As we all saw, Newfoundlander Tara Oram was eliminated last night on Canadian Idol. I had the pleasure of speaking to her on Sunday at the rehearsal for Monday’s show and this interview is particularly interesting, given the fact that she is no longer in the competition. Enjoy.
Murtz Jaffer: Get ready, because this is the greatest interview that you will ever do.
Tara Oram: (Laughs).
MJ: Bar none. You’re from Newfoundland which is known for being legendary in terms of how hard they vote for their Idols. Like if I was on Canadian Idol, I would wish that I was from Newfoundland. How important is Newfoundland to your success?
TO: You know what? It’s surprising that Newfoundland is very small, but the support from there is massive. I mean I think everyone’s on the phone every night and voting and everyday they are sending supporting messages. In order to win this competition, you can’t just have one province. You really have to have nation-wide support, especially from Ontario as well, but you know I appreciate where I come from.
MJ: Do you think regional voting has become an issue on Canadian Idol considering Mila and Martha are both from Toronto and they were eliminated early and Brian is the only Ontario representative who is still standing. However, Tara is from Newfoundland and she made it all the way to Top 6. How much do you think regional voting plays a part in the voting?
TO: I have no idea. I don’t see the numbers. We don’t know exactly what the numbers are. I am not sure. I think it’s all about talent on this show. I definitely think where you come, you definitely have that support. Also, I think it really depends on nation-wide support but I don’t know. That’s a good question that I haven’t really thought about before.
MJ: How far in advance do you know what the themes are going to be each week and how long do you have to practice each song before you go out on Monday.
TO: Well, we have a great music department behind us who prepare us a couple of weeks in advance and we have great listening parties. We’re able to choose from tons of songs. I think the most important thing is to find a song that connects with us and connects with us maybe not in a way of lyrically but in a way of performance-wise and if we feel comfortable with the song. And we get prepared for that weeks in advance. That’s definitely a huge help rather than giving us a couple of days to pick each song!
MJ: Can you tell me more about these listening parties because a few of the other contestants mentioned them. Because when I picture a party, I am thinking of champagne and caviar and music playing… so what’s a listening party?
TO: Well, a listening party is we sit down and we have a CD player and we have maybe six discs of songs and we have a list of songs (like during Pop/Rock week, we have a list of songs that are considered pop/rock) and we have a list of ones that are cleared and that are pending/not cleared. So we have that list to choose from or we can also go outside of that list and choose songs that aren’t on the list but we have to make sure that the songs are cleared for television. But when we sit down, it’s usually early in the morning. We sit down and we listen to the songs and we maybe listen to 30 seconds. Just the main part of the song, just so we can recognize it and get familiar with it and see if it is for us. And we’re there for about two hours and we go off and choose our songs (maybe four or five songs that we would consider doing) and then one song from that list.
MJ: Are all the Idols together or is it like a Tara listening party, a Brian listening party, a Carly Rae listening party…
TO: We’re all together. It’s a hoot! It’s fu, fun, fun! (Laughs).
MJ: So are you like ‘Brian, that sounds wicked for you…’
TO: That’s so funny because we’re always because that’s what happens. Brian will be like ‘hey Tara, that sounds wicked for you’ and I am like ‘oh, this song sounds wicked for you.’
MJ: That’s what fascinates me. I have asked this question every single season. If I am in a competition and if I am at a listening party and I hear like some awful song. Like there’s that one song called “Du Hast” by Rammstein. Which is a really bad song…
TO: (Laughs).
MJ: And if I heard that song, I’d be like hey Dwight and Jaydee haven’t been in the bottom 3… ‘hey Dwight, do Du Hast!’ That’s kind of like what I am thinking.
TO: (Laughs). There’s not that sense of trying to get people kicked out with us. I guess we are just trying to help each other. We don’t really get to see what’s good for us on the outside. I mean our friends get to say ‘this song might be great for you.’ We might not always agree with it but that’s something that I find that from other people’s support, it does give us an idea of what would be good for us. It’s so cool that we can be that way with each other and not be competitive and catty. It’s not like that at all. It’s just a really cool atmosphere between all of us. It’s really neat!
MJ: I cover so many different reality shows. I am used to people, like in the Big Brother house they are dropping drinks on each other, on Survivor, it’s like that as well. I think that Idol is the only show that’s like that. That sort of is like conducive to this whole concept of like working together.
TO: I am not sure what it is. I think because no matter how good you do, you’re not in control. It’s Canada that makes that decision. Even if we were in control of that, I am not a competitive person. I like to support everybody who is in the same boat as me. It’s a hard experience and we all go through the same thing every day and we’re just there for each other. We have really cool, solid friendships. It’s really cool. It’s really neat.
MJ: Now here’s a deep question for you. What do you think is more important? Singing a song that you know, singing a song really well or singing a song that you know people will vote for?
TO: If you look at certain artists that are really successful these days and that are true musicians, they have done tours and gigs as musicians for years before they were famous and that really makes them grow as a performer. I love a great performance. An amazing singer can step on stage and just stand there and it’s just the most boring thing in the world. But I think if you have an excellent performance and you are really captivating the audience, with the aura that’s coming off of you, I think that’s more important honestly than a great singing performance. If you can have a mix of both, kudos to you. But when I go to a concert, I want to see a great show. I am not really listening to the key. That’s what really important to me and I think a lot of people agree with that as well.
MJ: Now if I am watching Idol for the first time, and I sort of missed the first seven minutes of the show and I hadn’t heard your name or Carly’s name… I think I would presume that Carly’s name is ‘vulnerable’ considering that’s what the judges call her every week, and for you, it’s always ‘oh, it’s that physical girl.’ They always say ‘physical! Be more physical!’
TO: (Laughs).
MJ: What is this insistence on ‘physical’ with you from the judges? Is it just because they know about your band?
TO: I am not sure. I am really glad that they picked up on that because I was a person who has done gigs for years and I am really about having a great time with the audience and having a great time with the people that are watching and that are coming out to have a great time. It really triggered my mind to make sure that I am putting on a really great performance because that is me and I am a goofy, funny person who just loves to entertain people. I am an entertainer. I am not just strictly a singer. Not strictly a songwriter. I am here to perform. I want to sell out stadiums and put on massive shows. Not like Garth Brooks or anything like that but just something that’s captivating and that people are going to walk away from and say ‘well that was really worth the money!’ (Laughs).
MJ: Can you tell me about how practice for a song because I think I saw you walking around listening to it on the headphones. I was always under the impression that when you guys have to memorize songs for Monday, it would be like a test. Memorize the lyrics by reading them over and over again. But you guys are all about listening to it. Is that primarily what you do?
TO: I think some people are visual learners and some people have it mentally in their minds which I think is important. If you can hear the song rather than see it, it’s a lot better because you’re not going to have the words in front of you. For me, it’s always having that in my mind. As far as performance goes, I am not a person who likes to stage my stage movements. When I go on stage and they are like ‘what do you want to do this week?’ I am always like, ‘well, I am going to start here and where I am going to end up, who knows?’ I don’t like to do the same thing as in ‘I am going to be here at this time.’ I think whatever happens in my mind at that time is what you are going to see so sometimes it can be a little unpredictable but I try to give them some sort of walking for the cameras and stuff. Just doing something where I don’t have to think about it. One thing that I have noticed is that since Top 22, I have stopped thinking about the cameras. It’s just like they are there, but I am not looking into them as much but I am focusing more on my performance because I think it’s a little more important. (Laughs).
MJ: Now one thing that I wanted to ask you was that if you guys are all living together, there must be some kind of romance thing going on, but since there are only two girls left… so I am thinking that you and Carly are pretty popular in the Idol Mansion!
TO: (Laughs). We all hang out together but there’s nothing going on in that level! The guys do their thing and we do our thing. We’re always shopping and hanging out and learning songs and stuff. It’s brotherly/sisterly… it’s just a really tight friendship which is really cool. We have a lot of fun. We sit down and watch movies together. We go for bike rides. We can be dull and boring all at the same time! (Laughs).
MJ: Is it good for you that you are not the only girl? Like at least Carly Rae is there? I am sure it is a big help.
TO: It’s funny because I grew up with guys. And I always had guys in my band. Kind of a tomboy at heart sort of, but I do have that girly side. When we connect with guys on a level of ‘hey, how’s it going’ or (upbeat) ‘hey, how’s it going?’ (Laughs). Just being in that environment is really cool and I am comfortable with it.
MJ: I think that what a lot of people don’t get to see is all these great people behind-the-scenes that help you with every performance. There’s obviously Byrd who helps with the actual singing, JD who helps with the staging, and Orin who helps with the arrangement. How important are they in what we see every week?
TO: Without those people, this show wouldn’t be possible. And our minds would be everywhere. If we don’t have those people there with us… we have so much done for us. Basically our job is to go out there on that stage and do what we do and they take care of the rest. They are so amazing. I just wish that we could have them on stage and that people do see them everyday. I don’t think it’s fair! I think Canada needs to see the people that make this show happens. There’s such a huge team of people. Audio. Make-up. Wardrobe. Hair. We don’t go on-stage looking the way we do, by ourselves. We don’t do that. It’s that amazing team.
MJ: Finally, do you think you will win?
TO: You know, I am really hoping. And I hope to god that I am the next Canadian Idol, because this is my dream. I have worked for it since I was a little kid. I want to be the next Canadian Idol.
MJ: And I think Newfoundland is due!
TO: If I could bring that home… lord! It’s going to be one parade! (Laughs).
MJ: That’s perfect, thank you.
TO: Thank you!
