TV Tattler: Celebrity Interviews
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The 'American Idol' judges say that no matter where they go, somebody somewhere bursts out into a song for them. Does that happen for you now; people just busting a move on the street because of your ties to the show?
Not yet. But I'm sure at some point or another, it most definitely, definitely will. I have people coming up to me and discussing the show. And they obviously watch week after week because they know things that I have no idea how they even remember it.
Given that, as you've said, dancing is not your specialty, how did you wind up attached to this show to begin with?
I had been working the U.K. for about eight years, doing all different types of shows. Everything from kind of sketches and music shows to hosting the Brick Awards, which is like your Grammys, and I knew Nigel Lythgoe from back in the U.K. After the first season, the host was pregnant so couldn't come back and do the second season. So, Nigel said to me, "Look, I've got this show. I think you'd be perfect for it." So I came over and watched the show. I got completely addicted to it straight away and was like, "Oh my God! Yes, I totally want to be involved in this!" I knew that season one was a big success. I knew that we could build on it.
Do you think that it might actually work in your favor, the fact that you are not a dancer?
To be honest, I think it's a thing which is very, very good for the audience watching at home, who may not be dancers. What I do is I enable the show to reach the people who are not dancers as well, without alienating them. Say for instance, the choreographer talks about a certain move; the dancers understand terminology and the choreographers understand the terminology, but I don't.
What's the biggest difference among the contestants this year?
I think what we are definitely finding this year is people are bringing their personalities to the show a lot sooner. Because I think people realized this from watching last season, when it came down to crunch time and it was between Travis and Benji, Travis was a phenomenal dancer and had a great personality, and Benji was a great dancer but had a phenomenal personality. When it comes right down to the wire like that, it was Benji that won. I think that a lot of the contestants and a lot of the people auditioning have worked that out. We are not after the best dancer, so to speak, we are after America's favorite dancer. And there is a difference. It's a subtle difference, but it's someone who has that certain special something, that bit of fairy dust, that X factor that you just can't define.
Do you know what the final prize is this season?
We are not one hundred percent definite. It's going to be even bigger than last year. We are kind of still working it out at the moment.
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