After American Idol: Tyler Grady Keeps Talking, Much to His Own Detriment

Mop-topped '70s-vibe guy talks to the press postelimination, digs himself deeper hole

American Idol contestants are, at best, young and idealistic and, at worst, well, young and deluded, and sadly, last night's eliminated singer Tyler Grady falls into the second category.

Grady spoke to reporters today after being booted last night and began a conference call with the media by, well, accusing the media of having it in for him. (That's about as smart as blaming the judges on-air for your misfortune, therefore breaking American Idol rule No. 1: Never blame anyone when you get kicked off!)

Grady then spoke at length about what he imagines are his legions of fans, insisting that he would always "stay true" to his performance style and his, uh, "fan base." Are you one of those rabid Tyler Grady fans he's heard so much about? Well, then, this is the interview for you! Here's what we learned from your rock god:

On His Elimination Show Comments to the Judges: Despite what the "media" might have led you to believe, Tyler Grady doesn't really blame the judges for his elimination. Grady says, "I was kinda shocked with the criticism [of my performance], and I just didn't get a chance to express my feelings, so when I said that [to the judges] I was just expressing myself. I meant no disrespect, and I'm not bitter at the judges or anything like that—that's kinda silly. Yeah, to be honest, if I would have made it through to another week, it would have been due to a fan base that appreciated what I was doing, so I probably would have just stuck to my guns and performed in the same style I've been performing in." 

On Grady's Fans vs. the Idol Judges: Grady will not be accepting any critiques, now or in the future, that might interfere with his relationship with his fans. To wit: "Well, I definitely respect the judges, and I think that they're very qualified to be critiquing the contestants on the show, but at the same time, when you are building a fan base and your fans are supporting you, they're supporting you because of what you're doing—you can't turn on your fans. You can't change up what you're doing to the point where you irritate your fans. If they're supporting you, you need to give them what they want and support them back, you know what I mean." Hear that, music fans? He does it all for you...

On His Performance Style: No, seriously, guys, Tyler Grady has got this rock star thing down. Let him 'splain you:

• "If I would have made it through to another week, it would have been due to a fan base that appreciated what I was doing, so I probably would have just stuck to my guns and performed in the same style I've been performing in. I may have chosen a more recent rock song, but you wouldn't have seen me coming out in baggy jeans or doing something wearing a headset and microphone. I wouldn't have been changing my performance style at all."
• "If I would have gotten through another week, it would have been fair to assume that my fans appreciated my style of performance, because I've been consistent from the Boston auditions until now, and if you've seen my band play, ever, that's exactly the style of performance we give every time."
• "In response to Ellen's critique of my lack of honesty and charisma onstage, I do absolutely respect her as an entertainer and critic, but I feel like she misrepresented me there. If you were ever to see a [show by my band, Wailing Waters], I'm very consistent in my performance, and I feel that I'm very honest onstage. I feel that that's one of my strong points."
• "You do need to stick to your guns as a performer. You need to say true to yourself. Honesty in performance is everything. And I am very honest when I'm performing onstage."
• "I just want my fans to realize that what you see on American Idol is the type of performer that I am, honestly, and if you've seen my band perform, you'll see the same thing. Hopefully I'll get my fans from the show onboard with my band, Wailing Waters."

On What Went Wrong: But how could Tyler Grady's "fan base" have neglected to call in for him his very first week on American Idol?! Tyler explains where the grand plan went astray: "To be honest with you, I can't explain why I was eliminated. Actually, I can explain to you why I was eliminated—because I didn't get enough votes, I got one of the least number of votes out of the 12 guys, that's why I got eliminated. As a performer you have to stick to your guns. You have to be honest, you have to stay true to yourself if you're going to change your style and style of performance and style of vocals and be inconsistent, you won't be able to build a solid fan base because people won't be able to catch onto you. And once you do build a fan base, you need to feed them what they appreciate about you. You can't constantly change yourself, where you're not really respecting your fans."

On What's Next: So now that Idol is over, what are you going to do next, Tyler Grady, if not go to Disneyland? According to Grady, "I would just like to say to all my fans and the viewers of the show that I'm going to be working with my band, Wailing Waters, and hopefully, if all goes well, we'll be releasing a record and performing, so keep an eye out for us."