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« The Great American Idol Blog
At the End of Her Run, Syesha Sounds Off
Syesha Mercado courtesy Fox
Wednesday night's Idol was the final one for Syesha Mercado, following a surprising steady improvement over the course of the show. Despite multiple weeks in the bottom three, Syesha outlasted all the other female contestants and stood strong to the final three. Ultimately, though, she hit the end of the road, after a week in which all three judges were down on her selection of "Fever" and lack of range. On Thursday, Mercado spoke to press about her Idol experience, her "Fever" pick, her unexpected longevity and more. Here's what she had to say about:
Her Improvement Over the Course of the Show
"I consider myself a hard worker. I'm always working, I'm always trying to improve. When I first stepped in to the competition, I was really in a little shell, I was vocal resting and it separated me from everyone else. I don't feel like I was at my full potential, because of the negative mind frame I was in. It was harming my performance. Once I got my mind right again, I felt more comfortable with myself, and the feeling of being overlooked completely subsided. It was just a matter of being consistent every week, and eventually people would recognize me, and that's exactly what happened."
What She Finds Special About the two Davids, Individually
"David A. has that beautiful smile, and he has that really good connection with the younger audience. David Cook has the connection with the younger audience and the older audience who thinks he's really charming. I feel like I'm a little sister and big sister to both the Davids. Once everyone was gone, we had a chance to have a more intimate relationship."
Who She Is as an Artist, Especially After Paula's Criticism on Tuesday
"I'm a mix of a lot of things. I'm like a black Christina Aguilera/Alicia Keys. I like pop and I like R&B and I like old-school musical things. I'm evolving. You'll know who I am when I put out an album."
The Comparison She Made Between Sam Cooke's Song on the Civil Rights Era and Her Idol Experience
"I research songs before I sing them... there's a lot of meaning for him in that song. For me, it meant something different. It touched me. It came out during a transitional time in history, and for me, this is a transitional time in my life. I'm the last female standing, I'm still here. The mix of both those things together is emotional, and the message, 'change is going to come' — for me, it's going to come."
What She Learned From her Experience on Idol
"I've learned how to relax and what to do, whether it's talking to someone really close to me, someone to confide in, or reading a book that's uplifting. I've learned ways to deal with stress, and I've learned how to prepare for a performance, to the point where you're able to enjoy what you're doing."
Her Dad's Struggle to Overcome Drug and Alcohol Addiction
"For me, [the struggles] made me the strong person that I am. It really made me sad a lot of my life, but it actually made me understand people more and be more forgiving. I told myself I'm not going to let this determine what my future is going to be, and I'm going to do something good. And I'm going to help my dad and encourage him and make him proud so that he wants to make me proud, and that's exactly what he's doing now. It's a beautiful story to tell."
Her Plans for Her Career and Her Wedding
"I want to make an album, star in a film, do Broadway, open an organic restaurant with a homeless foundation. It depends on what comes first. [My fiancé] is so supportive, and when the time is right we'll do that, but right now we're focused on the career."
How She Dealt with Being in the Bottom Three So Often
"Every week is new, and I never packed my bags. I didn't want to go home yet. If you want something, it's going to happen for you. Whoever's the most passionate, they're going win. Every week, I set a goal, and I just wasn't ready to go home. I talked to my family a lot, and they helped me stay strong."
Her Thoughts About "Fever" as Her Song Selection This Week
"I had other choices in mind, but I couldn’t do them, but you go with the flow. I have no regrets."
The Producers' Happy Feet Song Pick for Her
"It's not like I could change it. It really wasn't a [singer's song]. I wasn't able to have back up dancers, most of the song was back-up singing, the whole studio-tech stuff. So, it was weird. Most of the song I wasn't even supposed to be singing."
When She Knew the Finale Would Be Between the Davids
"Probably the night before, after I got done performing. 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 it was, and I moved on. I don't feel like I failed."
Her Final Take on Things
"I'm just thankful to have this experience, and I'm appreciative of all my fans. I'm just ready to take on the world. I'm ready to take on so many things, and I'm excited about working. I am so ready!"
— Anna Dimond
Related:
• Who should win it all? Vote now!
• Watch video interviews with Idol finalists
• Read Erin's in-depth recaps of every Idol
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May 15, 2008 3:46 PM
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Now I am convinced that American Idol is rigged. I have not voted for the last few season's however I did not like Paula's attitude or comments to Syesha about her not having a chance to become the American Idol so I voted on this last episode. I programmed the number into my phone and voted multiple times by hitting 'redial'. At least three times the voice thanked me for voting for contestant #4 (which was David Archuletta). My aunt said the same thing happened to her and we were not using the same number for Syesha.
David Archuletta is going to win because he is American Idol's pick however based on Tuesday's performances he is the one that should have been eliminated. All three of his songs were in his predictable format and he was not great at either of them.
Syesha and David Cook will both have a great career and it is probably best if neither of them win so that they can go ahead without the American Idol restrictions and have a great career. I think David Archuletta will end up like Taylor Hicks and bomb after the first CD. I know I won't be buying it.
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May 15, 2008 5:54 PM
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I can't even imagine an entire CD of David A. songs. I will probably buy it though. I've been having trouble sleeping and the $1.00 iTunes download is cheaper than Lunesta.
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May 15, 2008 10:35 PM
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deeshopper, your comment cracks me up!
It has been obvious from the beginning of the Top Ten competition that the Davids were going to be the final two - unless one of them had an atrocious performances (Hi, Simon!).
If the show weren't rigged, the producers would show the voting totals for each contestant every week. They say they want edgy and different, but they really don't. It's depressing.
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May 15, 2008 10:48 PM
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I'm sure the judges and producers have their favorites and do what they can to move the audience to vote certain ways. But rigged? The judges were (inexplicably to me) falling all over themselves about Carly Smithson, and she left early. Chris Daughtry? Gone at #4 or so. Jasmine Trias in the top three? Rigged? Really? Diane DeGarmo as #2? Rigged? Really? Taylor Hicks as the winner? Rigged? Really?
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May 16, 2008 10:05 AM
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Her personality is very unlikeable, she's going to have to have some PR schooling if anyone signs her to a record deal. Undeserved cockiness. It's a miracle she made it as far as she did.
But really, one can gripe and gripe about who is more bankable, who is deserved to last how long, in the end the American public will buy only who they like, and undeserved winners such as Taylor Hicks find themselves with no record deals while 4th and 3rd place winners like Elliot Yamin and Chris Daughtry end up with hit singles.
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May 16, 2008 12:05 PM
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"Her personality is very unlikeable, she's going to have to have some PR schooling if anyone signs her to a record deal. Undeserved cockiness."
I have read variations of this comment all over the net, but I just don't see it. David Cook often gets the same "arrogant" tag, and I don't see it in him, either.
Both Syesha and David C. seem like perfectly friendly, likable singers -- and very talented, especially compared to the dull robot-child David A. Syesha in particular always seemed shocked and humble when she survived over other contestants, and I loved seeing the obvious affection between her and the two Davids. Of course, just my opinion...
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May 16, 2008 4:39 PM
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I've never paid too much attention to Syesha, but she does sound a bit too full of herself...saying "I'm like a black Christina Aguilera/Alicia Key", I mean...girl you can be great, but do you really need to compare yourself with these two amazing singers? Carly is very Anne Wilson-ish, and Brooke might be very Carly Simon-ish, but I they are humble enough to never compare themselves as any of those great artist.
Even if you have great plans, you really need to keep them for yourself, it's a very important thing to have your goals well set in life...but do you really need to go around talking about how you are going to win a Grammy and an Emmy and a Tony? I'm a bit disappointed on her after reading her exit interviews.
And David Cook being smug? I don't know what you're talking about, I've always perceived him as a very humble, down to earth guy, at least he's never say "I'm like a mix of [insert the name of two legends here]".
For the record, I still think she(Syesha) is a very good singer and I still do not agree with the way she was treated by the judges on Tuesday.
I would had really enjoyed that Top 3 if Carly (<3) had been there. Even MJ would have made it more interesting.
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May 17, 2008 4:36 PM
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