Article from Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Singers know 'star' slot is up for grabs on 'American Idols' tour
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
By Scott Mervis, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Craig DeCristo


Performing on the "American Idols Live" tour are, from left, back row: Adam Lambert, season eight winner Kris Allen, Anoop Desai and Michael Sarver; front row: Lil Rounds, Scott MacIntyre, Matt Giraud, Danny Gokey and Allison Iraheta; in forefront: Megan Joy.

Chris Daughtry came in fourth and went on top the charts not once but twice. Jennifer Hudson finished in seventh and now sports an Oscar on her mantel.

That leaves Matt Giraud wondering: Is there any love for a guy who finished fifth on "American Idol"?

"I'm hoping to have a career like [Daughtry] or Hudson," he says in a phone interview, "people who weren't that big on the show and then left and had great careers because they made good music and we're really talented."

The first chance to prove himself is on the "American Idols Live" tour, which stops in Pittsburgh on Saturday with the top 10 finalists from season eight.

Kris Allen, a steady crooner from Arkansas, was the surprise winner last season with his technically flawless versions of Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers and Kanye West songs. However, most of the attention was, and remains, centered around flamboyant glam rocker Adam Lambert.

Looking like a fifth member of Fall Out Boy, Lambert was a regular scene-stealer on the show, never wavering on tough songs such as Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love." Since "Idol," Lambert has graced the cover of Rolling Stone, been talked about as a new frontman for Queen and has two albums in the works -- a debut for RCA and a collection of songs he recorded prior to "Idol" called "On With the Show." [NO. JUST… NO.]

It's no surprise that he's hitting the stage to a rabid fan base wearing his face on T-shirts and toting signs such as "Adam is my winner."

The Miami Herald called the show "Adam's World." The New York Times review of the "Idol" tour noted his "superhuman voice" on "Whole Lotta Love" and a medley of David Bowie songs, and went on to say that the evening "could have easily passed for an Adam Lambert concert with nine supporting acts."

"I feel like I was preparing for this all my life," Lambert said on press day in June. "I'm not a very patient person, so I kind of like the accelerated pace, that everything is happening all at once."

In the Times review, top Idol and headliner Allen was deemed "benign" by comparison. Asked about what's it like to hit the stage after Lambert, the winner told the Charlotte Observer, "I think it's kind of nice. Adam does his huge thing and it's so amazing. He's one of the best performers I've ever seen. And then I come on, and ... it's a little bit smaller, but I think the arena really appreciates what I do."

(What else can he say? Really.)

Also collecting good press clips for later use are Danny Gokey, who wins hearts with his widower story and Rascal Flatts ballads, rocker Allison Iraheta belting out "messy" versions of Pink and Janis Joplin, and Anoop Desai, reportedly doing a "gorgeous" take on "Always on My Mind."

Giraud has drawn a mix of reviews, generally positive. Newsday said he seemed "twice his age," given his song choices. That would put him at 48 -- just about six years older than Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes, whose hit, "Hard to Handle," he's covering.

The Herald review said that while Giraud came off like a "subpar Justin Timberlake" on TV, he was "the biggest surprise" of the night.

Lambert, who has come out of the closet, weighed in in his own way, wearing a homemade "Matt Giraud Is Bangin' " T-shirt. A general consensus is that if "Idol's" top prize went to the nicest contestant, he may have gone all the way.

Before he got into "Idol," Giraud was playing in one of those dueling piano bars in Kalamazoo, Mich., where he learned to work a crowd in the trenches.

"I probably had like 300 to 400 songs I had to learn," he says. "It was kind of a tough job. It wasn't very glamorous, but it paid the bills. You just kind of take requests and it's very interactive, play whatever people want. People getting drunk all over the place. I had a great time. It taught me a lot of music I never really listened to. But I'm glad I'm not doing that anymore."

His ticket out came in the form of bumming a ride down to Louisville for the "Idol" auditions in July 2008.

"I was playing the piano bar one night and a friend of mine came up and tapped my shoulder and said he was taking his daughter down in a couple days to Louisville. I said, 'Wow, that's amazing. Can I come?' And it went on from there."

Although the daughter went home, Giraud got the yellow ticket to Hollywood. He missed the top 13, though, until he was brought back for a Wild Card show and impressed the judges with his cover of the Jackson 5's "Who's Lovin' You." In subsequent weeks, he covered such songs as Stevie Wonder's "Part-Time Lover," Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" and "Human Nature" by Michael Jackson, whom he lists as one of his main influences.

"It was a hard time," Giraud says of the day he heard of Jackson's death. "We were in the middle of tour rehearsals and we ended up just taking the day off and went home, and it was just kind of a weird day for all of us. He was one of the people who made me want to do music in the beginning, so it was hard for me. But his music lives on ..."

During the season, Giraud got tripped up on Bryan Adams' "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" on the Songs for the Cinema night and got the ax by "Idol" viewers. But, in an "Idol" first, the judges cashed in their new "save" card to spare Giraud from early oblivion.

"Danny [Gokey] always says I went to church and got saved," Giraud says. "But it was a cool moment. We were talking about that last night on the bus, reminiscing about where we were a year ago. It was cool TV moment. A lot of energy and emotion in that room that night. I get compliments all the time on [this] show, like 'You deserved to be saved.' When I got it, I was kind of worried about people who probably thought, 'You didn't deserve it.' I was like, 'Man I hope people aren't [angry] I got it.' "

Giraud, who was voted off for good in late April after flopping on "My Funny Valentine," still feels as if he has a lot to prove when he hits the stage each night with the Idols, singing "Hard to Handle," "Georgia on My Mind" and The Fray's "You Found Me."

"I came up with all of them," he says, "and talked with the producers about what would flow nicely. I tried to pick things I could see myself doing as an artist after tour."

One review likened his performance to early Billy Joel, a nice change from the usual comparisons to Timberlake, another Jackson disciple. Giraud says he grew up listening to 'N Sync as well and certainly didn't mind being compared to the boy band's superstar frontman.

"If it was a compliment, I accepted that and was thankful. But I always thought it was important to be your own artist and be your own person, and I'm not trying to be like anyone else. And when I do make an album, it's not going to sound anything like Justin, but I got that a lot just based on how I looked. I think if you're a white boy in soul, you're going to get the Justin thing."

Giraud hasn't gotten label interest yet, but last week somehow "Sign Matt Giraud" became the No. 3 trending topic on Twitter. One thing he does have in the works is a deal to host a national online singer-songwriter contest called "Make the Cut" (www.yobi.tv./), and he plans to release an album, label or not.

In the meantime, he's enjoying the camaraderie of his fellow Idols on this intensive 50-city tour.

"I love all these guys. They're my brothers and sisters," he says. "We get on each other's nerves once in a while, but we all kind of deal with it. It's kind of like camp. You try to make it as fun as possible. At the end of the day, we all try to support each other's careers. We all want to see everyone else do well, as well as ourselves, so we're done with the whole competition thing. It's kind of like a family."

As for the shows, there's a big difference, he says, between doing the "Idol" stage and playing to screaming fans in arenas.

"The great thing about the tour is I don't have to worry about cameras anymore. I can really talk to the crowd and get them going. You couldn't really do that on the 'Idol' stage that much. You sing to the camera."

Thanks for posting this whole interview!! Matt is so great, and it is obvious how much everyone really just adores him (Adam has redeemed himself just a little by wearing that shirt).

I like that he is so clear about who is as an artist and what he wants his music to be (which is why I am always stumped when someone makes a comment like he hasn't defined himself). His last tweet doesn't sound too postitive, so reading this whole thing kinda brightens my mood a little bit. Thanks

Lana wrote:

Thanks for posting this whole interview!! Matt is so great, and it is obvious how much everyone really just adores him (Adam has redeemed just a little by wearing that shirt).

I like that he is so clear about who is is as an artist and what he wants his music to be (which is why I am always stumped when someone makes a comment like he hasn't defined himself). He last tweet doesn't sound to postitive, so reading this whole thing kinda brightens my mood a little bit. Thanks

Just read it. F_ck.

Thank you for posting the whole interview. It was good reading,a deeper interview.
So that´s the situation, no label interest now but it will come. Idol has give him what he needs
to continue.
Makes me wonder though that in the last day of the Idol deal there is this wonderful interview of Matt.

And the last sentences make me so emotional.
So freakin best and one of a kind performer.

And check his last tweet!

Good interview, but still was written last week right?

@MGiraudOfficial
Very excited for tonight and the next few days. Boston was rockin'. I wanna go back there after tour!

"The next few days?"

hazuki wrote:

Good interview, but still was written last week right?

@MGiraudOfficial
Very excited for tonight and the next few days. Boston was rockin'. I wanna go back there after tour!

"The next few days?"

Written last week,published today of all days?

Lana wrote:

Thanks for posting this whole interview!! Matt is so great, and it is obvious how much everyone really just adores him (Adam has redeemed himself just a little by wearing that shirt).

I like that he is so clear about who is as an artist and what he wants his music to be (which is why I am always stumped when someone makes a comment like he hasn't defined himself). His last tweet doesn't sound too postitive, so reading this whole thing kinda brightens my mood a little bit. Thanks

Thanks Megan for posting this...and Lana I was kinda wondering what HAS been going on the past 2 days on twitter because Matt does keep saying he hasn't been having a very good last few days..talking about trying to get his attitude in check and stuff..hmmmmm..makes you wonder? I just really want Matt to stay as happy as he usually is and that's all I truly care about at this point!

Lisa_M wrote:

Lana wrote:

Thanks for posting this whole interview!! Matt is so great, and it is obvious how much everyone really just adores him (Adam has redeemed himself just a little by wearing that shirt).

I like that he is so clear about who is as an artist and what he wants his music to be (which is why I am always stumped when someone makes a comment like he hasn't defined himself). His last tweet doesn't sound too postitive, so reading this whole thing kinda brightens my mood a little bit. Thanks

Thanks Megan for posting this...and Lana I was kinda wondering what HAS been going on the past 2 days on twitter because Matt does keep saying he hasn't been having a very good last few days..talking about trying to get his attitude in check and stuff..hmmmmm..makes you wonder? I just really want Matt to stay as happy as he usually is and that's all I truly care about at this point!

I know! I noticed that too yesterday when he made that comment about it being "one of those days" and the music would soothe him that night. He didn't tweet anything else yesterday and I was really worried, but since no one else seemed to be I thought maybe I was just over-reacting a bit. IDK his tweets with Slezak seemed more positive this morning, but the one about him trying to remain appreciative for what he has made me bum out a little. I think with the contract with 19 coming to an end, and yet no interest he may just now be feeling a little disappointed. I don't know...I hope he feels better and does realize how we all have his back and will ride this out with him. Whatever I can do (defending him on blogs, voting my ass off in polls, trending him on twitter, calling radio stations, writing to record companies) IDK how much it will actually do to help get him closer to a deal, but I'm willing to do it for him. I wish there were something I could do or say now to cheer him up a bit though.

Thanks for posting the whole interview!