Amanda Not Rocked by Exit: "I Had a Different Agenda"
Former American Idol hopeful Amanda Overmyer by Frank Micelotta/Fox
If you're looking for
Amanda Overmyer to sing a sad song over her elimination from
American Idol, get in line with the patient bunch waiting for the gal to serve up a power ballad. Speaking to reporters the day after her dismissal, Amanda acknowledged that
Idol "benefits anybody with any kind of distinction because it gives us that platform to start from and get... the biggest exposure we could ever get." But when it comes to making a legit run for the crown, "You have to look at the demographics of the voters and the people watching
American Idol versus the demographics of your particular genre. I know that I target an older audience and a different audience maybe than
American Idol provides."
Still, Amanda was thrilled to see the support she got from those who
did stand by her. "With someone like me, who is completely different [and] cut out of a different mold from everyone else in the competition, I found that very warming," she said.
So, why
didn't the rocker nurse zig when the judges urged her to zag and deviate from her hardcore wheelhouse? "I wanted to be respectful and listen [to Simon, Paula and Randy], but the comments weren't going to sway me one way or the other as far as what I was going to do," she said. "The objective of being on this show was to go out there and show America
me, perform like
me, look like
me and see how it would take. The comments from the judges were based on the idea of trying to win, and I had a different agenda."
What's her agenda now that she's out of the race? "I'll give [a music career] maybe a good six months, and if nothing happens I'm going to go back and continue on the career path I started.... Success, to me, is a strong, healthy family and success in whatever job that you do. If this is just 15 minutes of fame, I'm not going to chase it my whole life trying to get it back. I'll take it for what it is and move on. But hopefully it's not."
And in case you were wondering what Amanda had on tap had she made
Idol's top 10 and had to choose a song from the year she was born? Her pick was going to be "On the Dark Side," from the movie
Eddie and the Cruisers. -
Matt Mitovich
