Confidence is all you’ve got when you’re a contestant on the American Idol stage, says season 9′s fourth-place finisher, Michael Lynche. The burly personal trainer stopped by the Idolatry studios to talk about reducing Kara to tears with “This Woman’s Work,” trying to avoid “getting lost” in his Idol backstory, and staying stoic after being named the recipient of this season’s Judges’ Save (“It wasn’t a jump-for-joy situation”). We also dished Idol‘s poor track record with black male contestants, the Mary J. Blige song he almost covered for R&B Week, and how Timbaland and One Republic inspired his “Eleanor Rigby” cover. All that, plus I ask him what the deal is with season 9′s men and their dull fashion choices. Press play below to get the full four-part shebang, and to get all my Idol news and commentary, follow me on Twitter @EWMichaelSlezak. [Related: My ultimate American Idol season 9 playlist (15 songs total, not ranked); 'American Idol': Simon and Randy predict Lee DeWyze will win season 9, but should they?; 'American Idol': 10 Under-the-Radar Successes]
Did Slezak hire bodyguards?
He is freaking horrible.
No jive! Listening to this interview just made me hate him all over again. He just seems like such a pompous ass. He can call it focused or being strong for those around him or whatever but the bottom line is that he’s just awful to watch/listen to.
wtf? who IS this guy? the EGO has landed. how’d you get through that one slizzy? wow.
“I’m gonna be around.” I totally agree with him. Just like that blond girl and the dude with the fun hair from those other years. Love them. Can’t wait til they hit the top of the charts.
That is classic!
“Anybody who knows me, and they’re going to get to know me because I’m going to be around.: Okay, Big @$$ Mike. We’ll see.
Notice how Slezak never says “after that performance i criticized you for bring too cocky” – its always – “some in the audience thought you were cocky” OWN UP BIZNATCH! as you yourself would say – you didn’t make it your own
EPIC FAIL SLEZAK
I would almost always fight you for speaking slander upon the name of Slezak, but seriously, he can’t lead us to a place and run away and say he had no part in us being here. Slezak, it’s okay to say you think he came across as cheesy and cocky, especially if you’re asking him to explain and clarify! It adds more credibility to your opinions when you don’t abandon them later.
Told you people!
Michael S. has been calling Michael L. a cocky buffoon during months and now that they’re face to face, he can’t man up. smh
LOVE IT! hahahhaha
Totally agree. Big Mike (woof and yum!) did come across as cocky so why not quiz him as to whether he realised that? He actually seems more likeable in this interview than he ever did on the show.
Yes, when interviewing someone, you really should antagonize them with your own personal criticism. It always makes for a great interview when you set up an adversarial atmosphere by say what amounts to “I thought you sucked”. Besides, it’s not like Slezak is an audience member…
*by saying…
So true.
“EPIC FAIL” is sooooo over–find something else to say, please.
The man has his priorities on straight. Which is more than I can say for you, Slezak, you of the fixation on the outfits and the minutiae of gesturing.
Maybe the reason people like to pick on big Mike is because they know they can do it safely when its anonymous. Well, I’m here to say anonymously that you totally rock, Michael Lynche! And I think you have the voice, the confidence and the smarts to go far.
You anonymously posted this with your name on it.
How do you know that’s her name?
Using a pseudonym is not the same as being anonymous. But, hey, who cares about about word definitions? It’s not like something so trivial as definition matters when communicating through writing.
I wonder if Michael watched Idolatry this season? Slezak has been (justifiably) harsh. Watch your back Slezak lol.
I think he was the cockiest he’s been answering the question about his arrogance? True?
Yes, Nick!
Completely… “You’re confidence is all you got… Just bein’ myself”. What a DBAG!!!
He still comes off as cocky to me. Oh well.
He finished 9th, not 4th.
Aaron Kelly finished 4th.
nope.
Based on the personality he’s showing in this interview, he probably wouldn’t be my first choice of someone to hang out with, maybe, BUT I do have to say that I would love to be that confident. I’m not sure he is all that cocky – I just see a very confident man. I didn’t think he was overhyping himself or anything like that – to me, his Eleanor Rigby *was* pretty damn awesome, and he *is* talented. Competing while his wife has their baby isn’t a problem to me (this could be his best shot at making a career that could really provide for that kid). He wasn’t my favorite contestant, and I frequently didn’t care for all the hammy gestures, but I was always a little baffled by the hate he got on this site in the comments, and how harsh Slezak was on him. I heart you, Slezak, we just obviously didn’t see eye to eye on this man. I do wish him the best of luck, and seriously, if he could send any of that complete self-assurance my way, I’d appreciate it!
Perhaps “honest” is a better word than “cocky”.
Every single one of these contestants believes somewhere in their heart that they are better than the other 100,000 auditioners, and that they deserve the title of Idol, the recording contract, and all of the adulation America will give them.
Some just hide it better than others.
“the men’s dull fashion choices”? because they were real men!! tee-hee! do you think they’d wear my outfits last season if they were straight?!?! bbwahahahahaha!!
Another smart and egaging interview Michael. You get these contestants to open up and talk about the process. Job well done.
I liked this interview from Lynche. I don’t think he’s cocky at all-it’s just his personality-it’s strong and quiet. I also think he is very talented vocally.
He was the 3rd best talent, can’t take that away from him but the gap from #2 to #3 was huge.
And can’t find another blog to start this off but I have to say I was rooting for Lee. But last night MammaSox totally blew Lee off the stage and absolutely showed that SHE is the TALENT on Idol this year. If she doesn’t win tonight then this entire season is a joke. Lee was horrible last night.
But this season is a joke – a bad joke. It really doesn’t matter if the winner is Lee or Crystal, does it?