Idol Chatter & Voice Views

American Idol invited lots of talented singer-songwriters to Hollywood this season.

Among them, Katelyn Clampett, a North Carolina native and 2009 graduate of the Berkeley College of Music.

Viewers of the show barely got to meet Katelyn. Her Idol experience was boiled down to about 10 seconds in the episode from the opening round of Hollywood.

Katelyn was shown performing “Something To Talk About” on the keyboards. Simon Cowell was shown saying, “I hated everything about that performance.”

The camera snapped back to Katelyn, flashing an expression that looked like ‘oops.’

Ah, the magic of American Idol editing.

“It’s funny because Simon actually never said that to me,” Katelyn said from her home in L.A. “Ellen was the one who commented on my song and she said, ‘I was not a fan of that.’ She said I tried to make it too jazzy and it didn’t work.”

In hindsight, the 22-year-old wishes she’d decided to perform the other song she’d prepared, Rihanna’s “Umbrella.” Make that “Umbrella” with a twist. She’d rewritten the lyrics to welcome Ellen to American Idol.

“I think if I had done the other song, I think that I would have gone through.”

As it was, Katelyn’s Idol journey ended with the opening round in Hollywood.

But not her musical aspirations.

The southern girl who goes by the stage name Sweet Pea released a single called “Water Them Down” about a year and a half ago.

And she’s about to release another song on iTunes, “Sweet Tea,” on May 1.

That’s right, “Sweet Tea” by Sweet Pea.

Folks, meet Katelyn Clampett.

Idol Chatter: When and why did you decide to pursue a career in music?

Katelyn: “When I was a junior in high school I auditioned live for a scholarship at Berkeley, and they gave me a vocal scholarship, so I knew I wanted to go there. So I studied songwriting. Ever since I was 16, I’ve just fallen in love with songwriting.

“My parents got divorced when I was 16 and it was kind of an outlet for me to release emotions, to write it down and put it on paper. It was very therapeutic for me. And now it’s a career.”

Chatter: Tell me about “Water Them Down.”

Katelyn: “I had written that song for a class assignment my first year at Berkeley, so that was three of four years ago. And that’s when we recorded it. So the recording is actually really old. I just released it a year and a half ago. People played it on The Golf Channel for the nationwide tour coverage last year, and I got a lot of great responses from it. I was just testing the waters with it. A lot of people liked the video to, and that was a whole lot of fun to make.”

Chatter: And how about “Sweet Tea?” What’s the story behind that song?

Katelyn: “I grew up drinking a lot of sweet tea, because I am from the South. I would have Bojangles Sweet Tea all the time, and I loved it. So, originally, the song was about a guy and how he can’t compete with sweet tea. But then we kind of rewrote it a little bit to where it’s more of a relationship type song. It’s still fun.”

Chatter: How would you describe the music you write?

Katelyn: “I’ve been asking myself that for 22 years. I’m blessed to have the ability to write music in different genres. But here’s my problem. One day, I will write contemporary Christian worship music. And the next I will write comedy. And the next day, I will write country. And the next day, I’ll come up with some hip-hop song. So it’s all just completely different genres. And it’s hard to pinpoint just one exact genre that I do. But you could just call it pop.”

Chatter: You grew up in North Carolina and attended college in Boston. When and why did you move to L.A.?

Katelyn: “I moved to L.A. right after American Idol, so that was in February. That’s been the plan all along. I also do acting and a little bit of modeling, too, and it’s just kind of the entertainment hub, and I knew I needed to be out here.”

Chatter: What are your career aspirations?

Katelyn: “I would love to be the next Kara DioGuardi. Honestly. That would be my dream, just writing for other people, and putting out an album myself.”

Chatter: There’s been a lot of criticism of the final 12 on American Idol this year? Do you think that’s merited?

Katelyn: “Some of them, yes. Some of them, no. I had the privilege of meeting and talking to a lot of them. Crystal Bowersox and Didi Benami were in my lineup when I was in Hollywood Week, and they were both just great people. Actually after the first audition in Hollywood, when I didn’t do so well — I knew I didn’t do so well, and Didi was just very comforting and very sweet about it. So I’m definitely rooting for both of them.” (Didi, of course, was eliminated Wednesday night.)

Chatter: Is there any chance you’d audition for American Idol again next year?

Katelyn: “You know, I just might. We’ll have to see. It’s a fantastic show. I love the show. Within the year, if something doesn’t happen, I might try out.”

Meanwhile, Katelyn has a number of appearances scheduled in the L.A. area, including one Sunday at the House of Blues on Sunset Strip.

She has also recorded another song she wrote — “For Love to Come to Life” — as a duet for American Idol contestant Justin Williams’ next CD. The song is also the basis for The Twilight Symphony, to be performed in Boston on a future date.

For more on Katelyn, visit her Web site. You can also sample “Sweet Tea” and a handful of other songs she’s written on her MySpace page.

For more on the touching story about how Kaitlyn picked up the nickname, her collaborator on “Sweet Tea” and her prediction for American Idol season nine, listen to the audio portion of the interview below.

It’s followed by the video for “Water Them Down.” Dancing around all the wine glasses wasn’t as dangerous as it looks, Kaitlyn says. They were all made of plastic.

[windowsmedia]http://w2.yorkdispatch.com/mark/katelynclampett.wmv[/windowsmedia]

And, now, here’s the video to “Water Them Down.”

[youtube]mE4enbDI7hE[/youtube]