Idol Chatter & Voice Views

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We met her about a year ago, during that strange San Francisco audition episode of American Idol.

And in spite of that laugh, Tatiana Nicol Del Toro won a golden ticket with her rendition of Aretha Franklin’s “I Never Loved a Man.”

What we didn’t know at the time is that she would become a star character on Idol season eight, all the way through the Hollywood round, all the way through the semifinals. Even during the wild card show, when she was one of the last contestants to perform before being eliminated.

Seemingly, wherever Tatiana went, drama, quite often tears, and the Idol camera crews followed.

Guess what?

Tatiana says she didn’t expect to become the star of the show either. And lost in translation, lost amid the drama, the laughter and the tears, she fears, is the fact that she’s a singer serious about her craft.

And while she left Idol with admiration for the hard work of everyone involved with the show, she says what the viewing public doesn’t realize is that some of the emotions she and other contestants displayed were the result of the cutthroat nature of the competition behind the scenes.

“I don’t think the general public realizes how vicious the women (contestants) were on the show,” she says. “They would pick at people’s tragedies and personal lives. I expected it to be a singing competition, not, ‘Let’s terrorize people to get their energy down in competition.'”

Tatiana was born and grew up in Puerto Rico. She went to New York to study music at age 17, returned to Puerto Rico at age 19, then returned to the U.S. a couple of years later and is now living in Los Angeles.

She just turned 25 — “a big quarter” in her words. And while she was known on Idol as Tatiana Nicole Del Toro, she performed as Tatiana Nicole prior to Idol and is using that name as a performer today.

After all, that’s the name under which she released an independent album, “Time 3:16,” in 2007.

When I caught up with Tatiana recently, we talked about her time on Idol and her plans for the future.

We also talked about her role in the season eight American Idol finale — how she was shocked to get invited back and how she was even more surprised when she found out what Idol producers had in mind for that night. You can read that portion of the interview here.

Idol Chatter: All in all, how do you think American Idol worked out for you?

Tatiana: “Out of a million of people who wanted to be on the show, to get on it at all was just beautiful. It was a really humbling, really emotional experience.

“Second of all, once I saw the show after it was edited — you don’t know what they’re going to do. There’s 125,000 people that wanted to get airtime that didn’t. I mean, they were kind of surrounding the show around what I was going to do for the whole first half of the season. It was a lot of exposure. It was a little bit overexposure.

“It was definitely a lot of attention. I wasn’t really used to getting that much attention. I really wanted to focus the attention on me being an artist and having an album out and going on tour, not just me being Tatiana. It got to the point where that’s what it was. It was just Tatiana. Tatiana is somebody who is an artist and has an album and wants a career.”

Idol Chatter: Do you think you were portrayed fairly?

Tatiana: “When it comes to reality shows, they can do whatever they want. I think they had a lot of fun with the really exciting moments. Everytime I laughed in one week, putting it in one condensed, two-minute segment, it’s going to be crazy. You know?”

Idol Chatter: So, did viewers get to know the real Tatiana?

Tatiana: “They saw a part of me that was real. You have a camera and you’re filming. Well that’s me. But I talked to a few friends of mine. My guitarist, David Sampson, he always says I’m one of the most serious people he knows. I’m a hustler. I’m a really hard worker. I’m really, really serious. And he said, ‘You really don’t show that a lot to other people. You really didn’t show that on American Idol.’

“American Idol was such a fun and crazy experience that it just brings things out of people you really don’t expect. It brings the emotions out of you. It brings the laughter out of you. It brings the tears out of you. Twenty-five to 30 million people are watching me every night and judging me right there. And that’s only in the U.S.

“It’s like, ‘Oh my God, everyone is watching me.’ I’ve been through a lot in my life and I thought, ‘This isn’t going to be that big a deal.’ But when I was there, I really realized how it affected me — being nervous that everyone is watching me right now, and I’m hoping that I come across the right way and that the truth comes across.”

Idol Chatter: And do you think it did? In some cases, it seemed like your character overshadowed your music.

Tatiana: “Well, I think, like I said, the producers had a lot of fun editing me in kooky ways and, like making it funny. And when I was crying — I didn’t think I was going to cry that hard when I got picked (for the semifinals). And it was kind of like a joke. I watched it and thought, ‘I can’t believe I did that.’ But, then again, thank God I did. I got so much attention just on crying tears of joy.

“I mean, whatever. Who can say that they did something stupid and that their careers got made over something stupid? How many people want to be in my shoes right now? That they wish that they could be in the finale because they cried or whatever. It’s so silly.

“And there’s so much going on in the world right now. There’s so many placed you could be. Something silly isn’t about to bother me. I know that they were having so much fun editing me. But I am a very serious and focused person.”

Idol Chatter: What had you done musically prior to Idol?

Tatiana: “I performed in Puerto Rico, New York and Paris and in L.A. I headlined the Women of Rock (show) at the Whiskey A Go Go in ’07. I toured all over the Sunset Strip, all over L.A. I’ve been an opera singer. I was a backup singer for Gnarls Barkley at the Grammys.”

Idol Chatter: Tell me about the album you released?

Tatiana: “It came out in 2007. I’ve put it back out now. (performers on Idol have to take their music off the market while they’re on the show). Some of the songs are in Spanish, some are in English. Some of the songs are recorded live and acoustic and some of them are more well produced.

“The first single that I’m going to release is called ‘Blessings,’ and it’s in Spanish and English. And it’s pop-rock fusion and it’s all about being grateful. It’s really about being grateful for whatever you have, even if it’s not that much. So I think it’s a song a lot of people can relate to.”

Idol Chatter: Are there any other songs on the album that have a special story behind them or a special meaning to you?

Tatiana: “I love them all. They all mean a lot to me. This album came from my soul. I’ve been writing it for seven years. It’s been a journey. Traveling halfway across the world and to do something in a different language in a different culture and a different environment. And really feeling like I fit in, but at the same time I don’t. It’s about overcoming all of that and turning it into something really beautiful. “

Idol Chatter: What prompted the move from Puerto Rico to the U.S.?

Tatiana: “I came because I had an opportunity to meet Seth Briggs. He’s a legend in the music industry. He’s worked with every major Grammy winner in the world. The fact that he wanted to take me in was an honor.The moment I walked into the studio, he said, ‘You’re going to make it. You’re a star. Bilingual. Beautiful. Young. You got it. We’re going to develop you.'”

Idol Chatter: Do you plan on recording new music anytime soon?

Tatiana: “I’m hoping to get some AC/DC things cleared. I want to do an AC/DC tribute album, because we had such fun show at the Whiskey A Go Go. We did the entire AC/DC tribute concert. And Bon Scott, the AC/DC singer, he sang in girls’ keys. I really love singing in that key. I really love the music.

“Or go all the way pop. Either way we’re going to start recording in January or February. If I go to a major label, I’ll let them pick the songs and go all the way pop.

“I’m only going to be 25 and young once. I really want to go all the way commercial and do pop while I have my youth because this is the only time to do it. If I go to a major label, which I might this year, I would let them pick the songs and do a second album with them, probably more commercial music.”

Idol Chatter: Do you have any other projects in the works?

Tatiana: “There’s a movie called ‘Captured.’ The writer, Scott Casey, let me add a scene. It’s like a gangster, comedy, drama. That’s maybe going to come out next year (2010). They might change the name. You never know. I play myself at the Whiskey. It’s really fun.”

Idol Chatter: So, what are your goals for 2010?

Tatiana: “At the end of 2010, I better have at least three or four movies under my belt, a good record label, a great agent and a great manager and being able to put a roof over my head doing all that, and having a good tour and putting my single on the charts by the summer.

“I did take a break off from the public eye to kind of find myself (after Idol). Now I’m ready to get back out there and focus on album, album, album. And tour. And just hope everyone likes it.”

Editor’s Note: Interested in hearing some of Tatiana’s music. You can head to her MySpace page. She’s also on Facebook, and her 2007 album is available on CD Baby and iTunes.

And, if you missed them, check out other recent Idol Chatter interviews with Jasmine Trias, David Archuleta, Nikki McKibbin, Lindsey Cardinale, Haley Scarnato and Brandon Rogers.

Keep checking back, there will be more to come. Plus live blogging throughout season nine of Idol.