American Idol Eliminated Contestant MacKenzie Bourg took the time to chat with media about his experience on American Idol. We have a few highlights from the media conference call with MacKenzie starting off with questions from Jaime Steinberg with Starry Constellation Magazine.
Jamie- What advice were you given throughout the competition that you’ve really taken to heart and will come with you in the future?
MacKenzie- I found that my best moments on the show, whether it be “Hallelujah,” “Billie Jean,” “Roses,” or even my audition, it was always moments where I was fully myself. It was moments where I did what I do, and that’s kind of like get up there and play guitar and just me and the guitar up there. I’m taking that moving forward and knowing that it really resonates with people being able to grab an audience with just a guitar. That’s kind of what I’m looking forward to doing moving forward.
Jamie- Fans are also wondering what’s next for you and if there’s a chance you’ll be touring.
MacKenzie- Yes, there’s definitely a chance I’ll be touring. I don’t think the show’s going to do a tour, but yes, that’s definitely the plan, and to release “Roses,” the song I wrote and played on the show. That’s definitely in the plan to be the single. It’s kind of a moving ball right now trying to get that out and ready as soon as possible.
Rod Krieger with FOX 8 New Orleans-So, obviously, you have a huge following here in Louisiana. We’ve all been cheering for you and now you have this huge national platform, followers, across the nation. We’d love to see you back home at some time. But, how does the love from outside of your home—we saw the reunion last night, the love from across America, across the states—really translate to your future.
MacKenzie- Yes, absolutely. The reason why I wasn’t as bummed as I guess people would have hoped is because I get on Twitter and Instagram and all these other things and there’s so many people that—I don’t even know these people and they’re sending me nothing but love and support. Those people want me to succeed just as much as the people at home. So, it’s kind of like I figured however the competition does shape out, I would be alright wherever I ended up.
Rod- Awesome- I know a lot of the “Who dat?” fans down here want to know will we see you in the dome at some point this season.
MacKenzie -Yes, absolutely, for sure. I spoke with Harry Connick last night and we talked for a bit. I made sure to tell him that we’ll have to connect at a Saints game if he’s there.
Beth Kwiatkowski with Reality TV World- Was it a surprise to you at all that you were eliminated considering you’ve never landed in the bottom before? Like I know, Dalton seemed particularly shocked when he was declared safe, so I don’t know if he was telling you guys he thought he was going to be the one going home.
MacKenzie- No, actually, I, pretty much, I was about 98% that I was going to go home this week. After the classic rock week, the judges—the only person that really got any kind of mixed reviews was me, and the judges’ comments sway the votes a good bit. So, I kind of knew right after the show, I was pretty bummed then. I had a week to get over it and accept it and move past everything to start real life and my real career.
Beth – Got you. And, can you tell me a little bit about the two songs that you were going to sing last night? How did you feel about them? Did you connect with the lyrics? Did you feel confident in the delivery you probably would have given? And I guess, were you disappointed you didn’t get to sing them?
MacKenzie – Scott’s pick was “Rhiannon” by Fleetwood Mac. And that’s the one I was really bummed to not be able to do. I had a pretty cool arrangement for it and it really sat well on my voice. The judges’ pick was “Take Your Time” by Sam Hunt, and I wasn’t exactly into that song too much. But, I had done a version of it and it really came out alright. So, I mean, I wasn’t overly bummed about that one but I would have loved to have gotten the feedback on “Rhiannon.”
Shauna Cowden/ Yes TV Canada- You left the show so graciously and you said that you feel like you’ve already won. Can you explain a bit further about what led to that conclusion for you?
MacKenzie – Yes, as cliché—and I know a lot of people say it, but I actually meant that when I said that. There’s so many people, I mean, last night I just posted a dumb tweet like I always do, and just said retweet this if you’re in it for life with me. I think it’s close to 7,000 retweets right now, and that’s nothing to shake your head to.
Shauna -Yes, that’s amazing. Was there a piece of advice from one of the judges that really changed everything for you during this journey?
MacKenzie- I think it was when Kelly Clarkson was a mentor. She said to me it’sreally awesome that I was one of the people that you can—I know the artist I am, and I know what I want to do. I just have to do it. So, taking that, it made me more confident in who I am as an artist knowing that someone like her and someone like the three judges recognize and appreciate me as an artist. I’m on the right track.
MJ Santilli with MJ’s Big Blog-MJ I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about your song choices last week. Was the rock pick, “Want Me to Want You,” your first choice?
MacKenzie- No, it wasn’t. It was probably my fifth choice.
MJ- Okay. How did you feel about singing it? Were you just not very excited about it?
MacKenzie- Actually I felt—I wasn’t necessarily excited. I originally came in with, “You Give Love a Bad Name” by Bon Jovi, and I had a cool arrangement for it, kind of like a striped-down acoustic. And then, I came in again with, “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” which looking back I probably should have just done that, even though it wasn’t something super special. But then, it came up, Scott suggested, “I Want You to Want Me,” and the arrangement, I thought, was pretty good. I actually spoke with the producer who does our iTunes tracks, he has produced the last two Cheap Tricks albums. He said to me when I was recording, “Hallelujah” that Cheap Trick loved it and they actually told him my version was better than theirs. So, I do think that maybe if the judges weren’t so harsh on the arrangement that things might have been different. But, I’m happy with where I’m at and I couldn’t be more thankful.
MJ- You said last week was a tough week before you performed. Could you elaborate a little bit more on that?
MacKenzie-I don’t know, I felt—I don’t know the right word for it—almost picked on by the judges for that rock pick. They all kind of went at something that I couldn’t necessarily completely control. It bummed me out knowing that it wasn’t really my voice that was anything wrong it was just the arrangement with the band and all that stuff.
