Paul McDonald Contestant American Idol Interview
April 24th, 2011 | 
Category: Music, News, TV | 
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Final Transcript
FBC PUBLICITY: American Idol Eliminated Contestant Call
April 15, 2011/9:30 a.m. PDT
SPEAKERS
Chloe Ellers – FBC Publicity
Paul McDonald – Contestant, American Idol
PRESENTATION
Moderator Welcome to the American Idol Interview Call with Paul McDonald. Due to the large volume of callers, we ask that you please limit yourself to one question and one follow-up. You may then requeue, and additional questions will be taken as time permits. I would also like to remind you that today’s conference is being recorded.
I will now turn the conference over to Chloe Ellers for opening remarks.
C. Ellers Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for calling in today to speak with Paul McDonald. As a reminder, Paul is here to talk about his experience on American Idol and plans moving forward. If we feel like anyone is harping on a certain question too much we reserve the right to move on.
With that being said, we will take the first question.
Moderator That will come from Mike Hughes with TV America.
M. Hughes Paul, I get the feeling that you, more than most of the guys on the show, had a pretty busy career even before this started. Tell us a little bit; now you had a band in Nashville, tell us a little bit, how long have you been in Nashville, and what was your band, and is there any chance you’ll go back to it?
P. McDonald Well I’ve been touring for about five years doing just strictly my own original material, and I’ve been living in Nashville for two years and we’ve been up there trying to make it in the original music business as artists. So we just released an album, I guess in November right before kind of all this TV stuff happened, so that’s kind of where my heart and soul is, it’s my blood, sweat tears that I’ve been putting into that stuff. So I don’t know, man, you know I love those guys and I’m really proud of the material that we’ve came out with, so hopefully I get to work with those guys soon.
M. Hughes That leads to the question talking about original material. I saw that you’re one of the people who think this should be original material week on the show. Talk a little bit about that more, why would that be good to have original material and were you really itching to do one of your own songs?
P. McDonald Like I said, I’ve been touring for a year with my band, the Grand Magnolias and High Tag Blues. It’s one of those things like there are a bunch of singers all around, but it’s good to have people that are also artists that can write and you can showcase what you do as an individual. That was something I always wanted to do, because that’s my main thing. I’m actually not very good at singing other people’s songs; I’ve learned that in the past, that’s why I started playing my own songs. But I don’t know, it just kind of showcases who you are as an artist more than singing other people’s songs. There’s only so, so much you can do singing other people’s songs and getting them across.
Moderator We’ll go next to Matt Carter with Examiner.com.
M. Carter We did get the chance to hear a little bit of “American Dreams” on the show during the whole like thing for your life segment, so how big of a thrill was that for you to kind of get some of your music out there? I mean just for me, as a writer, that got me listening to some of your other music
P. McDonald Right on, man. Yes, it was great; that was my whole thing in this show was to try to branch out and kind of let people know what I do normally, and that was a great thing. When they said we could original material I was like awesome this is right up my alley, because that’s what I’ve been doing for the past five years so I was right at home with that kind of stuff. It made me really happy that they let me do that, because that was a song that I had written. Original music, to me, it comes off more real because it is real; that stuff came from real times in my life. I was just really happy they let me do that.
M. Carter Well I know you did one duet with Kendra Chantelle on the show and you guys also did one away from the show that was pretty fantastic, so any plans to kind of work with her again? Your voices just mold really well together.
P. McDonald Yes. Man, Kendra’s great. I wrote that song a while back, and after me and Kendra kind of got up and did the “Black Bird” thing I was like man, hey, you should come over and test this one out with me, and it turned out really cool. So yes, as soon as I get back to Nashville, man, I’m sure we’ll hang out and work on some stuff.
I’ve been writing tons of material while I’m out here, which I probably shouldn’t have been doing that’s why I got kicked off already, but I’ve been focusing a bunch on writing and working hard on the stuff that’s coming on after Idol. So I’m sure we’ll meet up and work on some stuff. She’s a great writer and she has a ridiculous voice, she’s really good.
Moderator We’ll go to Mark Stone with the Kelowna Daily Courier.
M. Stone Usually we ask people when they get booted off if they have any regrets, and usually they say no, but I heard last night you said that you kind of did, you had kind of wished you did some things differently. Can you elaborate on that a little bit?
P. McDonald Yes, it was one of those things some of the song choices that I did weren’t probably the best ones for me. When I first tried out this whole thing was just kind of for fun and I didn’t even expect to get this far in the competition, so when I got up here I kind of listened to some people when I probably should have stuck with my gut, my guns. But other than that, it was fun. I just maybe wish I had done some more of these obscure artists and stuff, but more of the vive of music that I was into, because it came across on stage I didn’t feel comfortable a whole lot of the time up there just because I felt like it wasn’t me all the time. But other than that, everything was good; I had a good time, it was an amazing learning experience doing all this TV, and it kind of opened up my brain to doing all these cover songs and trying to recreate these old songs into something new. So it was fun, man.
M. Stone What do you think you’ll miss most about the whole experience?
P. McDonald Oh man. I was saying last night I’ll probably miss the people that surrounded me; people don’t realize how many people work around the clock to make American Idol stuff happen, anyone from the people at Nineteen, my day-to-day people, the security, all the crew. They’re really nice people and they’ve always been supportive and just super nice and we’ve kind of grown into a family, and it’s going to be weird jumping back out into the real world and not seeing them every day. The whole American Idol thing has been a very unique and kind of a super tight knit community. I don’t know, it’s going to be tough, but I’m sure we’ll see each other soon.
Moderator We have Gina Scarpa with RealityWanted.com.
G. Scarpa So your style is really unique, and that’s something I really appreciated about you. I was wondering coming in what were your expectations? What did you think America was going to think of you?
P. McDonald In all honesty I tried not to think of that at all. I never watched the show while I was on it and I never went back and read reviews of what people thought. I literally was doing exactly what I wanted to do coming in there, although it was tough picking all these different songs and trying to do them. But you know I was just being me. I came in there, and it was funny, because the hair and make-up team would be like man we don’t need to do anything to you today, and I was like all right, cool. Then the stylist was like I like your clothes better than the ones we have. So I kind of just did my own thing, and it worked out good enough for eighth place, man, so I’m pretty happy about it.
G. Scarpa I was wondering if there are any artists out there now that you listen to or that you strive to be like.
P. McDonald I strive to be like a whole lot of artists. Right now I’m listening to a group called Mumford & Sons, that’s like one of the ….
G. Scarpa Nice.
P. McDonald That I’ve been digging on hard, I mean those guys are great writers and it’s music that moves you. The Black Keys are really cool. That whole kind of scene is what I’ve been into. Like my band played Bonnaroo and all this kind of stuff before hand, so that kind of festival circuit, you know the stuff that’s going on at Coachella right now like that’s my vibe of stuff. I listen to all kinds of music.
My main goal is to just make music that lasts and that people enjoy, and that’s my main goal. Whenever I first started playing music it wasn’t to try to make old sounds sound new again; the reason why I play music is to I guess let lose my feeling and write about real stuff. So yes, I like Mumford & Sons, though, man, they’re my new favorite band.
Moderator We will go to Michael Weinfeld with the Associated Press Broadcast.
M. Weinfeld In addition to your singing you also became known for your flashy outfits. Can you take any of those home, and if not what are you going to be wearing instead?
P. McDonald Yes, actually I had those outfits made for me before the show. So everyone keeps telling me they’re like that’s awesome Idol did this and that, but I had all that stuff previous to all the Idol stuff. So I’ve spent, actually I broke my bank on that first white suit before I came out to Hollywood. So yes, I get to keep all of those; they were custom made for me. My friend back home, Manny, made them for me. Now I have the white and the black one, so I’ll get to keep them forever. I might wear them for my birthday and for New Year’s and all that kind of stuff.
M. Weinfeld This is going to seem really silly, but so many people I’ve heard when they talk about your style they talk about how white your teeth are. Have you heard about this and are they naturally that way?
P. McDonald They are, well, I’ll say halfway naturally. I’ve never had professional whitening done or anything at the dentist, but I’ve always used like Crest toothpaste, I use Advanced Vivid White Toothpaste, and I don’t drink coffee, I don’t drink Cokes. So yes, my teeth have always been white. My sisters are the same; it’s weird, we all have white teeth. I guess it’s in the genes, man.
Moderator Next is Antonia Blyth with US Weekly.
A. Blyth So I had a question about really—I mean for you, you’ve been working hard in a band with your guys for a really long time. Can you talk a little bit about what it’s like it seems like every guy’s dream come true to have people like Nikki Reed, a famous actress, or Taylor Lautner or all these people saying that they’re fans of yours? It must be every guy’s dream. Can you talk about that?
P. McDonald Yes, it’s cool getting to see people that have been in the business and are successful in their own right come up and say they’re fans. It’s really cool. It kind of blows my mind that I was out doing the exact same thing with my band playing to a few hundred people a night, and then all of a sudden I get on TV and sing a handful of covers and people think I’m cool now. But it’s super humbling to have people like that think that my art is good. We were at the hotel the other day and I walked in and Kurt Warner was in there, and I was like oh my gosh what’s up, man. He’s like oh I’m a fan, you do great. And I was like you know who I am? So it’s kind of crazy. I’m starting to, it’s not, yes, it didn’t seem real, but it’s pretty cool.
A. Blyth Have you had any condolences from any famous fans, or from Nikki actually, because I know she comes to the show?
P. McDonald Well yes, yes, yes. I’m pretty sure Nikki’s a pretty big fan, but yes she’s super cool. I don’t know. Yes, I mean everyone; I’m kind of getting a bunch of stuff all over the place right now, so we’ll see. I don’t know. A few people have been hitting me up, which is kind of cool. I haven’t really had time to look and check my phone out; I looked at my phone I had like 270 text messages today, and I was like oh man I’ll check that out later. I hadn’t really had time to think or read any news or any kind of stuff; I’ve just kind of been doing work and stuff.
Moderator Next is Elizabeth Kwiatkowski with Reality TV World.
E. Kwiatkowski So there’s been a lot of controversy about five women going home at the start of the competition with the theory being that all the young girls tend to vote for the guys. Are you a believer in the girls voting for the guys theory and do you feel the men have an early advantage in the early rounds?
P. McDonald Oh I definitely do. It’s funny, because whenever you’re in the audience it’s like the teenage girls are the—it feels like to me—are the ones that watch the show the most, just because the fact like I remember walking out on stage and I would look around and people out in the audience have their posters and signs made. I was like oh man I think oh there’s like one poster over there that says Paul and then there’s like a thousand screaming 14-year old girls that have Scotty McCreery posters. So I think the guys definitely have an advantage.
It’s a shame for the girls, because they’re so talented. But yes, I have a feeling I don’t know too many guys that watch the show; I think it’s mostly girls. I mean tons of guys do watch the show, but I think the guys definitely have an advantage.
E. Kwiatkowski You touched upon the fact that Nikki Reed is a big fan of yours, and a few weeks ago the show showed footage of you meeting her a the Little Red Riding Hood premiere. It seemed like you two hit it off really well and she said you were amazing, and was actually blushing that she was able to talk to you. There have been reports that you two have been dating since then, so could you talk about whether or not any of that is true at all?
P. McDonald Yes, Nikki Reed and me are dating. It’s officially true.
E. Kwiatkowski Could you elaborate on how things are going at all?
P. McDonald Yes. I mean, yes, she’s super cool man; she’s a super smart and a really cool girl, so I’m happy with it. We’ve been hanging out here and there, you know we’re both pretty busy, but it’s been fun so far.
Moderator Next we have Gil Kaufman with MTV News.
G. Kaufman I was wondering—because it seemed like you kind of had everything it took, you were talking about the guys having an advantage, I mean you’re a guy, you have this performance experience. You have the great teeth that we talked about. You’re a sharp dresser, but why do you think America didn’t really connect with you or didn’t get what you were trying to do on the show?
P. McDonald It’s a tough thing to say. My music is kind of roots rock and roll, it’s kind of indie I guess kind of stuff, we’re doing the festival scene. It’s hard to say what America is into these days. There’s jazz and rock and all kind of stuff, so you never know. I was just doing my thing and I literally wasn’t planning on winning or anything; I was just doing my thing, and I’m super pumped up to even get this far. So I don’t know. Maybe it was my over-the-top suits.
G. Kaufman And it’s funny you mentioned Mumford & Sons. Whenever I would write about you on the show I would say Mumford & Sons or like Ray La Montagne, like that’s kind of the vibe that you seem to have.
P. McDonald I know. And actually this next week I had planned on doing either a Zack Brown, a Mumford & Sons, or a Ray La Montagne tune, because I was getting tired of trying to do these songs that I wasn’t comfortable with and I was like man I’m just going to stick with my guns and do something that I dig. But then I got the boot.
G. Kaufman You said when you kind of started out that you didn’t expect to get this far and you didn’t know what would happen on the show. Do you feel like you were able to do something on the show to kind of push the ball forward a little bit in terms of bringing that kind of indie vibe?
P. McDonald It’s tough to say. I honestly felt like I really didn’t do too, too much, nothing like over the top special on the show, just because of you know—but I hope that people got the vibe of the indie stuff. I don’t know. It’s funny, I’m sitting in here and I just popped up on the TV, and so they were laughing at me. So I kind of got confused on that question. Sorry.
Moderator We’ll go next to Patricia Buckley with thetwocents.com.
P. Buckley There were a couple times that your voice sounded a little bit tired. Was that your normal raspiness or was it just such a grueling schedule it really took it out on your voice?
P. McDonald Man, it is a grueling schedule, and my voice has kind of been out of it most of the competition, man, just because I’ve been touring for so long and I have issues with my voice. Sometimes I can get away with it; it gives it that raspy, kind of off-key vibe. But yes, yes it was tough. We don’t get too much sleep, and for me I need sleep for my voice. Yes, I’ve had some issues. Sometimes it was good, sometimes in was in full force, but a bunch of the time you could definitely tell it was not 100%.
P. Buckley And I did want to ask about the fact that last night you just seemed to take your being voted off so good, you even kind of comforted the audience and was saying let’s not be sad about this. That was such a great attitude, usually we see tears, and I’m sure it was as emotional for you as possible. But how did you keep so optimistic in the face of that news?
P. McDonald You know it’s one of those things when I came into the whole Idol thing I had no expectations whatsoever. Like I said, I never thought about winning or anything; I literally just came in and was doing my thing. If I got kicked off months ago I would have just gone back to doing what I do normally, and it just kept surprising me how far along I got. I was like let’s don’t be sad, this is a huge thing. I’m an artist, and this has been a great opportunity; this is a killer platform for me to get out, get my original music, which that’s what I’m better at anyway. So I was just happy to be there. It was a good thing. And a bunch of the kids and the contestants they’ve been watching Idol forever and wanting to win this thing, it’s like one of their hugest dreams, so you know I was like go get it guys; you all are good, I’m okay, I’m a 26-year old man.
Moderator Well go next to Roy Trakin with Xfinity TV.
R. Trakin Yes, just to follow-up that question, Paul. Did you feel any kind of a generation gap between yourself and some of the other contestants there, because you really were at a different stage of your career than many of them?
P. McDonald Yes, yes, for sure. It was one of those things, yes, some of the kids we were 10 years apart, you know like me and Lauren Alaina, and it was really cool because I haven’t hung out with 16-year old kids in like 10 years, so it was fun. Yes, yes, that’s a good thing. But it was fun getting to hang out with them; it made me feel like I was in high school again hanging out with all those kids, and they’re really cool.
It blows my mind how professional they were. When I was that age I wasn’t thinking anything about this kind of stuff. It was fun, man, working with them. I was trying to be kind of a mentor to her, even though I got kicked off way before those guys, but I was trying to teach them how to play piano and write songs and to kind of mold themselves into an artist, not just sings songs, like kind of step them outside the box a little bit. They’re good kids, man; there are some superstars in this group.
R. Trakin One other thing, does American Idol hurt your credibility as a possible sort of indie artist in that kind of Mumford & Sons vein? I mean does it hurt your credibility with the fans of those kinds of bands or can you kind of overcome that stigma?
P. McDonald You know that was one of my main concerns whenever I tried out for the show, it was like is it worth the credibility. That’s the one thing that I’ve always wanted in my career, no matter how rich or poor, is to have respect in the music community. I think it’s good. A bunch of my friends, because we’ve toured with big acts in the past, and it’s funny for them, because all these legit bands in the music business are calling me up and being like oh dude I can’t believe you’re doing this show, and they’re watching it and stuff. They’re happy for me now; they’re like I think you dropped out right at the best point. Now let’s cut some real records and get back to doing our thing.
So I think it’s good. It’s a tough call to say that, but I think I can bridge that gap. I’m going to try to cut a great album, and if I do that that’s the main thing; if I cut a good record I think then I’ll have that respect in the music community. American Idol is great; it’s done nothing but help me.
Moderator Next we have Bill Pinella with the Santa Rosa Press Democrats.
B. Pinella Was this the first time you tried out for Idol?
P. McDonald Yes, yes, this is the first time. I never even really got into it besides back when like Ruben Studdard was on it years ago. It was kind of one of those things that I fell into; I happened to be in town and it was like five minutes down the street, and my friends convinced me to walk down there and do it. So like I said, I had no expectations of anything that’s why I’m so happy to make it this far.
B. Pinella Yes. You said you did it for fun and you didn’t really expect to win. Did you have a goal going in; did you want to make the top 10, was that the ultimate for you?
P. McDonald I literally had no, there were no goals really set in stone, because it was something that I was just doing it for fun. It had never been like my dream to win American Idol or anything like that; I was just kind of in it to have a good time. It was a once in a lifetime deal. I didn’t expect to get this far. Obviously once I got down to the top 10 or something like that I was like wow this is getting close, maybe I could do well in this thing. You know you don’t really start realizing it until it’s narrowed down. But I was just taking it one day at a time and doing my thing, and you know there are some super talented kids. And after Pia got kicked off I was like dude, what’s going on here, because she has an amazing voice, and I knew it was anybody’s game. So I was just happy to be there with that group of talented folks.
B. Pinella Like you said, before this you played to audiences of a couple hundred maybe. So after going through all this what was the best advice you received from some of the professionals that were on the show?
P. McDonald They just told me to be myself and do my thing. I showed them my old albums and stuff like that, and they were like man that’s what you need to be doing, that’s you, stay true to yourself. And the whole Idol experience has helped me so much, because getting to meet these professionals, these producers it would take years and years of touring and all kinds of stuff to even get a chance to meet these guys, so I’ve already won in that aspect. I have these producers calling me up and being like let’s cut some real albums and stuff. So it’s been good, it’s been amazing, and super humbling just to have these super pros and guys on my side.
Moderator Next is Sonya Sorich with the Ledger-Enquirer.
S. Sorich Our newspaper isn’t located too far from the Auburn Opelika area. I was just wondering if you could talk a little bit about how Auburn University and the Auburn area entertainment scene affected your music.
P. McDonald Oh man, I think I played every single music venue in the city of Auburn, Alabama, back in my day. We played bars to sorority tailgates to the business school to backyard parties; I think we played like 200 gigs a year back in those days, and we were doing original stuff and then a handful of like bar/party covers and stuff like that. That helped mold me a bunch; without that kind of stuff I wouldn’t be where I am. So Auburn, Alabama, was kind of our stomping grounds. We were playing bars all the time.
Actually, we were playing there right before I came out on Idol, man, we played a few shows down there, which was cool, because we were doing our own material and selling it out, which made me really proud. I was like all right, we have like 600 people in here and they’re singing the words to all of my own songs. So it’s kind of like my hometown, it’s been my home base for years.
S. Sorich Do you think you might make it back for a show or two even with your newfound Idol fame?
P. McDonald Yes, yes, of course, man. I love Auburn. I was actually born in Opelika, so that’s home to me, man. I hope we go back and do it, maybe we’ll play some of the small clubs or maybe we’ll get to play a bigger venue down there this time. But I’m definitely coming back.
Moderator We have a question from Jason Lipschutz with Billboard.
J. Lipschutz So you mentioned a bunch of times that you came into to this competition and that you didn’t really have any expectations, you just kind of did it and kept progressing and progressing. I was wondering what made you try out in the first place, what made you look at American Idol, you had already established yourself as an artist, and say I should try out for this thing?
P. McDonald It was one of those things like we just cut an album and spent like all of our money on it, and we were tossing it around to different labels and stuff and trying to figure it out. And we had had a manager at that time that we’d been playing frat parties and stuff to pay our bills and every once in a while we’d do a cool festival or open up on a cool little tour. But we were thinking I was like even if we get picked up by one of these labels it could still be a small artist development deal and we’d be doing these small tours and playing the bottom level kind of of the scene.
And it’s tough, man, the business is so tough, and I was like you know what man I might as well try this out. And it was also a last minute thing; our guitar player’s girlfriend at the time was on So You Think You Can Dance, and she was like go do this, man, because she’s friends with a bunch of the people from American Idol, and I was like all right I’ll do it.
I didn’t expect anything out of it, it was just one of those things that I was more concerned with my new album trying to get out there and this and that. So it ended up working out great, because this American Idol thing is about the biggest platform you can have right now. You can’t pay for press that gives you 30 million people watching you every night, so it’s helped out a bunch because my main goal was just to showcase my originality and my original music, because that’s really what I do. So it worked out good, man, I’m happy.
Moderator Unfortunately we are out of time. Paul, do you have any closing remarks?
P. McDonald No. Just thank you guys so much for all the questions. It’s been a good ride, I’m super thankful for everyone that voted for me and have supported me over the past few months. I can’t wait to put out some new material, and hopefully you guys dig my original stuff, because that’s what I’m best at.
Moderator Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for your participation and for using AT&T Executive Teleconference. You may now disconnect.