Video: Harry Connick Jr.’s Big “Idol” Surprise:
Harry Connick Jr.’s addition to American Idol 2014 has been an exciting change for the series and one we’ve enjoyed immensely, but how has the experience been for him? FOX Audio Central caught up with the new Idol judge after last week’s results show to get this thoughts on the journey so far.
FOX Audio Central asked Harry how judging American Idol may have changed his perspective on performing for an audience:
“No, it is, man, because I haven’t spent this much time in a musical venue not performing ever. Like I just don’t sit around and I don’t do that. I’m usually the guy on the stage.
So to every week, be put in a position to analyze and to judge is different and it does start to give you information that you don’t normally think about when you’re constantly in front of the audience. So to be a judge, it’s a cool experience.”
It was a long time coming for us to see Harry behind that panel as more than just a weekly mentor, but we’re glad he’s there!
And what about his developing reputation as being too harsh on the young artists? Harry says the challenge for him is to boil everything he needs to tell them in to just a few quick soundbites:
The tough part is to articulate it in about 30 seconds because it is a television show and a lot of the people watching may not know some of the technical terms, so to pick a term, explain what that means in a short amount of time is a little bit difficult to do so I try not to do that too much.
As for the harsh part, Harry doesn’t think that’s the case and everything he says is to help the artists:
I mean people are passionate about what they do. Passion is a huge part of it, but I’ve always been of the belief that passion and education are not mutually exclusive. Like all being aware of your craft is going to do is make you better suited to present the information. Passion means learning everything you can about what you love. Some people subscribe to that. Some people don’t. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is you do what you do.
What do you think of Harry Connick Jr. as a judge on American Idol? Do you hope he’ll be back again next season?
Source: FOX Audio Central