On Sunday, I talked to the vocal coach for both American & Canadian Idol, Debra Byrd. She talked to me about what she does every week with the contestants, how she doesn’t play favorites and even talks Sanjaya with me (which is always a good sign!). She was the first “Mystery Idol” that I interviewed.
Murtz Jaffer: Are you ready to roll?
Debra Byrd: Yeah man.
MJ: You have been the vocal coach for both the Canadian and American Idols. Do you find that there is a difference between the two? Or are they all the same?
DB: Oh, there not the same. The show is built differently in that, Canadian Idol is more rock-based whereas American Idol is more pop-based. That’s one thing. And I also find that the American competitors are more comfortable in their bodies. The Canadian contestants, you have to kind of ‘okay, you’re gonna want to move there.’ They just become more and more relaxed as they go on but I mean there are people who are on American Idol who aren’t as comfortable in their bodies either. Carrie Underwood was just not comfortable at all, and it took me about two months to get her to loosen up and be as wonderful as she could be. She would always say to me, ‘well Byrd, I don’t dance.’ And I would say “I am not asking you to dance, I am asking you to walk.” There are exceptions, but more and more, there are more competitors on American Idol who are looser within their physicality. I mean look at Taylor Hicks. Doesn’t matter. He’s going to do what he’s going to do. I mean he’s a great example of that. Whereas it’s more like ‘come on, you can do this.’ Getting people to move which I find oddly wonderful.
MJ: Can you tell me what you do from Monday-to-Monday. What’s your involvement with the contestants? When do you basically start for the week?
DB: I would say that the start date becomes after the results show. After the results show, then it becomes ‘what am I going to sing for the next show?’ So they have that organizing process of picking the song that they are going to perform for the next week. So that would be the day after the results. Then we come back. Make sure the cues are correct, the second day of the workshop. Making sure that they like the key, they like the edit, they like the feel of it. And then, sometimes on Saturday, I will get the day off which makes me SO happy. Oh, I forgot, the second day of workshop (I am backing up) becomes band rehearsal day. And group song day. It’s a day that’s filled with a lot of things. And usually Allie has things for them to do, like interviews and whatnot. And then on Sunday, we come to band rehearsal, soundcheck and then Joan (the director) gets her camera angles and things together for that. Then tomorrow is show day. And the next day, which is the second day of performance. That becomes the group performance. And if there is a guest here, everybody’s always excited if there is a guest here. And then we start all over again and the agony begins all over.
MJ: How much time do you estimate that you spend with each contestant roughly? Is it a couple of days with each one?
DB: It’s hours. It’s not a day. I don’t have a full day with them, it’s literally hours. And it’s supposed to be one hour. And it goes a little beyond. Basically one hour the first day. I would say that it probably breaks down to, individually, roughly two to three hours a week. Which is very frustrating for them and for me as well. It becomes very frustrating. Because it’s a competition, it has to be as close to equal as it can. And I don’t show favoritism. ‘Okay, you have your song, what do you want to do?’
MJ: I wanted to ask you about that. Is it hard not to play favorites? Because even though I am supposed to be objective too, I am watching it and I am always like ‘I am not supposed to, but I like her more…’ Is it like that for you?
DB: No. For some reason, because of the way I am wired, I am not playing favorites. I do become frustrated. I think my three defining frustrations from newest? Greg Neufeld, big frustration. Before that, Chris Daughtry going home on American Idol and before that, when Fantasia was in the bottom 3. And I guess Fantasia being in the bottom three was my first time. And I remember going ‘what are we going to do?!’ ‘Oh my goodness!’ I knew how fantastic she was. I mean but then you have got Carrie Underwood who has never been in the bottom or Kelly Clarkson who has never been in the bottom. Even when Ruben Studdard was in the bottom, it didn’t bug me because I knew he was going to be okay.
MJ: I also wanted to ask you in terms of the group numbers, are you the one who sort of says ‘okay, you’re singing that line,’ ‘you’re singing that line?’
DB: I am. I take all the praise and all the blame. That would be me.
MJ: Do you automatically know or is it just like finding it out?
DB: It’s a Zen thing. I literally sit with the song. It’s like a puzzle. I put all their names out. And I sit there every season after season, every song after song and it becomes a very Zen thing and I listen with their voices in my head. To see what fits someone. Sometimes, I get stuck. It’s not often that I get stuck but then I ask the choreographer to bail me out or Marc Lalama. I’ll say “Marc, come sit with me. You have to help me with this one little section.” And he’ll sit with me and get it out. But mostly, yeah, I choose ’em all.
MJ: Were there any people that you worked with in the past (not this season) who stood out? I think you obviously said Greg, Chris, Ruben and Fantasia.
DB: Jacob Hoggard. Jason Greeley. Kalan Porter. I can go on and on and on. I came onto Canadian Idol in season 2 so for me, that bunch, everyone involved in that first season for me… they are very special to me.
MJ: That’s what everybody says about that second season.
DB: That second season is quite phenomenally abnormal, unusual, and just a great a vibe. It’s quite amazing to me, those people. Of any season. They are quite special. And I don’t know quite how to put my finger on it. The newness of me. The newness of them. My newness in Canadian Idol. I am just glad it was that particular bunch of people. I guess the word is magical. God had a huge smile on that season.
MJ: Now, my final question is about somebody that I was personally invested in that I think you worked with, who is actually coming to town on Tuesday. Sanjaya.
DB: Sanjaya? Is that when the American Idols are here?
MJ: Yeah, this Tuesday.
DB: Is it this Tuesday?
MJ: Yeah.
DB: How come that’s not on my calendar?
MJ: Yeah, it’s the same time as the Canadian Idol results show which is making my life pretty difficult.
DB: You know what? I remember saying to an executive, please don’t do like you have done in the past. Don’t put the American Idol Tour in Toronto on the same day. I said it too a few people in the States.
MJ: It is SO irritating!
DB: I said ‘don’t do that’ and they said ‘oh we won’t do it, I promise.’ You know what? Thank you for telling me that. I am going to call somebody (ha, like I can change it).
MJ: I have only missed five live Canadian Idol shows in the last five seasons and it is killing me that I am going to miss one. But you do what you gotta do. But my question is…
DB: Wait, you’re going to go to the American Idol one or you’re going to stay here?
MJ: I have to go to the American Idol concert. They are only here for one night.
DB: I’ll be with you.
MJ: Tell me about Sanjaya. Tell me about all the fallout after Sanjaya. And tell me about the Sanjaya that we didn’t see.
DB: The Sanjaya that you didn’t see! I think that’s more interesting. The Sanjaya that you did not see was a guy that was trying to find his footing. And the press picked up on his hair. On American Idol, they picked up two vocal coaches. So he worked with Dorian Holly first and I sussed that kid out. I said ‘give him to me.’ And by the time, he got to “Besame Mucho.” I was on a mission with him and Phil Stacey. They were my two missions. They were better than they were being portrayed. With Sanjaya, I enjoyed watching him grow. Watching him have the desire to grow. I would make that kid run and sing. He loved it. I would run with him! I don’t just make people run up and down steps because I want to. I do it with them. He has a great heart. He just got caught up in something that the press jumped on. He was determined to get better and he did get better.
MJ: Totally!
DB: I am very grateful about that. He worked very hard. I don’t think he started out working hard. I think he was a bit intimidated by the whole process. When you’re a 16-year old, and you are standing on the stage with a Melinda Doolittle and even Jordin Sparks who is the same age, who has got the stuff. It’s like how do you jockey for position? How do you make yourself fit in vocally? My whole thing is, they put you in this competition because you can sing, but you have to remember that you can sing. And there’s a discipline that comes along with it. He really got into the discipline. It took him a minute to get into the discipline of it, because he didn’t come in the door with it. But he realized ‘oh my goodness, there are these people who can really sing.’ But he can sing, and I really think that it got to him. And he took a few steps back and I said ‘nope, we are going forward.’ He’s a great kid with a great heart. I like his family, I like his sister, I like his mom.’ Okay, there’s something that you don’t know. The week that he was voted off, we were already a week ahead. The week he was voted off, I can’t remember what he sang. The next week, he had chosen to sing a song for his sister. And I don’t remember the theme. But the song he chose was “Wing Beneath My Wings.” He couldn’t sing it without crying because of his sister. We would try. He just couldn’t sing. It’s a good thing that he went home then because he would have done it on-camera! It’s very, very, interesting. I started calling him Teflon. Teflon Sanjaya. And then when he went home I said:
“The Mighty Sanjaya Has Gone Home!!!”
DB: He’s a good kid. People ask me in interviews if I think the kid is a star. Yeah, he is a star. He just is. I don’t care what you think about him. Disney might pick him up. Nickolodeon. He’s great Disney material. And remember, he’s still 16 years old.
MJ: Can you describe him in one word?
DB: No. (Laughs). I wish. But I can’t describe in one word because he is many things.
MJ: That’s perfect, thank you.
DB: Thanks.
