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By
Krista

Interview with Burnell Taylor of "American
Idol" on FOX 4/5/13
Final Transcript
FBC PUBLICITY: American Idol Eliminated Contestant Call
April 5, 2013/9:30 a.m. PDT
SPEAKERS
Jennifer Reed
Burnell Taylor
PRESENTATION
Moderator: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by
and welcome to the American Idol Interview Call with Burnell
Taylor. (Instructions given.) I’d also like to remind you
that today’s conference is being recorded.
I’ll now turn the conference over to Jennifer Reed for
opening remarks. Please go ahead.
J. Reed: Hello, everybody. Thanks so much for joining us
today for the American Idol Eliminated Conference Call with
Burnell Taylor. As a reminder, he’s here to talk about his
experience on the show and his plans moving forward. As
always, if we feel anyone is harping on a particular
subject, we do reserve the right to jump in and move the
call along. With that being said, Cathy, let’s go ahead and
take the first question.
Moderator: That will come from Jamie Ruby with
SciFiVision.com.
J. Ruby: Hello, Burnell. Thanks for talking to us today.
B. Taylor: Hello, no problem.
J. Ruby: What do you have planned? What will your album look
like?
B. Taylor: My album, I want to make captivating music,
period. I want my album—because there’s only a few that you
can play from the beginning to the end without any skips, I
just want to be a storyteller and I want to be as personal
as I can get. You know, just be honest, that’s what the
industry, I feel, is missing today. I want to create that
link for other people to feel comfortable with doing.
J. Ruby: Okay, great. What’s been your favorite part so far
this season?
B. Taylor: My favorite part of the season was the fact that
it allowed me to grow. It really allowed me to lose the
weight. There are things that I never would have done if I
wasn’t on the show. The show motivated me to do a lot of
things, and I’m thankful and blessed that I was even in this
position.
J. Ruby: Okay. Great. Thank you so much.
B. Taylor: No problem.
Moderator: Next, we have Michael Weinfeld with The Associated
Press.
M. Weinfeld: Hello, Burnell.
B. Taylor: Hello.
M. Weinfeld: Hello, you ended your save song by kissing Amber
on the cheek; did she know that was coming and how would you
describe your relationship with her?
B. Taylor: I don’t think she knew that was coming. I don’t
think anybody knew that was coming, but me and Amber, I
really like Amber. She really likes me. We like each other.
You know, we’re just learning more about each other right
now. We’re not taking anything too fast, because we’re both
still young. We’re just taking our time. As far as us liking
each other, we really like each other.
M. Weinfeld: Candice ended up weeping in your arms after you
sang, and Nicki Minaj was crying. Mariah Carey was crying.
How did you keep your composure through all of that and was
there a time off camera that you ended up crying too?
B. Taylor: Actually, because I was telling them, “Don’t cry,
don’t cry, because this is not the end.” Because some people
started crying before I even started singing and I was like,
“Don’t cry.” The reason why I cried, I never knew how much
they really cared. We’re all cool. We’re close. We’re like a
family, but I never knew how much they cared about me. Just
to see that they were extra genuine, it just touched me, so
I had to show love and break down, too.
M. Weinfeld: Alright. Thanks a lot, Burnell.
B. Taylor: No problem.
Moderator: Our next question is from Mark Stone with Vista
Radio.
M. Stone: Hello, Burnell. How are you today?
B. Taylor: I’m doing good, doing good.
M. Stone: I’m sorry to see—you were really entertaining to
watch, and good to listen to, of course. If we’re counting
Jimmy as one of the judges, which two judges provided you
with the most helpful guidance for your career and what was
the best piece of advice they gave you?
B. Taylor: Anybody that had anything to do with me being on
this show had—from Jimmy, Nicki, Keith, Mariah, Randy; all
of them are good mentors. That’s what they’re for is to
mentor us, and I appreciate all them equally. There are no
favorites, because all of them have a part in my life. You
know a reason why my life will never be the same.
M. Stone: If you could pick one piece of advice that someone
gave you, what would it be that really stuck with you?
B. Taylor: Well, basically in Hollywood week, it was rough
for me. They were telling me that I was pitchy and things
like that. I took what they told me and did my homework and
I got a new vocal coach; spent all the money that I had for
a vocal coach, so when it was time for them to see me again,
I knew it was going to be like, “This is the different,
you’ve got it together.” So, you know, that exactly. When I
performed the first time in Vegas, that’s the reaction I got
from them, so it was amazing.
M. Stone: Well, I look forward to seeing a duet with you and
Nicki one day.
B. Taylor: Yes.
M. Stone: Take care, thanks.
B. Taylor: Thanks.
Moderator: Our next question is from Nahal Mottaghian with
USA TODAY.
N. Mottaghian: Burnell, how are you?
B. Taylor: I’m doing good, doing good.
N. Mottaghian: What are you most excited for about the
upcoming tour?
B. Taylor: I think I’m most excited about seeing things that
I never saw before like different cities, because for the
most part, I’ve stayed in New Orleans all my life. L.A. is
the furthest I ever went, so I want to see everybody’s home
towns. Not only that, I feel like the tour gives us an extra
foundation on top of the foundation that we already have;
you know, to build that fan base and get personal with our
fans and stuff like that, so I’m looking forward to
everything on the tour.
N. Mottaghian: Great. Throughout your Idol experience, is
there anything that you could’ve lived without?
B. Taylor: Not at all. Not at all. Nope.
N. Mottaghian: Great. Good luck to you.
Moderator: Next, we have Gina Scarpa with RealityWanted.com.
G. Scarpa: Hello, Burnell.
B. Taylor: Hello, hello.
G. Scarpa: I’m such a fan of your music, and I noticed that,
you know, you do sound a little bit like John Legend. I was
wondering if he’s been your inspiration at all or if you
have any plans to make music that’s sort of that style or if
you want to do something different?
B. Taylor: Definitely. John Legend is definitely one of my
inspirations. As far as me making the same type of music, I
feel like there’s already a John.
G. Scarpa: Right.
B. Taylor: I try to be as original as I can get, so I just
want to do something that nobody ever heard before. I love
John. John is a big inspiration in my life, and I know I get
a comparison with the voice. That’s a good thing, because he
can sing, so that’s—
G. Scarpa: Exactly. Well, you know I’m such a fan of yours,
and I was hoping to see you get further in the competition.
Why do you think that it’s such a year for the ladies? What
are the guys doing wrong?
B. Taylor: Honestly, it’s nothing that we’re doing wrong. You
know, it’s just calling a spade a spade. It’s a girl year
this year. You know, I would love to see a girl win, because
it’s been too long since one has won, so I would love to see
a girl win. If a girl wins, the fact that I’m going to know
her makes it 100 times better.
G. Scarpa: Well, I can’t wait to see you on tour. Thanks.
Moderator: We have a question from Jennifer Maurer with
PopStar.com.
J. Maurer: Hello, Burnell. Thanks so much for taking the time
today.
B. Taylor: Hello.
J. Maurer: You know, the judges all obviously seem to be fans
of yours, particularly Mariah Carey who you made cry on more
than one occasion. Last night, kind of made everybody cry. I
wondered, did she offer you any words of support after your
elimination.
B. Taylor: Yes, she was just telling me, “This is not the
end. Take this and run with it.” That’s what I’m going to
do, because I just feel like it’s about what you do after
the show. So, that’s my focus.
J. Maurer: You’ve also garnered a huge fan base out there
who’ve really come to appreciate your voice, your style, and
your personality. Just real quickly, what would you like to
say to them as they kind of lament your departure from the
show?
B. Taylor: Fans, I don’t call them fans. I call them family,
because we’re a family. I love you all so much no matter
what. We shall meet again, Team Burnell. We shall meet
again, and it’s not going to be too long.
J. Maurer: Thank you.
B. Taylor: So, just know that I love you all.
Moderator: We have a question from Karen Benardello with
Shockya.com.
K. Benardello: Hello, I just wanted to ask you; you were in
the bottom three last night with Janelle, so if you heard
that your name was part of the bottom two, what was your
overall reaction? Did you have any idea at all that you were
going to be sent home last night?
B. Taylor: Well, honestly, I had a feeling in my stomach, in
my bones the whole week. I guess it was just a sign from
God, you know, trying to prepare me for the situation,
because it was a possibility that it could happen. I was
just prepared and I know that I had to sing—it wasn’t about
me getting saved, it was just about me leaving my mark
regardless and performing my song. It wasn’t perfect, but I
do feel like I dug deep in, you know, deep enough for
somebody to reach out to.
K. Benardello: If you were able to go back and maybe change
any of your performances, would you go back and maybe make
different decisions on which songs you did sing during your
time on the show?
B. Taylor: Nope, I wouldn’t change anything, nothing that
I’ve done, because I did it for a reason. You know,
everything happens for a reason. I wouldn’t be who I am
today if I wouldn’t have done the songs that I did. I
appreciate all the songs that I did.
K. Benardello: Okay, thank you.
B. Taylor: No problem.
Moderator: Next, we have Kendra Smith with Entertainment
World.
K. Smith: Hello, Burnell. How are you? It’s nice to speak
with you.
B. Taylor: Good, good, good.
K. Smith: I just want to ask, American Idol has been a really
good stepping stone for your career, so what do you think
your next step might be?
B. Taylor: When I get home, actually, I’m going to the gym,
because I gained 10 pounds, so I’m going to the gym as soon
as I get home. I m not going to even get off the plane fast
enough, I’m going to start running, because I want to lose
some more weight. Besides that music wise, I really, really,
really—I’m going to start back writing, because I did a lot
of writing in my younger days, but I stopped. I’m going to
start back writing and just taking the time out to do the
things that I need to do so when it’s time for me to be
free, you know, on my own, I can just start putting
everything out.
K. Smith: Great. Is there any particular musician that you
hope one day to maybe work with?
B. Taylor: Well, I can sit here and name a whole list, and
hopefully, they’re listening. I would love working with
Frank Ocean, Rhianna, even Chris Brown, Miguel. You know,
everybody—like Brandy, India.Arie, everybody. I just want to
be heard, and I want to be appreciated.
K. Smith: Great.
B. Taylor: As much as I can get my voice out, that would be
amazing.
K. Smith: Great, thank you so much.
B. Taylor: No problem.
Moderator: Next, we have Krista Chain with TV MegaSite.
K. Chain: Hello, Burnell. Thanks for talking to us today. My
question was some of the judges seemed to think that the
song that you sang Wednesday night was not in your genre and
that you looked uncomfortable. Did you feel that you were
that uncomfortable singing that song? Why did you choose
that song?
B. Taylor: Actually, I had the time of my life performing
that song. The fact that I performed a rock song on live
television—if somebody would have told me that, I never
would have believed them. If nobody’s proud of me, I’m proud
of myself, because I knew what it took. I knew what it took
for me to overcome that performance and shine through it
even though it probably was difficult for me. I just got to
roll with the punches and not make excuses for what it is.
K. Chain: Well, I thought you did great myself.
B. Taylor: Thank you, thank you.
K. Chain: Were you surprised at all that—I know I was. Were
you surprised at all that they didn’t use the save?
B. Taylor: Honestly, it was already established and it was
already—I knew I just had a feeling, honestly. I had a
feeling that—that’s why I sung my song the way I sung it.
That’s why I walked over to the contestants, because I
knew—I had a feeling that this was the end for that chapter,
because this is not the end, but I just knew it was the end
for that chapter.
K. Chain: Okay. Well, great and I wish you good luck.
B. Taylor: Thank you so much. Thank you.
K. Chain: You’re welcome.
Moderator: The next question is from Jamie Ruby with
SciFiVision.com.
J. Ruby: Hello, again. When you were first on the stage with
the huge audience, what was going through your head?
B. Taylor: Well, in Vegas, we had heard the audience. We were
like, that was our first time doing it for a live audience,
and it was like, this can be really good or this can be
really bad. When I went on the stage and the energy from the
audience, it kind of just made me feel like I was alright …
you at home performed. It took everything away. I enjoyed
performing for so many people, because for me, the more
people the better.
J. Ruby: Okay, great. What did you find the most challenging
so far?
B. Taylor: Well, of course, the themes are very challenging.
I guess I have to say that, because some of the times, we
don’t know the songs—all the songs. We always want to pick
the best songs, so you know that could be a challenge. It’s
a good challenge, too. It’s a good challenge.
J. Ruby: Okay, great. Thank you.
B. Taylor: No problem.
Moderator: We have a question with MJ Santilli with
MJsBigBlog.
M. Santilli: Hello, Burnell.
B. Taylor: Hello.
M. Santilli: I was wondering; last week, Nicki Minaj was
tweeting, and she said that she was not going to save any of
the boys. I was wondering how you felt about that? What your
reaction to that was?
B. Taylor: Honestly, I don’t know what you’re talking
about—but everybody’s entitled to their own opinion. I love
Nicki and Nicki loves me. None of that matters because she
showed me that she really loves me. She showed me that she
was genuine, so I don’t really let that get in between the
relationship that I have with her.
M. Santilli: Okay. Thanks, Burnell.
B. Taylor: No problem.
Moderator: We will go back to Jennifer Maurer with
PopStar.com.
J. Maurer: Thanks. Hello again, Burnell.
B. Taylor: Hello.
J. Maurer: I’m just wondering, what was the most surprising
thing to you about this whole experience being on Idol?
B. Taylor: Surprising. Well, honestly, two years ago, three
years ago, I just found out that it’s themes and all that,
so being on the show and watching the show is two different
things. It’s just so different. I always thought that, “We
get to pick any song we want to sing.” We do get to pick out
songs, but it has to fit in to the theme. I was under the
impression, we pick out our own songs, we can sing whatever
we want to sing, and it’s not like that. That was kind of
surprising.
J. Maurer: Did you find the grind to be easier, harder or—in
the respect of the day-to-day rehearsals and things like
that, was the routine of the day different in some form than
you expected?
B. Taylor: Yes, I believe when the grind is hard, that’s when
you know you’re doing what you need to do. When it’s easy,
it’s boring, so I appreciate the hard grind and waking up.
It makes us feel like we’re doing something instead of us
being home not doing anything. Not living our dream. It
makes us feel like we’re living our dream.
J. Maurer: Great. Thanks, and best of luck to you.
B. Taylor: Thanks so much.
Moderator: We have Sara Pagones with The Advocate. Go ahead
please.
S. Pagones: Hello, Burnell.
B. Taylor: Hello.
S. Pagones: I’m just wondering what you’d like to say maybe
to all of the kids at Sarah T. Reed High School and your
teachers and friends there, you know, who watched you last
night and were really rooting for you. What would you like
them to know about how you’re doing right now?
B. Taylor: To my people at Sarah T. Reed, I love you all so
much. The support that you all give is just amazing, and I
cannot wait to come personally thank all of you all when I
get back to New Orleans and just show my love, because the
love that you all showed I just can’t even explain. I love
you all and you all know I’m not going anywhere. The grind
is about to get even harder.
S. Pagones: Okay, do you think that you’ll be staying in New
Orleans a lot in the future or do you think that maybe it’s
going to be somewhere else for Burnell Taylor?
B. Taylor: It’s a possibility. Only time will tell.
S. Pagones: Thanks a lot.
B. Taylor: No problem.
Moderator: We have Bill Pinella with U-T San Diego.
B. Pinella: Hello, Burnell. How are you doing?
B. Taylor: I’m doing good. I’m doing good. How about you?
B. Pinella: I’m fine. The mentoring sessions you had with
Jimmy, how did you think those went and what did you think
of his critiques of your performances?
B. Taylor: The first time I saw Jimmy Iovine, and we had our
first interview, honestly, I was terrified. I have tough
skin, but I was terrified. He’s like another Nicki. When
you’re looking for honesty, that’s who you can go to. If
you’re looking for pure honesty, that’s who you go to. I
appreciate what he’s talking about, because he knows what
he’s talking about. There’s a difference if somebody doesn’t
know what they’re talking about and they’re just talking. He
knows what he’s talking about, and it’s just taking the
advice that he gives you and learn from it and do your
homework. You know, that’s what I’ve been trying to do.
That’s what I’m going to do.
B. Pinella: Okay. I was watching this morning, you were on
one of the TV shows down here and you mentioned that you
broke your glasses. How did that happen?
B. Taylor: Long story. I don’t know. The screw seems to have
fallen out, so I can go get another pair; it isn’t a big
deal.
B. Pinella: Okay. Thank you, Burnell. Good luck to you.
B. Taylor: No problem.
J. Reed: Thank you, everybody, for joining us today for the
conference call. As a reminder American Idol airs Wednesdays
and Thursdays on FOX and all photos can be found on
foxflash.com. At this time, I’m going to turn the call back
over to Burnell for some final remarks. Burnell?
B. Taylor: Thanks to everybody that took the time out to
support me. Thanks for the people that are doing these
reports. You all mean a lot, because this is just
advertising me. To all the people and all the audiences
that’s listening out right now, I just want them to know
that in the future, I’m going to work with all of you all.
So get prepared, because I’m coming. I’m not giving up on
what I started. You know, I love you all so much. See you
all.
J. Reed: Great. Thank you so much, Burnell. I’m now going to
turn the call back over to Cathy. She will provide replay
instructions, and then you can disconnect. Thank you and
have a good day.
B. Taylor: Okay.
Moderator: Ladies and gentlemen, this conference will be
available for replay after 10:50 a.m. today through midnight
April 10th. That does conclude our conference for today.
Thank you for your participation and for using AT&T
Executive TeleConference. You may now disconnect.
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