The latest Season 8 contestants to advance to the Top 12 were interviewed by the press yesterday afternoon. I posted a few quotes from Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta and Kris Allen HERE.

In this interview from Entertainment Tonight, the kids namecheck their musical influences. For Kris, it’s the Beatles, Allison? Pink. And for Adam, David Bowie, of course…

For even more quotes from the press conference, read on:

Adam Lambert:

• On being a polarizing contestant, “Obviously, I’m a risk-taker. I’m not easy listening, you know? I’m not going to always be the most digestible thing for everybody across the board. I’m specific, and I kind of like to blow it out the box. And either you like it, or you don’t.”
• Idol experience vs theater experience, “You have to be on your game with the theater world. You have to be ready to go at any moment. I mean, this machine is turning real fast. So I think theater has definitely trained me to sing under any condition and just go at the drop of a hat.
• Is he hoping for a Broadway Week? “No, I hope they don’t. Not because I have anything against it, I just don’t see myself doing that as a recording artist in that way.”
• Who is his musical Hero? “I think David Bowie has been a really, really, really, really cool artist, just considering that he’s reinvented himself. He took a ton of risks, both visually, lyrically and musically. Obviously, vocally we are very different, but I think that along those other lines, we have some similarities, and someone like that is a great model for me.”
• His first theater role, “I actually was cast in a production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown when I was 10. I played the role of Linus with the blanket… I got to sing… I don’t remember the song!”
• On backstories, “I think it does make a difference. The audience can empathize with that person and they can relate to you singing a song that means a lot to you. That really evokes quite a reaction from the audience.”
• On having a “different” singing style, “I’ve been watching the show for years and I haven’t really seen anybody that I could compare myself to. I do have an advantage because it’s something different. The more individual we all are, the more chance we have at garnering a fanbase.”
• Not his favorite genre, “I’m kind of competitive and I like challenges so I don’t think range-wise there’s anything I’d be scared to attempt. There are maybe certain styles I’d want to stay way from. Country week would be a slight stretch for me, but I like all types of music and would try to sing all types of music.”
• Does he check out the internet? “I try not to dwell on it too much but I have seen things here or there and it does help. I don’t take it personally, good or bad. I try to remain objective. It’s like market research, it helps you find out what the fans think.”

Sources: MTV: Adam, Allison, Kris. Zap2it: Adam, Allison, Kris. Associated Press, Entertainment Tonight, American Idol Buzz

Allison Iraheta and Kris Allen after the JUMP…

Kris Allen:

• Was he surprised to make the Top 12? “Yeah, I was really, really shocked, because this group we had was really, really good and [had] a lot of talented people, and I felt like anybody had a shot. I felt really, really lucky to actually make it through with all those other people.”
• About his lack of screen time, “I think that went through my head maybe a little bit, but … I was just trying to stay grounded and feel like, ‘Hopefully that doesn’t matter. … I can go out there and do my thing this week on live TV, and more people are watching that than even the Hollywood stuff.’ So I think I showed myself this past week, and I think that people liked it.”
• Did Simon’s comments help him? “Um, it probably helped. I’m not gonna lie.”
• About Nick Mitchell/Normund Gentle, “He’s not mocking the show. He’s doing what he knows how to do, and that’s entertain, and he’s really, really good at it. And no one feels anything toward him. We all love him to death.”
• He’s traveled the world, (Spain, Morroco, other countries) “Just trying to help people out, just a lot of mission kind of stuff. It was through a campus ministry that I belong to.”
• About being a worship leader along with Danny Gokey and Michael Sarver, “I’ve been doing that for about six years, since college. It’s a different way to sing, but yeah, it definitely helps you. You have to go about it a different way when you’re actually performing but it helps a lot.”
• Is he a ladies man? “No, not really. I’ve been with the same woman for seven years … I’m just going to try to be myself and if girls like it, great. Hopefully, guys like it too.”
• His musical style, “I think a lot of acoustic, soul-type music.”
• About singing “Man in the Mirror” without a guitar, “I felt like I picked a song with energy to it, so I felt I didn’t need the guitar. You could kind of dance around, get into it. It was a lot of practicing in the room, by yourself, making sure you don’t look like an idiot on stage in front of a million people.”
• How did he connect with the voters? “I went out there and I did my song, and I try to really feel the songs. And that song has a lot of meaning to it. I think that, hopefully, that came across and people noticed that.”

Allison Iraheta:

• About Simon’s comment that she had a dull personality, “He doesn’t know me, because he said I was boring. Honestly, I’m not. I guess I was nervous a little. Who isn’t gonna be nervous before they sing for the first time? I guess I’ll just chill a little bit more, because the nerves got me.”
• About being compared to Kelly Clarkson, “I have to take that compliment, because that’s a big one. It’s Kelly Clarkson! She’s amazing. And I really admire her a lot, so I thought that was pretty great.”
• Her genre, “I’m really trying to go down one lane of, I guess, rockish pop. Something that can really show my style”
• What’s on her Ipod right now? “Kings of Leon”
• The first album she ever bought, “Queen Vol I and II Greatest Hits dual CD”
• About being the youngest on the show, “I think it doesn’t matter what the age is, or if I’m the youngest, or whatev. I think it comes down to the same thing. We’re all here for the same thing. It depends on how much we want it and how much we prepare.”

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