Tim Urban, as happy as ever (I could feel his smile through the phone!) talked with reporters today via conference call.
Tim would love to do some acting as well as theater, and he was super-excited about Idol Gives back because of his experiences visiting orphanages during a mission in South Africa. And, don’t rule out a family act with some of his 9 brothers and sisters. He’d love for that to happen.
Tim, ever the positive dude, didn’t have a negative word to say about anybody except… Well. read on.
How he felt about being Vote for the Worst’s pick, “I really have no comment about that website. I’m not excited I was on their website. I think that it’s really not anything anybody should be proud of. I really didn’t like being on there and basically I was working my hardest to get off of it. I’m actually kind of sad that I was on that website.”
How he felt about the judges positive comments, “That’s actually something that was actually my goal on the show—was not just to improve as an artist, but to just to be a very good contestant, and to take what everyone was saying and not to let it get me down, but to take what they were saying and work at it and improve. But also, not to really complain or to talk back—just to take the criticisms and work from it. So it was cool to get that recognition about something I’m very proud of.”
How did he deal with the pressure of singing to millions? “I tried not to think about the millions of people watching, and tried to focus on the crowd that was in the room. The energy was so great every time you step out there to perform, that was all I was really trying to worry about, which is the audience in the room. It’s hard to connect through a camera to people back home.”
If there was one thing he wished he could of shown America, what would it be? “That’s kind of hard to say. The last couple of weeks, I kind of really showed America the kind of artist that I would be. There was a couple of weeks where I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do but then when I finally settled dowan and let myself be myself on the show, I think I really showed America the kind of artist that I want to be. Looking back, I really feel like I did what I wanted to do.”
On Simon’s change in attitude, “It was funny—I actually didn’t have a problem with Simon’s critiques. I thought he was just speaking his mind and I took that and tried to use that. It was cool that he recognized that I was working towards that stuff. That was really encouraging. We never had a problem to begin with.”
Did he get a chance to meet Carrie Underwood? “I didn’t. I actually walked right past her. When I was walking off the stage she was walking onto the stage and I walked right past her, but I was getting pulled back to start doing the after show interviews. But I didn’t actually get to meet her, which I’m really kind of sad about. I’m hoping I get the opportunity to meet her in the future.”
Will he keep wearing the necklace she gave him? (and the rest of the Top 12) “I am. I love that necklace. There’s a lot of sentimental value.”
Is he thinking music for his future, or the possibility of TV, “I would love to do music, I would love to persue that, and I’m hoping that door opens up, but I also have always had a desire to act and be in that side of the entertainment industry as well. I’m really just excited about the whole thing.”
Has he seen some of the support he’s gotten on twitter, and is he surprised? “Yeah. I haven’t seen that much of it, just because of how crazy it’s been. But the little bit that I’ve caught, it’s been so amazing to me. Because you’re kind of in this little American Idol bubble, you almost lose sight of how big the show is, it’s really incredible to see that kind of support. It’s really encouraging too.”
How does he respond to critiques who say he only remained on American Idol because of his charisma, charming smile and sexual appeal, “I don’t think I would respond to that. People like to kind of pick somebody and then find something that they don’t like about them and talk about it. And I guess that’s part of dealing with the industry, it’s part of dealing with being in the spotlight. People are gonna say that, but people are going to say that about pretty much anybody you’ll find–people who don’t like any artist out there. And so you have to deal with it, and shrug it off. I don’t perform for the people who don’t like me. I perform for the people who want me to be on stage. Those are the people I try to worry about.”
On the intense scrutiny he got on his looks, including the “shirtless” photos, “I kind of knew it would come out eventually, so, I didn’t really expect it would be as big as it was. It kind of blew up really fast . That was kind of a little crazy. I just took it in stride as part of the show. Everybody’s looking for something–looking for a backstory–it was just one of the story’s people decided to run with. So I just try not to worry about it too much.”
Did it help or hinder him? “Kind of both. I think it probably helped more than it hurt. But, I don’t really know for sure.”
Does it help deal with the pressure being around them? “It really did, because we’re all kind of going through the exact same thing, and everyone on the show wants everyone else to do really well every week. So there’s always that support. And if you get bad criticism, they’re there to back you up. To have that support was really cool.”
When he began in Idol, did he have any sort of a vision about where he wanted to end up, did he think he’d get this far in the competition? “Honestly I auditioned, I didn’t even think I’d make it past the stadium, just because of how many people were there and how few people were getting through. When I was in the stadium, I was honestly expecting them to say that I wasn’t what they were looking for. I really didn’t have any grand picture. So this whole thing has really blown me away. When I made it to Hollywood week, I was “wow, this is crazy” and then when I got sent home, I was like “ok” and then they called me back. It’s been like this really crazy roller coaster journey. “
What motivates him both in his life and music, “What motivates me is the desire to impact other people in a positive way. That’s why I have that happy outlook on life. I try to be a very encouraging person, and not let things get me down because I want that to show and I want other people when they’re around me to kind of get that feeling. I want people to be really encouraged. That’s my whole reason for playing music, I really want to touch people in a good way, and really put a smile on their face and encourage them with my music.”
What was his minset heading into Wednesday night’s results show? Was he confident? “It’s kind of those things where I knew from the judges comments that it was possible I’d be in the bottom 3. It was very possible that I could go home. I went back and watched my performance from Tuesday night and I was fine with it. I knew it was a performance that—I decided that if I did go home, I wouldn’t look back really upset about the performance. My mindset was that you never know what’s going to happen. I was excited for how far I had gotten. That I was really proud of how everything had gone up to that point. If I did go home, Idol Gives Back, being a part of that, kind of lightens the blow a little bit.”
Was it hard to wait so long for the results? (2 ½ hour show) Does he wish he had the opportunity to sing one last song? “The wait wasn’t that hard, just because it was such an awesome show. So you almost lost that it was a results show at times, just because of how amazing the performances were and how touching the videos were—it was such a great experience. For me, I almost lost sight of the fact that it was a results show. I was a little sad that I didn’t get to sing one last time on that stage, but it’s part of it, so you don’t always get what you want. I’ll get to come back for the finale and hopefully get to perform on that stage again. A little bittersweet, but overall, it’s alright.”
On “the slide” did he throw it in at the last minute? “I was just kind of goofing off in rehearsal and I was, like, “Hey, I’m going to slide” and I went and did it, and the stage manager and the producer were like “hey you should do that in the performance.” I thought it would be great, I thought it would be a lot of fun. It was a last minute joke that turned out to be something I wanted to do in the performance.”
What advice did the judges give him that he plans on taking with him? “The really good advice they had for me was to figure out who you are as an artist. Kara said to me a couple of times—that singer/songwriter avenue—which was kind of what I was doing before the show is something I should really persue. They were really encouraging to figure out where I fit in and just go for it, and not try to be some other kind of artist, and not try to fit in a circle, but just be the kind of artist that I am. It was cool to get that kind of encouragement from them.”
What will he miss most about the experience? “I’m going to miss being around the other contestants, constantly. You turn into this family. But I get to go on tour with them, so it’s OK.”
Is he looking forward to being on Letterman? “I’m still figuring out what I’m going to sing. As far as Letterman, I think he’s really funny, and I’m really excited I get to go on his show.” I think it’s going to be a lot of fun. Hopefully it will be funny and lighthearted.”
About his stage presence, “I haven’t really worked with a choreographer as far as stage presence. I’ve done some theater productions. So that kind of helped. I feel like I have stuff that I definitely am hoping to improve on and keep working towards, and I think I’ve made some good strides on the show. It’s constantly a learning process.”
Who were his closest friends among the contestants? “That’s a tough question, because we’re all around each other 24/7 and I got to know everybody individually—we’re all really close but in different ways. I got pretty close to Casey James and Big Mike because we were roommates for awhile. I also ended up getting close to Lee and Andrew—great guys that I love to death. Aaron is like a little brother to me. Siobhan she’s awesome, I love hanging out with her…Crystal. I probably spent the most time with Casey, Big Mike, Lee and Andrew, just time-wise.”
Were he and Casey James close because of their Texas backgrounds? “It was kind of cool, because I found out that we almost ran into each other—he was around the same area that I was, we just never ran into each other. So we kind of had that—we knew the same places—it was cool just to have that familiarity there and I think that’s one of the reasons we bonded. We ended up spending a lot of time together. I found out that he played at a church in my hometown, two minutes from where I live. He played a lot of clubs, and ve nues around that area.”
Why he bonded with Big Mike, “Big Mike is always trying to step up his game. Every week he’s like ‘Alright I gotta get better, I gotta push, I gotta be as good as I possibly can. Having got the save, it pushed him even more. He really wants to keep improving and keep showing America that he really is an incredibly talented artist. It’s actually cool to see him constantly stepping up his game. He and I bonded, just because he’s a really, really likeable guy. We’re both kind of easy going, so we had that in common, where we weren’t going to get too down about things, we were just going to take things as they came and roll with it. And we both really were working really hard to improve and work on our songs. We just bonded on that level. We understood each other.
Who does he think is going to win? “Honestly, I’ve been thinking about this, because I’ve been asked this question a lot, and it really is hard to say. Any moment, any week—they all have talent, they are all incredible—they could just step out there and really just blow America away and show them something incredible. For me, I really don’t’ know. I’m kind of excited to see who is going to step up and really just amaze America. I’m rooting for everyone to really step up and make this really difficult.”
What goes through his mind when the judges are critiquing him? “I thought it was funny [Ellen’s critique about moving across the stage with a knife] some of the comments they make. Because I decided that I wasn’t going to take any of it personally, and try not to take it too seriously until I had time to process it. When they make certain remarks, I find it kind of funny that they got that out of my performance. It made me smile—I hadn’t thought that you would think that about the performance. They all have opinions, and you listen to them and you’re like “alright I’ll take that” but you can’t take it too serious, otherwise it would be really hard to go out on stage. And I realized that, if I took it all really, really personally, I wouldn’t want to go out there the next week.”
What are some of the things that other contestants have said to him after his elimination? “It was really encouraging, because we’re all going to go on tour together, so it wasn’t like a really really sad time. I tried to stay upbeat, I tried to stay energetic. We just kind of had a laugh watching my recap. It was actually a really cool time, because we’re saying goodbye, but it’s not like we won’t see each other very soon. We’ll be on tour together. They were all expressing their love—it was a really cool time.”
Would he consider doing a family act? “Actually, I have thought about that, and I’ve done a little bit of that at home. My family is really musically talented. One of my younger sisters, she plays the piano and sings. She has a beautiful voice. My other younger sister, she also plays the piano and she sings a little bit as well. One of my young brother plays, a little African drum, so we’ve done small shows, we’ve done stuff like that. It would be cool, I’d love to do that. I don’t know if that’s what they want, but it’s definitely something I’d love to do in the future. “
What was the high point of the show for him? “That’s a difficult question. Every time you step out on the stage it such an amazing experience. The rush of going out on that stage will always be a high point for me. Probably the biggest high point was getting that feed back after singing the Elvis song, and seeing that I had improved and the judges were noticing that. That was really cool for me personally, just because I had been working so hard up to that point.”
How many brothers and sisters does he have, and where is he in order? “There’s five boys and five girls. I’m number 6. I’m the third boy, kind of right in the middle of everything. It’s been a really, really unique upbringing because of that. I was homeschooled as well, so we’re all really, really close. Being the middle child, you look up to your older siblings, but then you’re also looked up to by your younger—it’s a very interesting place to be. My family is really supportive and really encouraging. I’m really blessed with the family that I’ve had. That’s really shaped me. It’s probably one of the reasons I have a positive outlook. I know that that family support is there. And I know that regardless, I’ll always have that love, and that appreciation from them.”
On his religious background and how it shaped him, “My personal beliefs has really shaped every aspect of my life, I grew up in a Christian home and a set of morals, and just that upbringing, shaped me musically and shaped me as a person. It’s kind of hard to explain because it’s pretty much who I am and so it’s not just a part of my life.”
About his mission in South Africa, “I went to South Africa in Swaziland. It was last summer, or two summers ago and I was there on a relief trip taking nutritional products to some orphanages there. I was there, I believe it was, 10 days—20 some orphanages. It was a really amazing and kind of gut-wrenching experience. That was one of the reasons I was excited about Idol Gives Back because I had the opportunity to kind of experience that first hand. Being on the show and helping those situations was really cool.”
Why he smiles so much, “I think I smile because I have a really solid grounding, that I know who I am. I know that regardless of what happens around me, that will always be there. I get criticized and it’s like ‘that’s alright’, cause I still know who I am. I still am happy that I get to do what I get to do. It’ just such a blessing to here and have this opportunity, that I really couldn’t help but smile. And even when they were criticizing me, I was like “alright this is part of it.” You’ve got to enjoy as much as you possibly can. That’s just what I try to do. I didn’t want to get depressed about comments, I just decided not to let them really affect me that much.”
