Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Over the next few days, Idol Chatter will step back in time, reintroducing readers to former Idol contestants they haven’t heard from in awhile.

First up, Brandon Rogers, 31, of Los Angeles, who made the finals in season six before being eliminated in the first round.

Brandon was quite familiar with the music business and stardom before hitting the Idol stage.

He opened for Destiny’s Child as part of a boy band called Sons of Harmony. He sang backup on tour with Anastacia, Usher and Christina Aguilera. He filled the same role when
Justin Timberlake performed at the Grammys in 2004.

Then he struck out on his own, releasing an independent album in 2006 and appearing on Idol the next year.

Thanks in no small part to Idol, he says he’s been able to continue making a living at what he loves, playing gigs around his home state, traveling to Afghanistan with fellow contestants to perform for the troops, even appearing on an episode of “Bones” (which he talks about in the audio snippet above).

He returned to Idol earlier this year as co-host of the TV Guide Channel show “Idol Tonight” during season eight. And when Idol Chatter caught up with him Tuesday, he was coming off a writing session with season eight contestant Anoop Desai, working on material for Anoop’s first album.

These days, Brandon’s also promoting the re-release of his 2006 album and a video for the single “Joy” (watch it below).

And, on Dec. 5, he’ll be among a dozen former Idol contestants appearing in an American Christmas show in the Napa Valley. The show is in California, but it’s also available via Webcast. Go here and see the banner below for more details.

Here’s the interview with Brandon.

Idol Chatter: According to a couple of sources I read, your high school choir was selected to sing during Michael Jackson’s halftime show at the Super Bowl in 1993 and that spurred you toward a career in music. Can you explain what that was like and the inspiration you took from it?

Brandon: I still hadn’t made the decision (to pursue music as a career), but that definitely thrust me in that direction. When I went to college, I was actually a biology major because I was good at two things in high school, which was music and science. So I wanted to be a doctor, because I was practical. Then I went to school, and I was miserable. And it was my parents — I have fantastic parents — who urged me to change my major to music. Doing the Super Bowl halftime show I had gotten it into my head that it would be amazing if I could do this. It was incredible. In retrospect, now that Michael’s gone, it seems like so much more of a blessing than it did at the time. He was already an idol of mine. Our choir was selected as one of 20 or 30 choirs there. But the cool thing about our choir was our choir was the host choir because I grew up in Pasadena and the Rose Bowl was in Pasadena. So we got to go in the studio and pre-record the vocals. So what you heard coming out of the speakers was my choir and one or two other choirs.

Chatter: Your Idol bio is still on the Web site. In it, you say the biggest career obstacle you had to overcome was the breakup of Sons of Harmony. Can you elaborate on that? Why was that?

Brandon: Because it was my first foray into being a working guy in the industry. I got into the industry with this boy band, and we got really good. We got to open up for Destiny’s Child and had all these hopes and dreams. We almost got signed to two labels — almost. And then, when those things fell through and dissipated, I’m left thinking, ‘What do I do now?’ I ending up temping and doing all sorts of things that weren’t music-related just trying to get back to doing something music-related.

Chatter: And then you wind up as a background singer touring with Anastacia, Usher and Christina Aguilera. How in the world did you wind up in a position where you could land gigs like that?

Brandon: It’s just the luck of the draw. I have a neat little track record. Any audition that I’ve been on that has to do with singing, I’ve got, throughout my whole life. I got a call from a friend who was working with Anastacia — while I was working at Blockbuster Video, no less — and she called me and asked me if I’d like to audition for Anastacia. I auditioned and got the job. From there, I got a phone call to audition for Christina, and I got that job. Actually, after that, I never had to audition again.

Chatter: What’s life like on the road for a background singer on a tour like those?

Brandon: It’s half busy and half getting to explore the world for free, which is awesome. I’ve been so many places back when I was singing background that I never thought I’d make it to. Sometimes we’d land in a city and have one gig over the course of three of four days, leaving me with a couple days to go explore Rome or Sidney or Tokyo. I have lots and lots of pictures.

Chatter: Now, I imagine the fame and lifestyle you saw those stars enjoying enticed you to break out on your own?

Brandon: Less the fame and more just them being able to sing their own music for fans who were there to see them. There’s just something in my personality … I don’t like to be in the background. So many people told me, when I was singing background, ‘Why isn’t that enough? You’re touring the world? You’re making great money?’ It’s never, ever been about money for me. It’s always been about how I love performing and singing. When you’re on that stage (as a background singer) and you’re singing in front of 10,000 or 15,000 people, none of them are clapping for you. They’re clapping for your boss. I would rather sing for 50 people who came to see me.

Chatter: Tell me about your album, Automatic. It looks like you initially released it in 2006, prior to Idol; then re-released it earlier this year, in May.

Brandon: I released it in 2006. I quit background singing and wrote that album. And before I could get it really out for sale, I got on American Idol and had to take it down. So then, after American Idol, I re-produced all of the songs, re-recorded all of the vocals, added a song, subtracted a song, reshuffled some things around and re-released it through an independent label, Authentik Artists

Chatter: Why re-release the same album?

Brandon: I released it actually as a stopgap, between me writing and releasing something else, which I’m still writing, even though it’s turned more into writing for other people. I haven’t decided what I want my sound to be. My album Automatic — although I love the songs and love the album — I wrote the songs when I was in a different place in my life, so they’re not necessarily representative of where I am today.

Chatter: Tell me about “Joy” — a great song by the way — what’s the story behind that? (Listen to it below.)

Brandon: “Joy” is one of my favorite songs off that record. That’s a song that I will probably release and re-release over and over until it catches, because I love that song. It’s actually a song about a girl I had a crush on when I was a kid.

Chatter: When you release more music, what sound are you going to be shooting for?

Brandon: I’m trying to find a nice hybrid of everything I love. I am a pop songwriter, who sings R&B. I have an R&B voice. However, stylistically, what I write is more pop and pop-rock influenced. All those things put together and twirling around, I think I can come up with something that’s unique to me.

Chatter: For the Christmas show, you’ll be performing an original number “She’s My Christmas.” Again, tell me about the song. Is it something you wrote?

Brandon: I didn’t write that, but it’s a really, really great Christmas song that sounds like it belongs in there with the classic Christmas ballads. I’ll also be premiering a new song that I wrote called “Into Your Life.” It’s a positive song I wrote about finding the giant middle. People tend to live their lives too serious or too foolish, but there’s a huge middle ground in which you can be happy in. That’s what it’s about.

Chatter: So what does the future hold for Brandon Rogers?

Brandon: I’m just getting ready and I’m preparing myself to take over the world, one radio station at a time.

And then he laughed.

Now, here’s the promised banner showing everyone who will perform in that Dec. 5 show, followed by the video to “Joy.”

Be sure to head to Brandon’s MySpace page to hear more music from his album, “Automatic.”

Other interviews in this series:

Lindsey Cardinale (season four)

Nikki McKibbin (season one)