Interview with American Idol 8 Finalist Allison IrahetaThe Hometown Girl
Patricia Morris Buckley - Associate Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com
Remember Allison Iraheta’s horrendous interview just before she sang “Alone” in the semifinals? Well, sorry Mr. Seacrest, but she’s much more articulate when given good questions. Really.
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[photo: AmericanIdol.com]
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Remember Allison Iraheta’s horrendous interview just before she sang “Alone” in the semifinals? Well, sorry Mr. Seacrest, but she’s much more articulate when given good questions. Really.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, there’s much about Allison that is polished, it’s difficult to believe she’s only 16 years old. The voice. The fashion style. The voice. The stage presence. The… well, you get the idea about the second woman to make it into Season 8’s Top 12.
Allison is the first to admit that winning a contest on Telemundo two years ago, when she was just 14, gave her excellent experience for tackling American Idol.
“It helped me out with being on the stage in front of cameras a little, but it’s nothing compared to this actually,” she said. “It was a great experience. I sang both Spanish and English. It was amazing to win, you know; it was awesome.”
Because of her Latin background (her parents are from El Salvador), she wants to continue singing in both languages and perhaps become the first Latina Idol winner.
“I think it’s hard, actually, to go out there and do both English and Spanish, because a lot of people won’t be into that; you have to be really good,” she admitted. “Obviously Shakira [is an influence] is a real inspiration with the whole bilingual. I used to look into Selena because she was very bilingual and she was very well known because of that.”
One of the secrets to being 16 and handling all the pressure is that Allison has the backing of her family who are close by in LA, where she’s from.
“It’s a big family and they’re all so supportive,” she said. “It feels good to be here. I know a lot of the other contestants are like, ‘Oh, I want to go back home,’ like they miss their homes. But I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m already here.’ So it’s awesome already being here. Of course all the contestants here are going to have their family support, and I know my family, and my mom especially, great support. That’s really what we all need.”
Even then, she admits to some nerves when she’s performing, and especially when it comes to Simon’s comments.
“He doesn’t know me enough, I guess, because he said I was boring,” she said. “But honesty, I’m not. I guess I was nervous a little; I mean who isn’t going to be nervous before they sing the first time for that round. So I guess I’ll just chill a little bit more, because the nerves got me a little.”
And that’s her game plan going forward – to get rid of the nerves and enjoy herself as well as this amazing ride called American Idol.
“I think I’ll just chill a little more and just relax,” she said, saying she’s wanted to be on the show for a long time. “I’ve wanted to actually audition since nine, since I was that little. You know? Had my face on that TV screen wishing I were on the show. It would have been the same; I would have still wanted it as much as I do now.”