On Wednesday, right after her elimination from the program, I had the pleasure of interview the last woman standing on Canadian Idol, Amberly Thiessen. It was a fun chat and I hope you enjoy it.
Amberly Thiessen: Hello?
Murtz Jaffer: Hello, I am Murtz.
TA: Nice to meet you. Good to talk to you.
MJ: Ready to get started?
TA: Yeah, sure.
MJ: So the first question I have for you is that your last name is pretty much one of the most famous last names in TV history.
TA: (Laughs).
MJ: I am sure you get the question all the time, but I have to ask if there is any relation between you and Tiffani-Amber Thiessen (from Saved By The Bell & 90210)?
TA: No. There’s not. I wish it was more exciting than that, but there really isn’t any relation that I know of. Maybe way back in the day.
MJ: Have you been asked that before?
TA: I have been asked that a couple of times. I have heard some references and jokes like saying that I was named after her which is funny considering she wasn’t even famous when I was born.
MJ: (Laughs). Right off the bat, I guess my real first question is how you felt when Ben announced you’d be going home?
TA: I was sad. It’s kind of a bittersweet moment in the sense that you are sad to leave the show and to leave everyone and I was a little bit shocked. But you know? On to the next thing and the next chapter in life and it was a great experience and now it’s the finale and then it will be a big reunion. But it was a good night, still.
MJ: On last night’s results show, there was a bit of a switch where the people sitting on the couch were told that they were in the bottom 3… did this catch you off-guard?
TA: Yeah, I was a little caught off-guard. At first, I wondered if they were going to do it that way because they didn’t say that Mookie was in the bottom three but then when everybody cheered for Earl and he acted like he was safe and I was like ‘maybe I missed something.’ Then I started to feel a little safe, but I guess not (laughs).
MJ: Usually when somebody leaves the show, they do that whole thing where they take the mic and they thank everybody and they’re like ‘it’s been a fun ride, thank you all for voting’ but with the whole second Simple Plan performance, you didn’t really get to do that. Did you wish that you did?
TA: You know, it would have been nice just to say something yeah. But I mean I understand for time purposes and you know, they would have gotten cut off but it definitely would have been nice to say something. But I said it in my pack and I got to say thanks to everyone quickly (at the very end). That’s just how it goes. It’s TV, you know?
MJ: Why do you think the girls didn’t do so well this season? Were the guys better?
TA: Right from the start, it was pretty much a 2:1 ration. It was like 15-9. If you just look at it, the odds are that it was going to be more guys than girls at the end and that’s just kind of how it worked out that’s how Canada voted. The Top 5 are amazing and I don’t think anyone doesn’t deserve to be there. I think they’ll do it justice without any girls there. They’ll have a great end-of-season for sure.
MJ: I can’t imagine what it was like living in the mansion with all these dudes. Did they make you do all the cooking, like were there any stereotypes because you were the only female left?
TA: (Laughs). No, it was actually a lot of fun! The guys were goofs and they were really cool to hang out with but they still like respected me and gave me my space and you know there really wasn’t much negativity in that way as far as all guys and one girl. It was a lot of fun. They are a lot of fun!
MJ: I am sure the burning question that everybody has is that if you were the only girl left… Canadian Idol is sort of known for being a birthplace not only of great singing but also of romances. You had Brian & Tara last season, you had Eva and Chad… What I want to know is that being the only girl there, were there any romances that were happening?
TA: Unfortunately, there was not. There really wasn’t any moment, any time, anyone that there was any kind of romance or nothing. We were all pretty focused on our music here and I don’t think any of us though that we had the time to get involved in anything like that. To me, it just wasn’t the place for me.
MJ: You want to know what’s funny about that? I talked to so many people that watched last night’s show and they’re all psycho-analyzing like everything that happened. And they were all like “Theo & Amberly… Theo & Amberly for sure!” I didn’t see it because I was at the show and I didn’t see if there was like an embrace or anything but do you remember anything happening with Theo on Monday night?
TA: I remember, I think a couple of times I called people over (like the rest of the Idols) and I put my arm around him. He was the one that was near me and Theo are really close. We definitely have a lifelong friendship after this but no, there’s no romance between us. We’re just really good buds but it’s going to be kind of sad to not be around my close friends again. That’s all it was. I have done a lot of overanalyzing of other things too…
MJ: (Laughs).
TA: When someone is like slapping someone else’s hand after the show and I’d be like ‘oh, they’re holding hands!’
MJ: (Laughs).
TA: That’s how it goes.
MJ: That’s funny because I was trying to figure out what it was and that’s obviously what they were referring to. They were like “didn’t you see.” I am like “no! What are you talking about?”
TA: Just a little hug. Just a little squeeze.
MJ: There were a few contestants from Alberta in this year’s top 10. Do you think this split the vote and with your elimination, do you think that this will make things easier for Theo and Earl?
TA: (Sighs). I think that with each elimination, it kind of depends like who people’s second favorites are that were voting for me now. I don’t know if I am assuming that it gets easier. I think more people are catching onto the show as it kind of goes on. I think there’s more people voting and more people voting longer and I think it’s going to be interesting just kind of how it all goes down. I almost can’t predict it. It’s going to be crazy but it’s cool that there’s still two Albertans still in it and we always joked that it would be sweet to have final three, all Alberta people but I mean I think we all knew that it wasn’t probably going to happen.
MJ: What is it about Alberta? It has a notorious history with Canadian Idol. You had Kalan Porter, Melissa O’Neil, Jaydee Bixby. Being Torontonian, is it just that Albertans love their Canadian Idol and are just seriously voting all the time?
TA: (Laughs). Voting all the time. I think Alberta, the people who are into music there, they really love their music and I think voting, I think Albertans like Canadian Idol. I know I did when I wasn’t on it too.
MJ: Did you ever vote before?
TA: I voted for Kalan Porter when he was on. But season 2, I pretty much watch religiously. I mean he (Kalan) went to the same highschool, so I had to support the local boy or whatever. After that, there wasn’t really a season where I watched it religiously.
MJ: If you could tell all your voters that were voting for you that they should now vote for somebody else like Theo or Earl, would you like to do that or would you want people to just watch the show and vote for whoever they like?
TA: You know what? Right from the start, I want people to vote for who they like. I have my close friends and stuff, but vote your favorites. Don’t vote for who you think I was closer to or whatever. Just vote for you like and who you like to listen to.
MJ: In your last performance with the Feist song, you had a very different look. Can you tell me more about that?
TA: I like to change things up. When I start to feel like I am getting into a bubble or like where people start to think that I should look a certain way or act a certain way, I don’t really like that. I like to keep my mind open and sort of be unpredictable that way but I was going for a look that was not like Zack said it was like. It came across different to him and maybe to some other people. I don’t regret and you learn from stuff. I’ll be a little more careful next time but it was a lot of fun. I thought it was fun to have something different.
MJ: So you picked it right? It wasn’t somebody that said ‘oh Amberly, you should dress a little darker this week?’
TA: I wasn’t going for darker. I was trying to go for more centric with the clothes. I think people couldn’t really tell that it was a dress that I was wearing. I think people thought that it was like a shawl. That’s just how it goes. I was going for more of a centric and with my make-up, I was trying to go like it was out of a magazine. That it was like new, high-fashion. It works sometimes, and sometimes it doesn’t. That’s just the name of the game.
MJ: What was your favorite performance this season?
TA: As far as comfortable-wise and having fun, probably Monday’s. To me, that was just like the peak of me having fun and being confident on stage. Walking around and stuff. I didn’t even stand before Canadian Idol and sing so to like actually walk around and not have a mic stand and not play my guitar to pass time, it was a lot of fun for me. I felt like I accomplished something by getting out of that scariness of not being able to walk around and actually do it.
MJ: What’s next for you?
TA: Next is a lot of writing and hopefully make some connections and get an album out.
MJ: Who do think is going to win? I know you’re not going to answer it, but I have to ask the question.
TA: (Laughs). Well, I think anyone could win. Ultimately, I think it is a really close voting year. I think it is going to come down to (based on comments and stuff), Mookie and Theo.
MJ: Wow, I was not going expecting you to give me an answer. My respect level for you just went up like 50,000 points!
TA: (Laughs). I mean, I am going to be honest. With the voting and kind of what I think the comments are and with people’s support and stuff. I love everyone, they’re all great. Anyone who wins, I’ll be like ‘yeah, they deserve it.’ But that’s just who I think is going to.
MJ: Was this the greatest interview that you have done so far?
TA: This was probably the best interview I have done so far.
MJ: That’s perfect.
TA: Thanks.
MJ: Thank you so much.
