CJ Harris – American Idol

By starrymag | April 28, 2014

Q) What do you see your album to be?

A) It’s definitely going to have some country, and it’s going to be a mix between country, blues, soul, and Southern rock.  So, it’s going to be a mixture of all, but I hadn’t decided really which genre I’m going to just really stick to, but I’m swinging more towards the country industry.

Q) What’s the one piece of advice that the judges gave you that you’ll take with you the most?

A) Just always stay true to who I am, and always just work hard.  Hard work pays off at the end.  It’s not what you do right now; it’s what you’ve done in the long run.  So, I’m just going to keep working hard, as an artist.

Q) It’s interesting that you and Dexter were voted off one right after the other, you guys have known each other for some five years.  What do you remember about the day that you guys met on the beach?

A) Oh, man.  I just remember Dexter walked up to me, I’m sitting there on the beach playing some acoustic, and Dexter’s like, “Hey, man.  You want to play a song together?”  So we just got together and just had this amazing—it was just something about him, that I really just liked him as a person.  We started playing there and we went back home and figured that we’re only about 30 minutes from each other, so we played some places back at home, and became really good friends.

Q) How much does knowing you have the tour to look forward to take the sting out of being voted off?

A) Oh, man.  That’s huge.  I mean, the tour is going to be huge for me, because it’s going to show a different side of me, just performing and not having to worry about camera look or anything.  Just go up there and have fun and give it everything that I’ve got, and be an artist.  So, that’s going to be a lot of fun.

Q) You mentioned about knowing Dexter.  So, what has that been like competing on Idol with someone that you knew from Alabama?

A) Well, I mean, it’s been amazing.  But me and Dexter just kind of looked at it as me, Dexter, and Jess, as well, as together from Alabama.  Just hope and pray for the best from each one of us, but we just kind of look at it as we’re all artists trying to make it in this industry, and we’ve got to stay together.

Q) You’ve been in the bottom two, bottom three about four times, I think.  So, after a while were you getting frustrated at all that you kept landing there?  Or how did you feel about it?

A) I mean, yes, I got a little frustrated, but it just made me want to keep working harder.  So, it really brought out the best of me.  I believe if I would’ve never been in the bottom three or bottom two, then—you just never know.  I believe everything happens for a reason.  Put me in the bottom to just to bring me up, make me want to work harder.  So, that’s what I’m really focusing on, is just working hard, man.

Q) Last night on the show we noticed at the end of the show that Randy Jackson whispered something in your ear.  What did he say?

A) Oh, he just told me to never give up, man.  That I had an incredible talent.  Just never give up, that he sees me doing big things.  Just, it’s going to be all up to me.

Q) How did having your little boy back home motivate you every single week?

A) Oh, man, that motivated me so much.  To have him there in the audience, and see my son—it’s a lot of memories, something that we can look back on five, ten years from now, and it was a great time, man.  I had a great time with American Idol, and it’s a great experience.

Q) Last night’s farewell seemed to be one of the more emotional ones of the season.  What’s the hardest thing about leaving the show at this point?

A) It’s just, you’ve come so far in the show to get cut at the top six.  But, I mean, that’s still incredible.  You always want to see how far you can make it, and want to go further than that.  But I’m extremely happy for the other ones, I don’t hold anything—or I’m not mad at anyone or anything.  I truly wish the best for them in their career, and I get to look forward and playing with them this summer, and having fun.  So, it’s going to be good.

Q) What is your favorite memory that you can share with us from the last three months of being out there on the show?

A) My favorite memory is actually when I first got in front of the celebrity judges for the first time.  It was unreal, because I’ve never really met anybody famous before in person, and got to come up to them and talk to them.  So, that memory from the first beginning was just outstanding to me.

Q) Let’s talk a little about that summer tour again.  Have you ever gone to a summer tour performance?

A) No, I never have.  I actually never have, so it’s going to be—I don’t even know what to expect right now, but, I mean, it’s going to be so much fun.

Q) Just to show how far you’ve come, a year ago or two years ago, financially could you have even afforded to buy four tickets to the summer tour?

A) No.  No, man, I was just barely trying to get buy.  Right before I come to American Idol, I was doing everything that I can to make it in the music industry, and American Idol came along and really just changed my life.

Q) I was wondering how you felt about the judges’ remarks about your pitch problems, and whether you were aware that maybe you had pitch problems before?  And if you are actively working on maybe correcting pitch problems that you might have?

A) It was something before the show that I had never knew that I sang sharp.  I’m from a very small town, so I was playing for these people, and it’s kind of a you love me kind of situation, and I never really got a straightforward answer until I really got in front of some professional audience.  I’m glad they told me, because it was something I never even heard of.  I’m self-taught with everything, so it’s something that I’m definitely going to have to work on, for sure.

Q) Were you getting help behind the scenes on that, and if you were, did you feel like it was adequate, or that it was enough?

A) Yes, I was getting help on it, but I don’t know if it was enough.  I don’t know if I had enough time to—because I don’t know music, the keys and the notes like I should.  I don’t read it, so I feel like over time of me just learning it that I’ll be better off than really just learning it over a few days.

Q) When you were in the bottom two, Ryan asked you if you had any regrets, you said you might have picked a different song.  And I was wondering, what went into your decision making when you decided to sing American Woman and the Zach Brown Band song?

A) When I decided to do American Woman, I thought it would be a great song for my voice.  But I just had a hard time just remembering all the lyrics, and getting up there and singing it without thinking too much.  So, that was one of my main problems, was just thinking too much. The Zach Brown song, it’s a great song, it’s got a great melody and a great feel to it, it’s just the key that I was singing, it was just too low for my voice.  It didn’t have the cry and the emotion in it like I wanted it to, and I felt like I could have done better.

Q) Let’s talk about the future album of yours.  Would you consider doing a duet with Dexter, or maybe dueting with Dexter on the tour?

A) Oh, yes.  I would love to do a duet with Dexter.  Me and him already have this great bond as friends, and we’ve played together, so it’s going to be something that will just happen.  It’s not forced.  So, I’d definitely like to do a duet with Dexter.

Q) How about finale?  Do you have any thought about what they might be doing with you?

A) I’m not sure, but I think we’ll get to come back, and maybe perform.  I mean, it’s going to be a great time.  I’m going to get to go home for a day, and then it’s going to be back here before you know it.

Q) What are you looking forward to, with everything coming up this week?  I mean, have you ever been to New York before?

A) I’ve never been in New York before, so I’m super excited about it.  I can’t wait to just see the city, and just travel and this whole experience has been amazing to me.

Q) So, your mom and girlfriend, they’ve been in the audience on several occasions, and they were always moved by your performances.  How does the experience of performing change when people you know are in the audience?  Does it give you more confidence, or does it make you more nervous?

A) Yes, it gives you kind of a peace, and you can kind of look at them, and it kind of feels like if you were sitting there on your coach, or you’re playing at home.  It helps to have someone out there in the audience that you know, but it just made me proud to have my mom there and my sister there, and it meant a lot to me.

Q) Would you have picked different songs on Wednesday, if you could go back and do it again?

A) Yes, I would.  I mean, I would, but then again—yes, I probably would have.  Maybe not with the American Woman song, but the Zach Brown song.  I think I could’ve picked a better country song to fit my voice.

Q) Were there any other songs that you might have chosen?

A) I think that’s it.  I mean, because I made it this far with them, so I don’t have any regrets on them, because I believe everything happens for a reason.

Q) How are you feeling right now, after such a successful journey on American Idol?

A) Well, my brain is still going 100 miles an hour, and I’m off a couple of hours of sleep.  But I’m doing great this morning, and I’m just happy that I made it that far.

Q) And what are you looking forward to most now, moving on from the weekly episodes of American Idol?

A) Well, I’m looking forward to going on tour and performing with the other artists, the other contestants.  It’s going to be a lot of fun, and hopefully after that I’ll be able to put out an album and go on another tour, and just keep it rolling.

Q) So, there you are in the bottom two with Jess Meuse, who’s also from Alabama, and you’re waiting to find out who’s going home, one of the Alabama contestants.  What thoughts are running through your head at that point?

A) That it could be me, and that it could be Jess.  It was just all about the votes.  But either way, if I went down then I was going to hug her neck, and I was going to do what I had to do, and do my respect, because Jessica is an amazing person with a great voice, and I have so much respect for all of those guys.

Q) There have been other contestants, singers from Alabama on Idol, two of whom have won, two of whom have been the runner-up.  Did you feel like you were following in the footsteps of people like Taylor Hicks, Ruben Studdard?  Is that important to you?

A) Yes, I mean, I looked up them before American Idol, I watched Ruben Studdard and Taylor Hicks, and I learned a lot of things from them.  But yes, I kind of feel like I was following in the footsteps of them, and I hope I have a successful career.

Q) One more thing, when you come home to Alabama, what’s the first thing you want to make sure you do when you get back to Jasper?

A) When I get back to Jasper I want to go see my family, my little boy, and probably eat some barbeque.

Q) What advice would you give to aspiring American Idol contestants?

A) I’d tell them to always stick to who you are, and prepare a lot of songs, not just one genre.  All different styles and genres, country music, all different ones that you can learn would be the best thing.  I’d say don’t bring all your good songs out at the beginning.  If you can save some until you make it farther in the competition, that would be great, too.

Q) What did you do to adapt to the pressure of performing every week on the American Idol stage?

A) Oh, man.  I just told myself that I can do it.  I made it this far, I believe I’m here for a reason, so I’ve just got to do it and relax and believe.

Q) You mentioned how your brain is still going 100 miles an hour now, and ever since Hollywood Week you were going 100 miles an hour, all the contestants were, 24 hours a day, and then it just stops.  So, how is it going to be to deal with all of this free time, and what are you going to miss the most about all that pressure, and what are you going to miss the least?

A) What I’m going to miss the most about the pressure is on Wednesday’s getting up and getting ready for that day, and getting to perform in front of those celebrity judges, and the whole experience.  But, I do miss home and the quietness and things like that, so—it’s been amazing though, man.  It really has.

Q) And what will you miss the least?

A) What will I miss the least?  Oh, man.  I don’t know, man.  I’ve really just had an amazing time, a great experience.  I mean, I don’t really know what I’ll really miss the least out of it.

Q) What are you going to be telling Jordan about your experience, once he’s old enough to know what you’re saying?

A) I’m going to tell him, you know, always just go with your gut because that’s what you need to—just always going to tell you—your gut is going to be the most real to you, so just stay to who you are, and prepare for life, because it’s coming.

Q) I’m not sure if you mentioned this yet, but what was your favorite performance that you gave on the show, and why?

A) I’m going to have to go with Can’t You See for my best performance, for my favorite performance.  It was just one of them songs that I had been singing ever since—probably about 13, 14 years old, so that was probably one of my best performances.

Q) And the show this year has had a few different guest mentors come in, including Chris Daughtry, Adam Lambert, and David Cook.  So, how did these guest mentors who have been on the show as contestants before, how did they help you?

A) I mean, they helped us out in so many ways.  I remember Adam Lambert saying, “Don’t look on YouTube, or don’t look at the comments or anything, because a lot of people will go just to see what people think about them, and you can get some very hurtful things.”  But that was really good advice to not really look at social media too much, and keep focused on what you’re doing, keep your eyes on the prize.

Q) And I read earlier today that you’re moving to Nashville, right?

A) I would like to.  I would love to.

Q) Maybe you and Dexter can be roommates?

A) Yes, we talked about it, and I think that would be a cool thing.  I mean, he’s a guy that I definitely trust.

Q) And so, when you plan your album, which you say is going to be a country album?

A) Yes, I would say it’s going to be more towards the country side, but it’s going to have some Southern rock and soul in it too.

Q) Do you write songs?

A) Yes, ma’am.  I’ve written enough for an album so far, so I’ve just got to get it all together.

Q) I want to know, what did you talk to Taylor Hicks about?  I know that he came back and talked to you guys a little bit in the tent.  Did he talk to you a little bit?

A) Yes, I got to talk to Taylor, and he was just saying how proud he was.  He was in the competition, and he told me he know how stressful it can be, that he was proud of how us guys from Alabama represented Alabama so well, and just keep the positive energy in, and do good.

Q) Jennifer was probably the biggest fan on the show.  She looked like she was going to burst into tears when you were singing.  As a matter of fact, I think she did well up.  Did she give you any good direction after the show?

A) Yes, she just told me how proud she was of me, and the person that I’ve came to be, and stay to, and always keep to myself and keep pushing for my dreams, because I definitely have the capability of doing something big, I’ve just got to keep it pushing.

Q) CJ, what would you like to say to your fans and supporters?

A) Guys, I just want to say thank you so much for the support through this whole journey.  It absolutely means the world to me that I could actually do this and have the fans and you guys supporting me.  It absolutely means a lot, and I can’t wait to see you guys soon on the tour.  It’s going to be so much fun going to all of the cities and getting to meet some people. So, again, thank you for the support, and I hope that you will continue to follow me through my career.

 

*CONFERENCE CALL*