'American Idol's Burnell Taylor: Amber Holcomb and I really like each other

American Idol eliminated Burnell Taylor during Thursday night's live results show broadcast on Fox, determining the twelfth season's Top 6 finalists.
 
Burnell, a 19-year-old from New Orleans, LA, became the fourth finalist sent home from American Idol's twelfth season after he received the fewest home viewer votes following Wednesday night's performance show, which featured the Top 7 finalists performing rock songs.


Burnell's elimination became official after American Idol judges Randy Jackson, Nicki Minaj, Mariah Carey, and Keith Urban announced they were not going to prevent his departure by using their one "The Judges' Save" of the season. The decision would have to be unanimous amongst the judges to utilize the special save, and in Burnell's case, the vote was not.
 
During a Friday conference call with reporters, Burnell talked about his American Idol experience. Below is the first portion of Burnell's interview. Check back with Reality TV World on Monday for more. 

What do you have planned? What will your album be like?

Burnell Taylor: My album, I want to make a captivating album. I want to make captivating music, period. And I want my album because there's only a few that you can play from the beginning to the end without no skip.

I just want to be a storyteller and I want to be as personal as I can get and, you know, just be honest. That's what the industry, I feel, is missing today. And I want to clear that lane for other people to feel comfortable to do it.


What's been your favorite part so far this season?

Burnell Taylor: My favorite part of the season was the fact that it allowed me to grow. It really allowed me to lose the weight -- there's things I never would have done if I wasn't on the show. The show motivated me to do a lot of things and I'm thankful and blessed that I was even in that position.

You entered your "save" song by kissing Amber Holcomb on the cheek. Did she know that was coming and how would you describe your relationship with her?

Burnell Taylor: I don't think she knew that was coming. I don't think anybody knew that was coming, but me and Amber, I really like Amber. She really likes me. We really like each other. And you know, we're just learning more about each other right now. We're not taking it too fast because we're both still young, so we're just taking our time. But as far as liking each other, we really like each other.

Candice Glover ended up weeping in your arms after you sang and Nicki and Mariah were both crying. How did you keep your composure through all of that, and was there ever a time off-camera when you ended up crying too?


Burnell Taylor: Actually, because I was telling them like, "Don't cry because this is not the end." Because some people started crying before I even started singing, and you know, I was like, "Don't cry."

But the reason why I cried -- I never knew how much they really cared. I mean, we all cool, we close like family. But I never knew how much they cared about me, and just to see that they were being extra genuine, it touched me. So I had to show love and break down too. (Laughs)

If we're counting Jimmy Iovine as one of the judges, which of the judges provided you with the most helpful guidance for your career and what was the best piece of advice he or she gave you?

Burnell Taylor: Anybody that had anything to do with me being on this show -- from Jimmy, Nicki, Keith, Mariah, Randy -- all of them are good mentors. That's what they're there for, to mentor us, and I appreciate all of them equally.

So like there were no ill feelings because all of them have been a part of my life and are the reason why my life will never be the same. And basically, in Hollywood Week, it was rough for me. They were telling me that I was pitchy and things like that.


So I took what they told me and did my homework and got me a vocal coach, and all the money that I had was for a vocal coach... I knew it was going to be like, "Oh this is a difference. You got it together." So that's exactly when I performed for the first time in Vegas. That's the reaction I got from them, so it was amazing.

What are you most excited for about the upcoming tour?

Burnell Taylor: I think I'm most excited about seeing things that I've never seen before, like different cities. Because for the most part, I've stayed in New Orleans like all my life. LA was the furthest I ever went, so I want to see like everybody's hometowns.

And not only that, I feel like the tour gives us an extra foundation ontop of the foundation that we already have, you know, to build our fan base and get personal with our fans and stuff like that. So I'm looking forward to everything on this tour.

During a Friday conference call with reporters, Burnell talked about his American Idol experience. Above is the first portion of Burnell's interview. Check back with Reality TV World on Monday for more. 






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski