'American Idol' eliminee Daniel Seavey: This show was a really scary transition for me

American Idol eliminated Daniel Seavey and determined its Top 8 artists during the fourth live show of its fourteenth season Wednesday night on Fox. 
 
Daniel, a 15-year-old student from Portland, OR, was in the bottom two with Rayvon Owen, a 23-year-old singer and vocal coach from Richmond, VA, based on the nationwide vote following last week's performance show.


Daniel and Rayvon were therefore each asked to sing a song by Kelly Clarkson, who served as this week's mentor, and then America tweeted in real time to save one of them in a new twist called "Idol Fan Save." Daniel, who was suffering from Laryngitis, performed "Breakaway" and unfortunately got sent home.

During a Thursday conference call with reporters, Daniel talked about his American Idol experience. Below is the first half. Check back with Reality TV World soon for the concluding portion.

Reality TV World: Were you surprised to be eliminated?

Daniel Seavey: At the point when it was me, Rayvon and Clark Beckham sitting, I looked over and I knew Rayvon's song was amazing. I also knew Clark's song was amazing. And so, I kind of knew at that moment.


I was like, "I think I'm going home." But I was okay with it because I get to go home. I mean, it's a great experience, but it is super tiring. And so, once you know you're going home, it's kind of like, "Okay, I'm going to go home and I get to sleep. I get to get my life back." And so, I was okay with it.

Reality TV World: With having a singing career comes big fans and also a lot of haters. What would you say to the people right now who are claiming you only made it this far in the competition because you're adorable?

Daniel Seavey: You know, I mean, I really don't know how to respond exactly to that. It might be true; It might not be. But I just had fun with the experience and I'm so thankful for it -- however I got this experience. But I do want to be able to prove that I am an artist, you know, and I can sell music.

And so, I think that's my next step, is to start writing music and putting it out there to show the world that I'm not just a cute kid.

Reality TV World: What do you think about the new "Idol Fan Save?" Do you think it's more or less brutal than "The Judges' Save?" Because with this new twist, your directly up against someone else, whereas when you sing for the judges' save, your only competition is yourself.


Daniel Seavey: Mhmm. You know, I think the fans' save is a good idea because it gives both of the [bottom two], you know, a second chance to prove themselves. It also gives America the chance to show who they really like, you know? But I mean, it needs a little work. But it was a good start to a good idea.

Reality TV World: I can imagine this competition had to be a little overwhelming for you at times considering your only 15-years-old. Was it especially hard for you to deal with the judges' criticism given your age and was it tough to find yourself on the show?

Daniel Seavey: Actually, I think the judges' criticism was kind of great because you don't get the opportunity to have Harry Connick Jr. -- or someone like that -- tell you how to improve. And so, any criticism to me was just to help us make us better. So I loved when we had the chance to be told how to improve.

Reality TV World: How bad was your Laryngitis going into last night's show? Did doctors or anyone recommend you sit out your performance to rest your vocal cords?

Daniel Seavey: Yeah. So I didn't do interviews after the show last night because of it actually. And then the doctor gave me some steroid pills to tone it down because there wasn't much else we could do. And so, yeah, they masked it for the show as much as they could, but there wasn't much we could do about it.


How are you feeling today?

Daniel Seavey: I'm exhausted of course, but I feel great. I'm going home and will be able to see all my friends. And the Laryngitis is still there, but I mean, it's not as bad as it was a couple of days ago. So it's slowly going away, but yeah, I'm just excited to be able to go home.

What's the first thing you're going to do once you get home?

Daniel Seavey: Well, apparently half of my school is waiting at the airport tonight for me. And so, I'm going to get to see all my friends, which will be awesome, and then I'm going to sleep for about 10 years.

Taking on a Kelly Clarkson song is a tall order. How did you feel going into that theme and why did you choose "Breakaway."


Daniel Seavey: Kelly Clarkson is an amazing vocalist. She has the range of an angel, and it's hard to find a song of hers that I could sing because she just has this amazing range and I feel like you need to show that in your song. I chose "Breakaway" just because the lyrics fit so perfectly with this whole experience.

I even grew up in a small town when the rain was falling down. It was just so funny how perfect it all fit. And so, I thought, "Yeah, this is a great song."

And I loved the song before the show, and so when we had to sing one of her songs, I listened to it and thought I would try it out. And once the Laryngitis kicked in, it kind of took away from my range, I feel like, but I'm still happy with my performance.

How did you enjoy working with Kelly Clarkson?

Daniel Seavey: I loved working with Kelly. She was probably the most genuine star I've ever met in my life, because I think she really knew what we were going through. And so, yeah, she was awesome. She was so nice.


What was the best advice Kelly Clarkson gave you?

Daniel Seavey: I think the best advice she gave to me was just to kind of breathe and get comfortable before performing, because it is really intimidating going from playing on the streets in Portland to the biggest stage in the world practically, you know? So that was a really scary transition for me.

But yeah, she gave me really good advice just saying, "If you're still in it, that means people like you and they're listening to you. So if they're voting for you, they like your sound. So there's nothing to be nervous about." That was actually off-camera, which was awesome too. She was just nice off and on the camera.

What do you think you learned about yourself in this experience?

Daniel Seavey: I think I learned about myself that I could really do music for the rest of my life and I have a lot of room to grow. Because when I came into it, I wasn't coming into it to grow. I just wanted to make Hollywood Week and get on TV. (Laughs) But how much I've grown just from this six-month experience kind of excites me -- to think where I'll be a couple years from now.

How did it help you having your pastor dad on the road with you throughout the process?


Daniel Seavey: I loved having my parents with me on this whole journey because everybody else, all the adults, they all wished they had family there. It's a huge homesick issue when you're there, and so, having my parents here really helped that.

Also, having my dad be a pastor, I was able to stay humble a lot more having them slap the back of my head if I started thinking about myself too much. Yeah, I mean, they helped me a lot through this to stay humble.

Tell us three things about yourself that your fans don't know but would like to.

Daniel Seavey: I love architecture, like building stuff. Hmm. I haven't thought about this... My favorite color is like a teal blue, like, almost a greenish blue. I love that color. And I think I express myself the most through my hairstyles and my shoes.

Tell us about how the experience was a little overwhelming for you.

Daniel Seavey: Of course I felt like it was overwhelming because, again, I came from the streets in Portland once a month. So it was the most insane transition, going from that to this big of a stage and this grand of a show. So, that was always intimidating, but I feel like I was just starting to get past that and really find myself in these last performances, so yeah.


Check back with Reality TV World soon for the concluding portion of Daniel Seavey's interview with reporters.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski