Scott Borchetta Speaks Out About The Quentin/Harry Brouhaha 

April 19, 2015 by Masterclass Lady 15 Comments


 Scott Borchetta, American Idol Season 14 

Through all the years that I have been watching American Idol, Ihave never seen such a spectacle as what was displayed on the Wednesday, April 15th Performance show. Whether it was scripted or spontaneous, it was quite a ride. I still giggle like a school girl when I think about it. 

In a nutshell, one of the contestants, Quentin Alexander, called the show “wacked” upon realizing that two of his contestant buddies were in the Bottom 2. 

To my eyes and ears, it appeared to me that he felt terrible that singers Joey Cook and Rayvon Martin were doomed to sing for the Twitter Save at the end of the show.  Maybe it was the pressure of the moment or maybe he felt one or both were more deserving than he to nab that 5th spot in the Top 6.

Who knows? And did it really matter?  He just seemed to verbalize what – I am sure – all the singers were feeling at this point. They are a family and it has been obvious that they all enjoy each other’s company. 

And yet, before I knew it, Harry Connick Jr. was calling Quentin disrespectful and ungrateful for the opportunity given to him.  It was quite the tirade and everyone in my house was very confused. Not over Quentin, but over Harry’s meltdown. 

Well, Quentin was having none of this. He marched quietly over to Harry and explained that he was not frustrated with American Idol but with the predicament of the situation. He has great respect for all that American Idol has done for his career. It seemed to last forever but, in reality, was about a minute of exchange. Maybe two. 

Have you ever seen this happen before?  Not me! And it happened twice, as Quentin  once AGAIN apologized and clarified his situation after his second performance. Oy!  The drama!

Seriously, if I was Harry, I would have looked for the nearest hole and crawled in to it. Overall, he seemed frustrated and antsy all evening with his critiques, almost insinuating that he had better suggestions than the vocal coaches.  It definitely was not his best moment. 

And, it hasn’t helped that record mogul/mentor, Scott Borchetta, has applauded Quentin for speaking out. Uh oh!  This can’t sit well with Harry. 

Have a listen below. Are you Team Harry or Team Quentin?  Do you agree with Scott? 

American Idol, American Idol Season 14, Television, Videos
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About Masterclass Lady

Rosanne (Giallonardo) Simunovic began her musical career in Timmins, Ontario. She studied piano with Anne Pizzale and later, at an advanced level, with Soeur Anita Vaugeois (Sister Cecile of Les Soeurs De L’Assomption in Timmins). Her vocal and accompaniment skills were nurtured by her aunt, the late Dorothea Mascioli. When Rosanne graduated from O’Gorman High School, she moved on to the University of Toronto where she continued her piano and vocal studies while attaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree. She was hired as a piano accompanist for several musical companies, most notably, the National Ballet Of Canada. She presently holds an A.R.C.T. Teacher’s Diploma in Voice from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. Rosanne has studied choral conducting with numerous well known Canadian Conductors, including Wayne Riddell of Montreal, Quebec and the internationally renowned Dr. Elmer Iseler. She has been a founding member of numerous community-based arts organizations: the Timmins Arts Council, later known as Arts & Culture Timmins, the Timmins Symphony Orchestra, and, the Timmins Youth Singers…as well as the TYS Alumnus choir, the Timmins Concert Singers. In 1987, she was also selected to be the conductor of the Timmins Board Of Education Choir, comprised of talented students from Grades 5 to 8. In 1988, she was elected to the Board Of Directors of the Ontario Choral Federation (now known as Choirs Ontario), where she served as Chair of the Festivals Committee for six consecutive seasons. In 1996, in honour of the Ontario Choral Federation’s 25th Anniversary, Rosanne was selected as one of 25 recipients of the OCF’s Distinguished Service Award for outstanding contribution to the choral art. The ceremony was presided by Lieutenant Governor, Hal Jackman. In November 1997, Rosanne Simunovic was selected by the Rotary Club Of Timmins to receive the prestigious Paul Harris Award for her years of dedication to the artistic development of young musical talent in Timmins. In August of 2002, Rosanne Simunovic was selected by the Board Of Directors of Choirs Ontario to serve as Conductor of both the Provincial Junior and Teen Choir Camps, now renamed in honour of the Camp Benefactors, Don and Lillian Wright. In November 2002, Rosanne was the one of the recipients of the Commemorative Medal for the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, honouring her work in the development of the arts in Timmins. Under Rosanne Simunovic’s direction, the Timmins Youth Singers and the Timmins Concert Singers have been featured in numerous choral festivals and performing opportunities outside of Timmins. In 1985, they were selected to partici
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15 Responses to “Scott Borchetta Speaks Out About The Quentin/Harry Brouhaha ”

  1. hunter April 19, 2015 at 4:17 pm

    wow, cool, thanks for posting. i now like scott more. i liked him before. i love that he mentioned tim mcgraw who is now getting tremendous flack because he will be performing for the sandy hook fund raiser. i had been worried that people might judge quentin and not vote for him because of this incident, but he so strongly follows his heart that i doubt that he regrets how he responded. i hope people (i.e., voters) appreciate it/him and keep him in. i really like scott as an addition to idol.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. James April 19, 2015 at 6:59 pm

    I was doing other things last Wednesday nite:) Once Daniel left, I had no further interest in watching. I watched the youtube vid of Quentin when Ryan asked how he felt. I liked his honesty.

    I have to ask the following question: If it were the ‘Top Ten’ instead of the ‘Top Five’ going on tour, would Quentin have said anything? I saw a ‘tweet’ from Daniel Seavey about how they were unsure of how many would make the ‘cut’.

    That kind of pressure should be OFF the finalists! My views on this subject are well-known.

    And the ticket prices are HIGHER this this year for the AI tour.

    Also, I have some other ideas on how to make AI better.

    Like

  3. rereader April 19, 2015 at 7:36 pm

    I honestly don’t think Harry in any way said or meant to imply that he could mentor better than the existing mentors; I think it was just killing him not to have the time and opportunity to discuss interpretation and musical variations with Joey and Clark, since they did songs smack in his wheelhouse and he clearly (well, it felt clear to me! 🙂 ) felt they are at a level where they COULD have an interesting and fruitful discussion with him.

    Like

  4. Masterclass Lady April 19, 2015 at 8:42 pm

    I understand rereader but he knows what he signed up for and he knows that he is a judge and not a mentor.

    He also knows that these kids are coached extensively by his musical peers so he should respect that and judge the performance rather than the ideas behind the performance.

    Oh well…. Let’s see what happens next week.

    Like

  5. Idol Girl April 20, 2015 at 9:14 am

    I saw the situation differently. Quentin’s anger started right after his performance – when Harry correctly called him out on his pitch problems – Quentin did not like this criticism. It had nothing to do with the bottom two – that was just a cover-up for saying “this sucks”.

    I think the show should have gone to a commercial break and Harry and Quentin should have handled the situation off stage. Maybe it’s because of new producers or something, but the whole show this year has had a rather amateur vibe to it.

    Like

  6. rereader April 20, 2015 at 10:07 am

    No argument here, MCL! And he doesn’t generally seem to have trouble doing exactly that, but I my take was that his decades of jazz training got the best of him when faced with a contestant like Joey, and to an extent Clark, that moved into jazz territory where it’s all about the give and take. He isn’t used to throttling that impulse, because the contestants on AI tend to go for the more mainstream genres.

    It will be interesting to see how it plays out this coming week, for sure!

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Masterclass Lady April 20, 2015 at 10:40 am

    I think Harry is obsessing over Quentin and his pitch problems. Joey was really out of tune for her Valentine song and he said nothing. It was ridiculous really.

    Like

  8. Aubry April 20, 2015 at 11:17 am

    Quentin was obviously upset at the situation of his best friend being in the bottom and not his critique. IMO idol set this entire thing up. Leaving Quentin to sweat it out thinking he may be up against his best friend for the save. Ryan prodding and Harry being the total tool he has been to Quentin all season, sticking the knife in his back and saying if he was that upset he should go home. Harry has been way to harsh on Quentin while not mentioning Jax being off pitch throughout Billie Jean. I am glad Quentin “clarified” for Harry. Keith has come out and said he knew exactly what Quentin meant as did Jax , Nick and Joey.

    Alas the damage may be done and Quentin may be B2 and will loose the save tweet if he is because of all of the Idol purist who feel you never talk back to a judge or show emotion.

    Without Joey and Quentin the tour will be a total snooze fest and I will save the money vs attending.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Jane Doe April 20, 2015 at 11:42 am

    Although this whole dust up is tense and controversial there is always the opportunity for something good to come out of it. For the next crew coming in Idol season 15 there could always be some added coaching about how to communicate authentically on air without being disrespectful or creating more difficulty for yourself than you planned. That’s a great skill for any performer to have or for anyone else for that matter.

    Liked by 1 person

  10. VNessa April 20, 2015 at 11:42 am

    But, why do you not see this kind of harshness on The Voice?

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Jane Doe April 20, 2015 at 12:00 pm

    From it’s earliest seasons, Idol has always had a meanness factor.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Jessica Reffler Turner April 20, 2015 at 12:45 pm

    I was really impressed with what Scott had to say.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Masterclass Lady April 20, 2015 at 3:26 pm

    Knowing Idol, I think this whole thing pre-staged, without Quentin’s knowledge. Why did Ryan start delving in to Quentin’s frame of mind? He must have known he was going to upset the apple cart. These producers and Ryan know which buttons to push.

    All this drama. Let it go. Let these kids sing and stop with the theatrics already. And Harry should have been the adult here and just stayed silent.

    Like

  14. Masterclass Lady April 20, 2015 at 3:30 pm

    Aw ReReader. One of the rare times we agree to disagree. But I do agree that everything got wayyyyy out of control at both ends.

    And, at the end of the day, why did Ryan even ask what was bothering Quentin? He must have known he would get a reaction. Oh the drama on this show!

    Liked by 1 person

  15. rereader April 20, 2015 at 3:38 pm

    Heh. Well, it’s not much of a disagreement–I do totally agree that Harry way overreacted (if it was in fact his reaction, and not some pre-prepared lines) to Quentin’s comment! And ITA about Ryan–I would put about 70% of the blame on Ryan, because he was the big pot stirrer on this one. Drah-mah! Controversy! Meh. Give me music.

    I was just putting the comments to Joey and Clark (especially to Clark about being the musician left) in a different drawer altogether. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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