Of course Simon's opinion has extreme gravitas because he has enormous talent not only as music industry guru but now also as TV power broker. We all understand where Simon is coming from because he speaks with intelligence and the air of extreme authority based on an incredibly successful career finding and breaking talent. Pierce has none of these qualities and it shows, he has never broken an act, he is just a hired hand who is working for his next gig like the rest of them and what makes him special is he doesn't care about beating up on little girls. No professional in the music industry, particularly Americans want to be labeled like that but TV requires it so Pierce has a job. In American culture the English in particular make good American bad guys so it all works perfectly, except of course for those like you on the receiving end.
The search is for talented artists, it really doesn't matter if everyone sang the same song, because no winner will actually make the grade on yesterday's songs, they will ultimately only be successful with original songs. If Pierce was Simon he would have known that and not made the uneducated comments he did based on the song you sung.
You have enormous talent, it is there to see and you have the years to develop it. Breaking in so young could not be in your best interests because the music industry wants novelty and then moves on, the trick is of course a sustained career. You could easily be labeled 'that kid who won but whose albums didn't sell'. You need to be breaking in around sixteen so you can hit your stride at eighteen. The reality is the record industry does not run on cute kids but sexy teens-twenties and you are in a fabulous position to break into the industry when it really counts. You need to search for a great original song and be in the right place. Madonna knocked on doors and kept knocking. The Beatles were turned down by every record label, the idea that you can just go in for a competition and enter wonderland is not the way the industry traditionally worked, the way was always hard.
I am sure you will get a record deal, if you keep pushing. Make more Youtube covers to the highest level that you can. Analyze your performance and adjust it.
If this knock stops you then Pierce has won and we are all losers. It may be hard at your age but even if you are successful you will still face knocks that will be harder when you have your best years behind you.
Keep singing, don't give up the dream, you can definitely do it because you do have the talent.
Colin O'Donoghue
cod@relgold.co.uk
QUOTE (smarks3 @ Jun 8 2007, 07:05 PM) 
This show is so terribly wrong. Trying to make good TV at the expense of a child. Erica has not left her bed since she saw the show Tuesday. This is so very wrong. I am so angry that they allowed this to happen to her. I have kept my mouth shut long enough. She is barely 11 years old. She's in 5th grade for Christ sakes. I do take responsibility for my part in this. When the producers insisted that she sing the same song she auditioned with in Dallas I should have withdrawn her from the show, but she begged and begged to do it. No one anticipated they would do this to her. We thought worst case scenario they would compare her to Bianca and let her sing another song. For those who say "The moms knew what we were getting into" Bull___.
Who in a million years would expect what they did. It's not like I put a kid out there that was not very talented. If they had shown it like it really played out America would have seen that. They cut out every freaken strong part of her performance including the end where the audience gave her a standing ovation. They were chanting "Let her through". Not to mention the fight with Jerry Springer and the judges and Jerry in her defense as well as the entire audience.
She was 100% completely setup. Oh and her interview before hand was completing edited. She has said over and over she did not say those things. How did they do that? She never ever ever said she was better the Bianca. THEY TOOK HER WORDS OUT OF CONTEXT she’s just kid that wants to be on TV. And for all of you saying she cocky, conceited etc.... Come on she had just been torn up by those judges they only showed about half of what was said. She was freaking out inside, but she was not about to let them break her down so she over compensated by being strong and acting if she didn't care about what they were saying otherwise she would have show complete devastation. She did not to choose to sing that song, but chose to not pass up a once in a lifetime dream. How the **** am I going to pick her up from this?
For all of you calling her a Bianca wannabe you are so very wrong. Bianca is extremely talented, but I assure you Erica does not want to be like her she doesn't want to be like any kid. She has a very old soul and the person she would most want to be like is Bette Middler. Not to say that’s any better she needs to be her own, but that will come with age. That is who she is portraying in her performance not Bianca. That’s another reason she wanted to go on the show in hopes that maybe she would be able to meet her someday.
Who in a million years would expect what they did. It's not like I put a kid out there that was not very talented. If they had shown it like it really played out America would have seen that. They cut out every freaken strong part of her performance including the end where the audience gave her a standing ovation. They were chanting "Let her through". Not to mention the fight with Jerry Springer and the judges and Jerry in her defense as well as the entire audience.
She was 100% completely setup. Oh and her interview before hand was completing edited. She has said over and over she did not say those things. How did they do that? She never ever ever said she was better the Bianca. THEY TOOK HER WORDS OUT OF CONTEXT she’s just kid that wants to be on TV. And for all of you saying she cocky, conceited etc.... Come on she had just been torn up by those judges they only showed about half of what was said. She was freaking out inside, but she was not about to let them break her down so she over compensated by being strong and acting if she didn't care about what they were saying otherwise she would have show complete devastation. She did not to choose to sing that song, but chose to not pass up a once in a lifetime dream. How the **** am I going to pick her up from this?
For all of you calling her a Bianca wannabe you are so very wrong. Bianca is extremely talented, but I assure you Erica does not want to be like her she doesn't want to be like any kid. She has a very old soul and the person she would most want to be like is Bette Middler. Not to say that’s any better she needs to be her own, but that will come with age. That is who she is portraying in her performance not Bianca. That’s another reason she wanted to go on the show in hopes that maybe she would be able to meet her someday.