Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
My mum lives in Boston; she's famous for teaching wushu and t'ai chi. So from when I was young, my mum and aunt were like: 'You're training; you're not playing baseball or football.' Training every day was normal. Later, when I was almost a teenager, Bruce Lee became my idol.
I am very grateful for the opportunities provided to me through appearing on 'American Idol.' The value that the fans and the show have given to my career is not lost on me. However, I have not felt that I have been free to conduct my career in a way that I am comfortable with.
I did something that no brown-skinned man in the movie industry ever did. I made a brown-skinned man look very romantic - a matinee idol. If you think about it, what I introduced is historical because it had never happened before, and it hasn't happened since - not on that level.
Before 'American Idol' and all this stuff, I was obsessed with music charts, and I used to go online to find out what was popular in other countries. I'd log on to the BBC website, and that's how I found out about artists like Natasha Bedingfield, Daniel Bedingfield and Take That.
A lot of the people who have been on 'American Idol' have unfortunately not been very successful after the show is over. I would be one of the most successful contestants to not make it to the Top 12. So that would be a good statistic to throw into the show. It's what you make of it.
I just want to show that you don't have to be changing yourself 100 percent to be someone that you're not. You don't have to change yourself to be someone like your idol. You can be someone's idol just by being you. But also, it takes a lot of work and time to be that sort of person.
Instead of plotting the demise of the traditional family, as some politicians and religious leaders would have you believe, gay people mow their lawns and watch 'American Idol' and video their children's concerts and have the same hopes and dreams that their straight counterparts do.
When I was a little boy, Marvin Hagler was my idol. He got no respect for most of his career. His fighting style was straight ahead. He took every shot thrown at him, and he kept punching back 'til he won. I honestly feel that's how I am. I take big shots from people. But I keep going.
Muhammad Ali was my idol, and I always say, if Muhammad Ali had told me the exact same thing my mother, the principal, the security guard, my brothers... you know, the same thing they were telling me that I didn't listen to, I would have listened, just because it came from Muhammad Ali.
Acting is the most bizarre profession. You can stay in it for years and not really be in it and be waiting for someone to give you an opportunity. It's like when I watch 'American Idol' and see people who have been told to believe in themselves at all costs: It's not always a good idea.
I've never bought a Dylan record. A singing poet? It just bores me to tears. I've got to tell you, if I had 10 Dylans in the final of 'American Idol,' we would not be getting 30 million viewers a week. I don't believe the Bob Dylans of this world would make 'American Idol 'a better show.
I quit my software engineer job, decided that I would be a singer, and got married. Those days, there were no platforms like the 'Indian Idol.' It was like, you decide to become a singer, and then what do you do? It must have been tough for my wife getting married to a man without a job.
When I was younger, I definitely had more of a dream, as they say on 'American Idol,' that I would have my own show. I always thought that that was something that would happen, that eventually I would just get my own show because anyone who wants their own show should get their own show.
The Kate Winslet thing has been a shocker. I was like, that is the most ridiculous claim. Amazing, obviously. She's been my idol since I re-enacted 'Titanic' and fell in love with Leo. And it's a privilege to be called the next anything. But I suppose to be the next you is all you can do.
My first album after 'American Idol' I did with Desmond - we paid for it together, and we literally were together working on it every day for a year and half, just writing. We wrote in New York, Nashville, L.A., Sweden - we wrote with some other amazing songwriters like Diane Warren, too.
My mom is a huge woman of worth for me because she's been my idol my whole life. My mom was someone who juggled everything. She had her own career, she raised five kids, she was Superwoman... and she was never satisfied doing just one thing because... she probably just had too much energy.
I went into the 'Idol' audition with no expectations; that's just the kind of person I am. If it doesn't happen, it doesn't hurt so badly, you know? But once I made it past the first round, and the second, and third - I started to realize, 'Maybe my goals and dreams really are attainable.'
I really wanna do a Spanish album. I have that Latin culture background. It's a part of me. I'm not the best Spanish speaker, but I have a longing to connect with that. I just think how supportive the Latin community has been, even during 'Idol.' I'd like to give back with something like that.
I'm excited about the new judges on 'American Idol.' Jennifer Lopez was a real mentor to me my season and I admire her so much. And I kind of have a crush on Steven Tyler. It's going to be interesting to see is one person going to stand out among the judges or if everyone will sort of be equal.
'American Idol' is sometimes lumped with reality shows and it has that element - folks-next-door battling it out in a contest. But instead of fighting leeches, bugs, parasites and each other, as on CBS's 'Survivor' and other shows that imitate it, the 'American Idol' contestants, of course, sing.
Just because you're a star on television doesn't mean that you can be a music phenomenon or an artist. You have to have the material to back it, and it's all about hit songs. I can name you every 'Idol' winner and why they didn't go on to have success - their songs. The ones who have - their songs.
When reality television really hit, I just had a backlash towards reality. It seemed like a cheap way to make a product. And then when music reality and 'Idol hit,' I just didn't watch it, it seemed novelty. And of course the story of 'Idol,' this is one of the greatest stories in television history.
I spent every bit of my money to try and get a Mickey Mantle card, and I don't have one. Growing up in Oklahoma, Mickey Mantle was my idol. And here I am, and I'd go pick cotton to have enough money, and I'd buy all of these packs, and I'd chew all of the gum, and I'd never find a Mickey Mantle card.
Yeah, the first contract I signed, that was the first time I realized, Oh man, never mind, I don't want to do this anymore, but it was too late. I realized it was a bad thing because I wanted to try out for 'American Idol' and all these different things couldn't do that because I was in this contract.
My idol is Emile Zola. He was a man of the left, so people expected of him a kind of 'Les Miserables,' in which the underdogs are always noble people. But he went out, and found a lot of ambitious, drunk, slothful and mean people out there. Zola simply could not - and was not interested in - telling a lie.
What bothers me, I guess, is when I get these messages from girls on Twitter, and they're like, 'God, you're my idol, I really admire you.' It's like, 'Admire me for what? What have I done?' It's not that being in a Burberry campaign, or walking in a Chanel show is nothing. It's just... I know I can do more.
I still have a photo on my wall of the greatest idol I will ever have in my life, and it's myself at eight. Because that's when the forces of imagination have the same value as the real world, when they're an instrument of survival: when my mother disappeared, and I imagined a mother. That was me at my best.
There's something about seeing somebody who thinks they're great and is so wrapped up in their moves, voice, and performance that makes it so wonderfully charming that you can't take your eyes off. That's why we all remember William Hung from those first years of 'American Idol. It's the William Hung effect.
Marciano was an idol in a simpler era, when professional athletes were heroes and sportswriters were complicit in building legends rather than exposing them. To the public, all that really mattered was that Rocky had 49 wins in 49 fights and retired in 1956 as the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world.
When I was living an almost mechanical lifestyle as an idol, I was constantly wrapped up in thoughts about who I was. That's when I entered a phase in which I was trying to discover myself. Because I was able to get past that difficult phase, I now realize how important it is to protect myself and my identity.
I started singing about three years ago, I entered a local singing competition called Stratford Idol. The other people in the competition had been taking singing lessons and had vocal coaches. I wasn't taking it too seriously at the time, I would just sing around the house. I was only 12 and I got second place.
I doubt the terrorists saw 9/11 as a teaching opportunity. And we're not really a culture geared to anything as humble as 'learning.' But I was disappointed in how quickly everyone wanted to get back to normal. It was as if we watched terrorism on TV for a while, then got bored and turned back to 'American Idol.'
I learned that sometimes our struggles are a little bit bigger than us and talking about them and coming through and having the courage to get out of them. I learned how many I touched and inspired through the journey of 'Idol' because I was just singing on the show. I wasn't really being an advocate for anything.
I was the first judge in the 'Indian Idol' format. The biggest risk when you adapt a format from a country in the West is how to make it your own, so I remember at the press conference for Indian 'X Factor,' the press would ask, 'Who is Simon Cowell?' And I said 'Why don't you ask Simon Cowell, 'Who is Sonu Nigam?'
That was very difficult for me on 'American Idol' to feel like I had to be a certain way. It wasn't that the producers were saying that you shouldn't be gay or whatever, but there was this unspoken energy around saying you have to appeal to Middle America, and Middle America at that point was not ready for all that.
Before all this happened, I always used to see my stammer as being a negative, all my life, but then when I went on 'Pop Idol,' and the first time I saw it on television, it was really, really bad, but also it made me stand out; it made people remember me. So for the first time in my life, it worked to my advantage.
Many movie stars or American Idol contestants sort of fall into theater... and say, 'Oh, yeah, I would love to do theater.' And then they get here and say, 'Oh, wait a minute, this actually is a craft!' It's not just show up one day and do it. It's show up eight times a week, twice on Wednesdays and twice on Saturdays.
Bob Dylan is my idol. Everybody has that person growing up that made them see things a little differently than they did before, Dylan is that guy for me. My dad gave me the 'Blonde on Blonde' album on cassette tape when I was seven or eight. It took me a while to get into Dylan's vibe, but once I did, I never looked back.
I don't want to be the cranky old guy, but a lot of critics are too forgiving of mediocre artists. When you see these 'American Idol' people on the cover of 'Rolling Stone' being written about as serious artists, there's something wrong with that. You can erase them from the history of rock n' roll, and you wouldn't notice.
Since 'Idol' I've gotten used to having an amazing hair and make-up team around me, so I'm starting to get picky. I know what I like now and I'm happy to say 'Could we maybe change that?' if I don't like something. I don't yell or anything, but I think I could definitely start to act a little diva-ish when it comes to my look.
I want to figure out what kind of artist I want to be, because with the 'American Idol' process, it just works really fast. The night of the finale, they said, 'OK, here are all the label people that you're gonna work with, this is the album you're gonna make and blah, blah, blah.' So it was a pretty fast process, but it's been cool.
I love the 'Housewives.' I don't watch 'American Idol' or 'X Factor.' I guess I don't like network reality: I like my Bravo; I like documentary programming - I love 'Intervention' and some things on TLC more than others - but the 'Real Housewives' to me are really revolutionary, in terms of giving camera time to women of a certain age.
When I was a kid, and God was talking to me about music, I was like, 'Okay, I'll sing mainstream music,' because I was afraid to sing Christian music to alienate my friends. Honestly, it was going on 'Idol,' having that kind of exposure, that I realized there's something different about me. I just crave God being a part of every moment.
I have three goalkeepers who really inspired me. Jens Lehmann was my idol because he played for Schalke and was really progressive in the way he developed the position in Germany. I also have a lot of respect for all that Oliver Kahn achieved with the national team. Outside Germany, I would add that Edwin van der Sar was a big role model.
Since we launched the original 'Pop Idol' in England, I've remained close with Simon Fuller. Working as executive producer on 'American idol' for its first seven years not only was an inspirational journey into the heart of American pop culture, it opened my eyes to the untapped potential of the incredibly dynamic young people in this world.
I am planning to start a K. D. Jadhav Memorial International Championship in which I will have wrestling tournaments all over India. I will make a foundation and, through that, encourage youngsters to participate in sports activities. Jadhavji was my idol, and he inspired people like me to rise above our disabilities and achieve success in life.
I don't think that anyone was trying to keep me from writing the first album. It's just when you're on 'American Idol' or a TV show like that, you wanna capitalize on that momentum, and you want to use that to your advantage, obviously, so the best way to do that is to get the music out as fast as possible. And there's no time to create, really.
I didn't necessarily hit rock bottom, but I was working at Sprinkles Cupcakes and trying to make money, not wanting to tell anybody that I was getting a job because other people that I knew from 'Idol' were like, 'Why aren't you singing places and making money off of the Idol name?' And I was like, 'Because I don't only want to be known for that.'
'American Idol' gives people really wonderful opportunities, and they shouldn't take flak for what people do with that opportunity after they leave the show. A lot of casting rooms I was in, that was the only thing on my resume, and people would just be like, 'Oh, here's Katie Stevens. Another 'American Idol' girl who thinks she could be an actor.'