jon said Lionel Richie ran out of things to say by the end of the season but liked how he dressed. He did say that she chose songs that fit her voice. "I mentally zoned out during her performances," Jon said, who needed more edge. When she said Maddie was consistent, he said she was describing Maddie like a chicken nugget. Caryn felt it was soothing and effortless but not dull. Caryn likened Maddie to Regina Spektor but Jon didn't understand the tone of her voice. They played Woodard's "Cabaret" cover of "Maybe this Time" and raved over it and loved his weird approach. "Bland singers tend to win," he noted, pointing out Kris Allen beating Adam Lambert season eight. Of the 12, Jon is a fan of both Catie Turner and Michael W. The New York Times music critic Jon Caramanica and pop music editor Caryn Ganz break down the return of "American Idol" on the Popcast podcast. "I think it's a trash outcome," said Caramanica, who preferred Caleb to win but expected Gabby to win. The second one was shot in some sort of kid-zone type place with trampolines and is cute. The first one "Jesus and My Mama" is super basic, just her in front of a camera. The third-place finisher Gabby Barrett has released two original videos.
Instead of 'drink a beer,' I'd sing 'drink a milk.' Stupid stuff, whatever I had to do." I'd change the lyrics of some songs to make them school appropriate. Some teachers were cooler about it than others. On a lighter note, he was proud of his imitation of Lionel Richie on live TV, a little less impressed with his father Hutch's imitation of Katy: "What was that? My dad's funnier than I am but I don't know if imitations are his passion."Īnd I brought up the story from his Spanish high school teacher at South Paulding High providing him an outlet to sing songs at the end of the school day if he finished his school work. I'd hate to go up there with no real plan." "My game plan is work as hard as I can and keep pushing forward," he said. This fall, in all likelihood, he will camp out in Nashville, which is the go-to place for any aspiring country singer. It's one of my favorite songs of all time."
"I remember fellow contestants reacting and liking it. "That performance from Hollywood week brought back my fondest memories of the show," he said. I hadn't done it for a few years but it was cool." Then he couldn't help himself and joked, "It was about the time I killed a man." (I could hear his publicist sighing audibly over that one.)Īnd reprising his favorite song of his time on "Idol" was easy: Keith Whitley's ballad "Don't Close Your Eyes." So when we got down to it, I just went for it because it was the first song I ever learned and performed for people. Back in the day when we were writing down what we wanted for this category, I didn't expect to make it this far. "Initially, it wasn't going to be my hometown song. "It was just kind of an accident," he said. I take it for what it is."Īnd why was "Folsom Prison Blues" his "hometown dedication"? That isn't exactly a happy-go-lucky song for Dallas, GA. When Katy Perry said he seemed nervous, he said the mildly negative observation didn't bother him. If I trip and fall and people laugh, it's because they don't understand my art. Like Chandler on "Friends," Caleb deflected my question about that with a joke: "It was an artistic choice. On the previous Sunday's finale performance show, Caleb made what seemed like a false start during his new single "Johnny Cash Heart," an unusual mistake for someone who seemed unflappable up to that point. At that point, Caleb said, "Sure, why not?" After Gabby was eliminated, host Ryan Seacrest off stage asked Caleb and Maddie if it would be okay to talk about it now that they were top two and the votes were already cast. "It wasn't anything I ever tried to hide," he said, from that perspective. He said the romance was no secret among crew. I wanted to focus on the task at hand." He knew once it got out that fellow contestants Gabby Barrett and Cade Foehner were dating, journalists kept asking them about the relationship more than their performances. "I didn't want to take away from the music. "Maddie was fine announcing it from the beginning," he said. He said he purposely get the romance under wraps from the public so it wouldn't impact votes. I'm going to just kind of let everything fall into place. "I have an idea how I want my record to sound. "I have some demos recorded," Caleb said.