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| Katie Stevens and Andrew Garcia talk ‘Idol’ at the ‘Dream’ house Posted: 19 Apr 2010 12:15 AM PDT
As has become a Friday tradition, we spent the evening having dinner with the week's eliminated "American Idol" contestant at the "If I Can Dream" house. Only on this go-round, there were two of them. Katie Stevens and Andrew Garcia joined the Dreamers, which now include former Top 24 contender Alex Lambert, for taco night, filling them in on "Idol's" early mornings and jam-packed days, which were especially rough on 17-year-old Katie, who had to attend school at the same time. We all learned a lot about the process (like how individual contestants get only 15 minutes with the mentor!), and about these hopefuls, who've survived every form of critique — good and bad — in their two-plus months of competition. Katie revealed that she went up to Simon Cowell after her Elvis-week performance to say, "Sorry if I was being annoying." His response? "It wasn't you; it was the song." You have to admire Katie's tenacity, something that didn't always come through on the show — and didn't get her to pick up an acoustic guitar, which she also handles quite well. "I was too scared to mess up," Katie said of opting not to play one on the show (bringing to mind one theory bandied about: Lose the guitar and you'll also lose the judges' confidence and the viewers' votes). That will change on tour, added the Middlebury, Conn., native who taught herself to play the six-string and piano. "I'm gonna play 'Let It Be,' on tour," she said. Katie has other talents as well: like reciting the movie "Dumb and Dumber" from beginning to end and drawing, though her version of a dinosaur on our "La-La Land" questionnaire had us wondering about the story behind it. "During Top 24, I drew animal representations of all the contestants," she explained (Aaron Kelly was a porcupine, Crystal Bowersox a shaggy dog, Michael Lynch a teddy bear, Alex Lambert a meerkat). "So I thought I'd just draw you a cartoon for fun." Something Katie doesn't find very fun, however, is proving to people that her long hair is not a weave. In fact, she made us tug at it! And yes, we can attest — it's the real deal. For his part, Andrew says he plans to marry his longtime girlfriend just as soon as he can. Ditto for making an album, and that a collaboration with his homie Lee DeWyze is not out of the question. And Alex seems to be settling into the "Dream" house nicely. As the producers promised, he's been working with songwriters and taking vocal lessons. "I'm learning to hit notes I was never able to hit," he says. Read on for more from the former Idols via their Twitter Q&A… Who was your favorite mentor and why? Andrew Garcia: My favorite was Usher. He was awesome. He was really with me and gave me a lot of stuff to help me get up and do what I did. Katie Stevens: My favorite mentor was Adam [Lambert] because he was on the show so he kind of knew what we were going through and was able to give us feedback on that.
AG: Knowing that now, it feels amazing! And to all the supporters, thank you for clicking on it. Andrew, when are you getting married? AG: Hopefully soon. I've gotta get things together. Will you both be attending the show to cheer Lee on? AG: We will be trying to go to the shows to cheer Lee on. What's something about Lee that we don't know? AG: He used to do gymnastics — the rings… it's crazy. KS: It was meeting all the contestants. And I've watched it for so long that finally being on it was just cool, to be on the stage and everything — the whole experience of it. AG: The tattoo on my neck is my son's name Caelin, and I have another one that's an A for Andrew on my wrist. That's it. I'm gonna get more, though…. I think I'm gonna get some red lips — I'm gonna get tatted up. Who were you good friends with on "Idol"? KS: I made a lot of friends. I was close with Lacey [Brown] and Paige [Miles] and I was close with Siobhan [Magnus] and I was really close with Andrew because we were in group round together in Hollywood week. And I love Lee. I love everybody because you get so close with everybody. I know it's generic to say that, but it's true. And I love Alex Lambert so much. I'm so glad he came into my life. Katie, will you be going to college anytime soon? KS: It kind of depends on what happens. Tour goes into September, and I had applied to colleges so I probably have to defer from the ones I got accepted to [Emerson, Northeastern and Fairfield, among others] until the spring. So depending on if I get signed or something like that after tour, we'll see. I mean college is something I could always go to because you can go to college in any age. I definitely want to get a degree at some point. AG: Besides "Straight Up," [it] was Chris Brown's "Forever." I did me, I didn't care what the judges thought. I was just going out there, feeling comfortable with what I got and having fun. AG: Chilling with my son and my girl. KS: I didn't mind. It was kind of sad that all the girls dwindled down so fast, but it was definitely a privilege to be one of the top three girls. So I'm honored, thanks for putting me there. Is Casey James a fun guy? AG: He is. I roomed with him a little bit, and he's really nice. He's amazing on guitar, and he's a cool, fun guy. AG: They're actually fun. It's just getting up at, like, 5 in the morning is whack. KS: Yeah, they're fun. But you just do them over and over and over again, and some of them are cheesy, but it's fun because it shows that we can laugh at ourselves. What did you pick up from the entire "American Idol" experience, good things or bad things? AG: I picked up good things, because I never would've had the chance to perform in front of millions. I'm glad I made it this far, and I'm thankful for all the people I met. KS: I definitely picked up good things. I mean you get the criticism and everything, which isn't the greatest, but that's gonna make you stronger as an artist, so good things all the way. Andrew, do you feel you did your best on your "Idol" performances? AG: I gave it all on everything I did. The themes were kind of hard, so I'm not good with themes, I'm usually good with just doing my thing, but I did do my best. AG: Yeah, we met David Cook and he's such a nice guy. I didn't get to meet his band, but I heard them and they're amazing. KS: Yeah, he was so cool. He came up to us before the show and he said, if you need anything, if you have questions about "Idol" or how to handle it, just let me know. So he was really helpful. And they were really awesome too, the band. If you could sing one last song on "American IdoI," what would it be? AG: I would sing "Nothin' on You" [by B.o.B]. KS: I would sing "I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston. Andrew, do you feel picked on by the judges? AG: Um, a little bit. When I went out there, I felt good about it, and they had to say some crazy stuff. I was just, like, whatever. You can't really get mad because they're judges and that's what they get paid for. You just gotta keep doing your thing.
AG: They're watching us — what the viewers look at.… Because that's what they critique us on too: how well you interact with the audience at home. KS: New York City. I've been there, but I just wanna perform there. AG: It is coming to Canada! Is Simon Cowell really that critical? KS: We don't really see him that much afterward, other than when he comes up on stage. But he's a really nice guy and he's not that critical. Out of everyone who was voted off, who do you think should still belong in the competition? KS: I think Alex should still be on "American Idol." I really do. KS: Tim is a very nice guy, we are meant to just be friends. He's like my brother, so I don't think I would date him. KS: Yes, I love Lee, he's like another one of my brothers. KS: Yes, he actually came on Tuesday. KS: We've been best friends for a while and started dating in November. KS: I'm sorry, don't be devastated. We're still dating but we've had the friend talk, because I'm going on tour…. It's like in "Dumb and Dumber," "So you're saying there's a chance!" – Shirley Halperin Follow @IdolTracker on Twitter Photos: Alex Lambert, Andrew Garcia and Katie Stevens at the "If I Can Dream" house. Credit: Lisa Rose / Zuma Press; Bottom: From left, Ben Elliott, Katie Stevens, Alex Lambert, Andrew Garcia, Amanda Phillips, Justin Gaston. Kara Kilmer and Giglianne Braga. Credit: Lisa Rose / Zuma Press.
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