Matt Giraud: On The Scene At The Idols' Tour Rehearsals
When Matt Giraud was on American Idol this year, I mistook him for a rather serious, somber sort of guy. I'm not sure why this was. Maybe it was his "mature," adult-alternative-leaning sound. Or maybe it was the fact that his wild rollercoaster ride on the show seemed to take its toll by the time he finally got to fifth place. After failing to make the top 13, then coming back as a wild card, then almost getting voted off the show but being granted the famous Judges' Save, then getting voted off a third and final time...well, by the end of all that, Matt seemed kind of bummed out. So yeah, I figured he was one of those shy, quiet types.
WRONG!
It turns out that, while Matt Giraud may be a serious artist onstage, offstage he's actually a total goofball, in the best and most lovable sense of the word--whether he's posting Twitpics of him canoodling with a life-sized Tigger at Disneyland or doing an interview with Reality Rocks. The minute he sat down with me I got a good vibe from him, and I knew this interview was going to be entertaining and easy. I should have known that a guy who used to earn his paycheck as a professional dueling pianist was going to be a cut-up.
Not only did Matt exhibit a wonderfully silly sense of humor and gift for gab, but he had an awesome attitude regarding his sometimes stressful ups and downs on AmIdol. (His "Trivial Pursuit" theory was genius, and a great, silver-lining'd way of looking at his unique situation.) I almost wondered, if this playful side of Matt's personality had come out more on the show...would he have made it higher than fifth place? Would it have even been necessary to use the Judges' Save on him at all? We'll never know. But I'm glad the guy's getting more time in the spotlight to let his gangsta-hatted goofiness shine through. The interview I did with him the day I visited the Idols Live Tour rehearsals was one of my most fun of the afternoon, and I hope he has the same easy-breezy vibe on the tour, when he performs a couple dueling-piano numbers with Scott MacIntyre and, as he puts it, does some "jamming."
Watch, laugh, and enjoy the clip below. Up next...Allison Iraheta!
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The Idols Live Tour starts July 5, buy your tickets HERE!
I know he'll be a big hit on tour, especially with the audience favorite, Georgia on My Mind. I don't think most AI viewers have witnessed yet what an amazing piano player he really is. Not to mention that he's accomplished so much without any formal piano lessons! Thanks to the likes of David Cook, Brooke White, and now Kris and Matt, American Idol is open to more musicians.
I look forward to any new music from Matt. I definitely will buy his CDs in the future.
I hope that the soul-rock album he puts out is more along the lines of the John Mayer Trio, coz Matt's magic is in the more complex rhythms. (As opposed to a soul voice over straight rock beats.)
That said, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE for him to put some funk/acid jazz/jazz fusion music out. Sorta in the style of Jamiroquai. That would be totally rad. (and not something that there's a lot of right now - so he'll def stand out)