Q&A with Mike Krompass (writer of ALTNOY & SOT)
Today, Snarkies had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Mike Krompass, who both cowrote and produced A Little Too Not Over You and Somebody Out There. Mike was amazing and answered pretty much all my 3-pages of questions before I even asked them — he’s that good. He talked to me for almost an hour and I bet I still have a billion questions that escaped me in the awesomeness of it all — and he’s so cool, he said I can bug him again if I need to. Mike Krompass, thank you! To check out more of his music, visit his MySpace.
Mike offered some tantalizing glimpses into the recording process — like the two songs that didn’t jive with Jive and are now being shopped around — demos that DAVID recorded; how David hums and mumbles the melody; how Mike snacks more than David and how there are always Cokes or something around in the studio; how the process was so whirlwind because they only had two weeks before the songs were due and how Mike had to jump between recording studios because there wasn’t time to do it all in his studio in Nashville; how sometimes they were up till 2 a.m.; how the process was organic and totally collaborative and first credits, at least in this case, are a myth as they all put bits of themselves in the songs; how David and Robbie Nevil did the “eh eh oh oh” intro to ALTNOY to add a more radio feel; how David is a pro, the real deal, and overly humble; how he worked with David on a demo when David was just 12, fresh out of Star Search, and how that “cute little Mormon kid” needed these years to find out who he is as an artist; how he recorded ALTNOY on the same mic and set-up as Jordin Sparks recorded One Step at a Time and how jazzed David was to find that out; how David’s a jukebox — and yeah, there’s a lot more.
More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…
Acoustical Holiday Concert is a Success
It was an intimate acoustical evening, where three country music artists showcased their talents in spirit of the holiday season. Country hit singer Josh Gracin, American Idol’s Phil Stacey and upcoming artist Amy Scruggs graced the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center stage at College of the Canyons in a COC Presents production in association with Go Country 105. Adam Philipson, Managing Director of the Performing Arts Center said, “We couldn’t be happier with the Go Country 105 partnership. Josh and Phil and special guest Amy Scruggs were incredible and everyone had a great time.†The theater was full of enthusiastic country fans, most of which were local residents. The host of the event, popular Go Country air staff, Shawn Parr, said that 90 percent of the people who attended lived within ten minutes from the venue.
American Idol Finalist Gina Glocksen Shows Off Wedding Photo
American Idol pop rocker Gina Glocksen got glam to marry her musician beau, Joe Ruzicka, in the Chicago-area on New Year’s Eve. Check out their wedding photo, left.
The pair didn’t totally ditch their rock-star looks though; they both accessorized with bright red hair streaks!
We Should Probably Talk About This Kelly Clarkson Cover
The cover from Kelly Clarkson’s “comeback” single was discussed a bit in the comments for yesterday’s 2009 predictions post, but I figured it deserved a thread of its own, since reactions have been pretty polarizing. Is it a sign that Kelly is really, really being punished for the flop of My December by being forced into a Katy Perry-like makeover, complete with crappy oral sex jokes (note the lollipop)? Is the title “ironic”? (I’d guess the answer to that one is “probably.”) Where do you find a font that has a “K” with a devil tail? What does this mean for the pyro-to-vocals ratio of her inevitable American Idol appearance? (Also, what’s that shade of lipstick she’s wearing? I think it would look pretty good on me, to be honest.)
A giant of Idol Nation moves on
The dean of “American Idol” journalism, Ken Barnes, announced yesterday that he is leaving USA Today and its blog Idol Chatter. Hard as it may be to imagine, when “American Idol” debuted it was virtually ignored by the media, mainstream or otherwise. Ken was one of the first to look seriously at the show and to cover it. His blog has been one of the prime watering holes for Idol Nation, his weekly comprehensive analysis of Idol album sales invaluable.
What to Watch: 10 Most Exciting Winter TV Premieres
Winter TV starts next week, and there’s such an embarrassment of riches this season that it’s hard to know where to start. Lucky for you, we’ve got a countdown of the top 10 winter series most worth your attention. Is your favorite show included? Find out…
9. American Idol (Jan. 13): American Idol is America’s favorite television series, and it’s back for season eight with a new full-time judge Kara DioGuardi. Producers are promising fewer goofball auditions this year (although some fans think that’s the best part) and a renewed focus on the art of music.
My top 10 predictions for season eight of American Idol
With the American Idol ads airing right and left, there’s no denying that it’s comin’ and comin’ in hot! In honor of this auspicious debut, I thought I’d dabble in Letterman’s territory and celebrate with a Top 10 list. I like to project what’s going to happen each season, so I present to you the:
TOP 10 PREDICTIONS FOR SEASON EIGHT OF AMERICAN IDOL…
Mormon of the Year: Blog’s nominations spark a lively debate
Taking a cue from Time magazine and other news organizations, an LDS blog is asking participants to name the “Mormon of the Year.”
Larsen suggested five high-profile members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, Twilight author Stephenie Meyer, Jet Blue founder David Neeleman and pop singer David Archuleta.
Win big for Lewisville girl, bigger for African children
LEWISVILLE - Thanks to Anna LaVenture, 178 children in Africa will be sleeping under mosquito nets designed to protect them from malaria.
And thanks to the $890 that Anna, 11, raised to buy nets for those children, Anna and her mother, Suzanne, have tickets to the American Idol finale in Los Angeles in May.
Anna, a sixth-grader at Paisley Middle School, is the national winner of “Save the World Summer,” a contest that invited children ages 8 to 14 to come up with summer projects to raise money to fight malaria.
The contest was sponsored by the nonprofit organization Malaria No More and Brooke White, a 2008 contestant on American Idol.American Idol provided the tickets for the winner.
INTERVIEW: MICHAEL FLATLEY, NIGEL LYTHGOE BRING INTERNATIONAL “DANCE” TO NBC
Who else but producer Nigel Lythgoe could bring together eight counties to compete in a dance competition and corral one of the most popular dancers in the world to serve as host? In Lythgoe’s latest project, there is no audience voting, no celebrity contestants and no amateurs learning the tango. However, “Superstars of Dance” does have a roster of international professional dancers and Irish step dancer, flautist and choreographer Michael Flatley serving as host. Lythgoe and Flatley sat down to explain the new NBC series and how the show differs from the other dance shows on the landscape today.
Snarkies has part two up also now with the interview with Mike Krompass(co-writer of ALTNOY and Somebody Out There)
the whole thing is transcribed here:
http://www.snarkyarchies.com/2009/01/interview-with-mike-krompass-writer-of.html
heres a 13 minute segment mp3 from the interview:
http://www.mediafire.com/?wmw2yjoyzzc
Its a really interesting and neat interview, kinda gives you soem insight on how the stuff works and how it is working with David etc etc.
Well worth the read!
American Idol Secrets From Simon Cowell: Kelly Clarkson and Kara DioGuardi
http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272624431.shtml
I really hated that bikini bimbo made it to Hollywood. I know (and can begrudgingly live with) the fact that they do some ugly stuff for auditions. I was always under the impression, however, that those who made it to Hollywood had at least a modicum of talent. That really burst my bubble.
They put a guy through to Hollywood a couple of seasons ago (Crazy Dave?) who was all zany and stuff, but had absolutely no talent. He was cut pretty quickly.
The producers have stated over and over again that they’re out to make good TV. That some contestants are advanced for reasons other than their singing ability is part of that.
I guess it’s questionable whether it makes good TV or not. Some people love it but me not so much. I especially don’t love it when there’s questions about their sanity or capacity. But I do know there are people out there who only watch Idol for the horrible auditions…
frogcooke, thanks for that snarkies interview, I finally got a chance to read it…It’s pretty good, so I moved it to the top of the article list….
Ok I loved this in the Snarkies interview..
But David suggested so many…. Every time we’d play a part, he’d sing a great little thing. Like I think, there’s a melody in the second verse that’s a little bit different than the first verse. A little change on it. And that was entirely David. That was his. He came up with that thing and we all went, “Wow, that’s really cool, we gotta keep that in there.”
^^ He is so much more than what he is credited for in the public perception.
Also this made me feel sorry for both David’s.. they had it rough during tour:
I’d be working on the track, putting the track together, and he’d be off at…wherever, someone else who’s working on the record, at their place doing vocals for a song. And then he’d come in after that session and do vocals on one of our songs. The poor kid was so tired –- you know, sometimes we were recording at 2 in the morning.
^^ I don’t know how he managed to sound so great during the tour
The Jordin thing was really cute too!
I’m kind of the opposite—I can’t stand the audition episodes. I tried watching the reruns on Fox Reality Channel and still couldn’t make it through. I find the okay ones boring, the deluded ones depressing, etc.
I’ll give it another try this season, with the promised edits to the auditions plus my interest in seeing the new judge. But I would not be at all surprised if I can’t make it through those episodes.
There’s no current thread to comment on the season seven replay being shown on Fox Reality, so if you want to waste sixty seconds of your life, here are some observations that I was struck with this time around:
1. David Archuleta forgot his lyrics during his audition. I wonder if that will become a recurring theme….
2. Josiah Leming still can’t sing.
3. Carly Smithson and Syesha Mercado definitely CAN. I always knew they were great singers, but I don’t think I realized quite how incredible singers they are.
4. Just about EVERYBODY who has one to hock, hocks their sob story to introduce themselves. That makes the fact that David Cook declined to tell us all about his brother even more impressive.
5. Brooke White lost the words and stopped-and-started in the middle of a line of her performance in Hollywood. I wonder if that will become a recurring theme….
6. Why did so many people sing “Everything I Do” in Hollywood? I know their was a clip of a mass rehearsal of the song, but the knoller in me wonders if contestants seen as potential fodder were given that song to sing, while the “chosen ones” got to select a more individualized one to perform.
7. Robbie Carrico’s performance of the Bryan Adam song was better than David Cook’s. I’m guessing Cook’s unshown performance of “I’ll Be” was what secured him his spot in the top 24.
8. Jason Castro looks confused. I wonder if that will become a recurring theme….
9. Did Cook and Carly eat blue freeze pops before they sang in Hollywood? Seriously, look at their tongues while they’re singing!
10. Josiah Leming still can’t sing. Also, yet another reason, he’s a d-bag is that at one point he can be heard blubbering, “This is everything I’ve ever wanted….” but later turned around and called the show “glorified karaoke” after they axed him. Hey, Worsters, don’t forget to watch that first clip as you champion him as your anti-hero.
11. Speaking of irritating contestants who VFTW champions because they decide they’re too good for a show that they themselves decided to try out for, Amanda Overmeyer actually started out likeable. And not drunk.
12. Quite a few extremely talented singers were cut, so fodder could be put through to the top 24 in order to become… fodder.
13. Watch the cutaways to David Cook after Michael Johns finishes performing Bohemian Rhapsody in Hollywood. He looks like nothing so much as Mike’s enthusiastically supportive boyfriend. Seriously, Dave, the clapping up above the shoulders, on one side of your head? Perhaps the ’shippers were on to something after all….
14. Looking back it should have been obvious that everyone extremely overrated Ramiele all along.
15. I figured out what the deal is with Kristy Lee Cook. If you give her the EXACT right song to sing, like Amazing Grace or, later on Martina McBride’s “Anyway”, she sounds outstanding. On anything else, she’s middling.
16. However, middling or not, Kristy wins the top twelve girls individual dance intro segment hands down. And that wasn’t country-dancing either.
17. …. (Sorry, there is no #17. I’m just still distracted after watching KLC move like that…)
18. Luke Menard still looks like Justin Timberlake.
19. “I Am Your Brother” may be the best song ever.
20. Because I’m a sadistic son of a bitch, I was amused by the many hysterical breakdowns of contestants who didn’t make it past Hollywood. But, I couldn’t help but think that several of the ones who did do extremely well wouldn’t have reacted badly if they got cut at all.
Cook would have said “Ok, cool, whatever.” And then he and MJ would have went to a bar.
Archie would have replied, “Oh, um, ok. Gosh, um, thank you, um, gee, yeah, thanks….”
Castro would have been like, “What?”
Heh. I totally remember thinking, “Is this Daughtry wannabe gay?” (I was, er, not a fan of David’s at all until Hello)
I haven’t tortured myself with rewatching the auditions or Hollywood. I do remember that only 2 auditions really impressed me last year (Josiah and MJ). Josiah was booted and MJ never really impressed me again after his initial audition. I don’t even remember any standouts from Hollywood (other than maybe Grace Kelly) and remember being perplexed at the love for MJs classic rock karaoke stuff.
Gee, noctem, your observations actually have me regretting the fact that I can’t see it all again!
Menard looks like Orlando Bloom
Interesting that we never saw (or did I miss them?) - Menard, Yeager, Healy, Castro at all.
Hadn’t seen the Hollywood round before, Josiah Leming stunk. Can not believe that they immediately didn’t axe him after that horrific 2nd performance.
The blue tongues are throat lozengers they use, that incidently turn your tongue blue ;)
I noticed that. LOL.
I also noticed that they cut away to him after MJ’s Hollywood performance of “Light My Fire” as well - which makes the knollish side of me think that TPTB were already closely following that bromance and is possibly another reason DC made it into the top 24. But of course, that’s just the knollish side of me. :)
The interview is really good, and now I´m dying to hear Gravity Zero and Fighting For You, BUT I WANT THEM SINGING BY DAVID THANKYOUVERYMUCH….
Crazy isn´t it… I hope he is taking this down time to watch for his health and spend some deserve it quality time with his family and friends…
Yes, they are adorable, JIVE i want a duet like now please…
Hee, make it a bit more knollish. I think I read somewhere that Nigel loved the 4 Horsemen.
noctem said:
I wonder if that will become a recurring theme….
I was watching late last night and could not keep my eyes off their tongues!
“The blue tongues are throat lozengers they use, that incidently turn your tongue blue ;)”
Good to know … my best guess was lollipops.
Seriously, hi def / big tvs do favors for very few people.
eta: sorry frogcooke, I thought I block quoted you too…
I did watch the Hollywood episodes—I had missed most of the performance episode from Hollywood. Most of the storylines that you saw from the Top 12 were already there, with the exception of MJ’s (who, as I’d seen folks say, really did peak during Hollywood), Amanda’s (ditto), and David H (we didn’t know about the stripper thing yet). The fact that Jason was going to have such musical highlights was obviously not out there, as we did not hear him sing a note, but the fact that he could catch your eye and also seemed pretty chilled was there.
Taylor to sing Anthem at Vikings game
At least I was told he is going to. Game is at 4:30 ET Sunday on Fox. Its a wild card game so they might show the anthem but not sure.
– according to a quote from Wes (Bill Will’s cousin) over @ soulthing.net
noctem, thanks for that list. Great and hilarious observations. I love getting to hear everyone’s thoughts about season 7 with these reruns! Interesting about Nigel loving the 4 horsemen… and all the other knollish stuff. Keep ‘em coming– these insights and the 20/20 hindsight, I mean.
I hated seeing the fodder in the top 24. If only we could have had people like Brandon Green, Colton Swon and Cardin McKinney in there instead, it would have been much more exciting.
Carly Smithson Blogged Today on her Personal MySpace About Meeting with Kids at the Children’s Hospital in Charleston, SC (she mentioned this is her last blog) :
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Back to work in Los Angeles
Hey All
So I just wanted to start by saying a big THANK YOU !!!! To my girls at Carlysangeles.net . I got back to the tattoo shop yesterday to find an amazing christmas gift of Ms. Monroe . I love her so much . She is such an icon and you guys once again know me so well . I will hang her on my wall for inspiration :-)
It was so nice to get a break and let my head be empty for a few days . Charleston is such a beautiful city and it killed us to leave .
My brother in law (after six pints of blood) is doing great and returned home before we left for LA so we got to spend some time with him .
It was amazing to visit the Children in MUSC . I didn’t post pictures cause I want to respect the privacy of the kids . We all met in the toy room and hung out together for a bit . I sang for all the kids with my niece and nephew and then took pictures with them after . There were a few that were too weak to leave their rooms so we took a tour with the staff and made sure we got to wish them all Merry Christmas . One little girl broke my heart though . She waited to see me all morning and when I got to her room she had been in too much pain that the doctors gave her morphine . It put her into a deep sleep so her mom asked me to sit beside her and get a photo so she knew we didn’t forget her .
So back to work now after a rocky Christmas but an awesome one too . I’m so excited this week cause I am finally selling my car and buying a new one . As much as I love my car she has served me well and it is time to move on .
Once again hope you all had a great holiday . Much love !!
Carly xx
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=20436860&blogID=461206992
Yes, exactly. I totally agree. At least I’m not alone…lol.
According to rumors Archie will be appearing in MADE by MTv this January 10th at 12pm….
Looks like Archie and his dad enjoyed some football tonight — my bf spotted them in the stands at the San Diego/Indy game :)
Taylor Hicks may sing The NA at the wildcard Vikings/Eagles game——————–not know if info is right or not. If true really do not know if it will be shown.
There are a few of us out here, lol. Add me too.
ALTNOY is destined to be another smash by David! When it’s all said and done he will have the 3 most successful singles of any idol from last season. His voice is literally on another level. Go Arch!
Wow, I respect this so Much! Nice blog amy123, thanks. I wish all the best to Carly!
(Hypothetically assuming that’s true for a moment…)
Out of a grand total of two Idols from last season who will actually get to release singles? What an incredibly deep field of competition for him to rise above….
I am definitely enjoying the AI rerun thing that Fox Reality is doing. Query: has there ever been a contestant who looked like he (or she) was enjoying the group performances more than Luke Menard?
ITA just from watching the vids on utube. He also was very into other idol performances from what I saw. (At least dc’s, hee.) Now, it’ really time for bed. GN.
I just recently found this… Seventeen Magazine asked David, “If you could take any celebrity to the prom, who would it be?”
David’s reply: “I’d have to say Jordin [Sparks]. She’s just really cool. But she’s so tall — especially in heels!”
Celeste, maybe you’re right after all. There may be sumpin’ sumpin’ going on between those two.
^I have read that beforeO Ozarka, I really think Archie has something going on for Jordin…but Jordin said a long time ago she has a crush on Chris Brown (bleh)… I´m guessing this will be the first time his little heart will break… oh the TEENAGE DRAMA!!!!!
Boy likes football,so I hope he HAD fun…Thankyou for reporting …
I don’t think David has a thing for Jordin — I think he admires her as a person and a singer. I believe he’ll keep his first romance between himself and the girl until the relationship is thriving. I love that about him.
And yes, I could be wrong. But I don’t think I am in this case.
Well, Jordin is an evangelical Christian, and David is Mormon. Their religious differences alone would probably keep them from seriously dating.
And oh yeah, the fact that she towers over him in heels. LOL.
Maybe he’s watched the path she’s forged since Idol, and really admires her talent and the way she’s handled fame.
Plus–and I’ve met her–Jordin is as cute and as bubbly as could be. Her personality is pretty infectious.
Since they are on the same label, wouldn’t be surprised at all if they worked together somewhere down the road.
^-_-U Iwas kidding I have shipped Archie with everybody, even Lady Gaga and Shawn Johnson…
That depends of them, I´m not saying they are dating but sometimes religion can be overlook in love matters, my brother and our family are catholic and my sister in law is evangelical Christian…
I´m about 4´7 , I´totally don´t get why a person so tall will wear heels lol (note: yes this is me for the first time in like ten years complainig about my heigh)… oh well I guess I get what Archie feels…
LOL. I know. But you aren’t the only one shipping them…not just here, but around the net…
I think Jordin is a safe go-to answer for Archie when people ask him those silly questions. She’s a friend, he seems to like and admire her, and he probably knows that she’s smart enough not to think that he actually has a crush on her. And rumors about the two of them together are less likely to take hold than those of other celebrities he might choose to name. It’s good strategy.
ETA: not that I don’t think he would actually like to take her to the prom … lol … I’m sure she would be a very fun date.
I could be wrong, but I think Archie might have a little teeny bit of a crush on Jordin (although he would never admit it publicly if it’s true). I’ve thought so for a while. She’s a fun, sweet, beautiful girl with a bubbly personality and strong morals. What’s not to like? I agree with MJ in that I don’t know if I can see those two seriously dating, but maybe casually. If he were to ever want to date someone in the public eye, I think it would be her (even with the height/religious differences) as opposed to some of the other young female celebrity names that get tossed out frequently. Not saying that anything like that is going to happen, but just that I think he has a connection with Jordin that I don’t think he has with some of the other celebrity girls that people want to pair him with. I just think they’re really good friends.
I… honestly can’t fathom “shipping” Archie with anyone. But that’s just me.
In some ways he is mature well beyond his years, but in the romantic sense? It’s enough that I know he’s never been on a date or had a first kiss, my mind can’t go there.
Considering how sheltered his life prior to Idol seems to be (and I’m not a fan, so maybe I got the wrong overall impression?), I do hope that he gets to spend as much time as possible just doing the normal teenage stuff and getting to experience some of those life-changing events like falling in love for the first time, without his budding career pushing it all years into the future.
Being a fan and having read articles about him, I think his life between Star Search and Idol was pretty normal for a teenager. However, I absolutely agree with what you are saying here. I hope the same for him.
I don´t think his life have being sheltered, in a previous thread, we posted facts about how is a custom for Mormon kids to not date before 16, and after 16 you are recomended to date in “groups”… I didn´t know this was something that has to do with his religion until a coworker who is Mormon explainend to me,so is not weird that more people don´t know about this and think that David is being overprotected, when is actually something really normalfor kids that share his religioum…
I didn´t see this posted last week but since we are in the subject of “shipping” David it is the subject, in this month Seventeen Magazine, David talks about David, maybe is just me but he sounds really mature in the subject. Here is the transcript of the interview and here is the scan
ETA: I know some peopple don´t like to overanalize DA every sentence, but I have notice a progression in his point of view, first he was “inmature in the dating subject”, them he was “waiting to know more a person”, and now “he is waiting for the right moment”… lol anyway my matchmaking hear is having fun…
Speaking of a David and Jordan, this site talks about Jordan recording her sophomore album now…and a few collaborations, including David.
Her album is to be released sometime this summer.
I don’t know how reliable this is, (notice the word “sophomore” is misspelled in the article…lol ) but I think it would be cool to hear them do a song together!!!
That’s wonderful news, Rockfan! Thanks.
Jordin starts recording her 2nd album this week .this from a video post she made last night.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiWO2uSHev8
Jordin performed No Air with the Jonas Brothers at their concert last night which she mentioned in the other video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT0J-OKOIRc