Noise: SFBG Music Blog - "American Idol" interview series: Allison Iraheta

Louis Peitzman interviews the latest crop of Idols. Read his interview with Scott MacIntyre here and his interview with Anoop Desai here.

SFBG: So I’ve asked everyone so far this is the opening question: Are you getting enough rest on tour?
Allison Iraheta: Enough?

SFBG: Yes.
AI: Yes. Obviously yes, because I’m still standing, but if it wasn’t enough, I’d probably be passed out on the floor right there. Just about. It’s enough to just get back on my feet and do it again tomorrow.

Allison Iraheta: born in 1992.

SFBG: Is touring different from what you imagined it would be, or is it pretty much what you expected?
AI: It is what I imagined it to be. I mean, I talked to Archie [David Archuleta], Jordin [Sparks], and Dave [Cook]. They pretty much prepared me. Because I was like, “How was the tour?” And they were like, “It’s the best part.” I remember Michael Johns also telling me and David Cook that — they prepared me. Because I really didn’t know. It’s my first time being on tour. So it is really what they told me. And so far it’s so much fun.

SFBG: Is there anyone you didn’t get to know on the show that you’ve bonded with on tour, or were you all always close?
AI: We were all — it’s crazy, because this group here was already just so close, ever since the show. So it’s not even like, oh, we’re on tour now, so we have to get along. We’ve been getting along since like top 13.

SFBG: I was talking to Scott, and he said this is the first totally drama-free Idol top 10.
AI: Yeah! That’s what they were telling us. It’s a miracle that this is the first top 10 that doesn’t have drama or beef or anything. And we like it that way. We want to keep it that way. Obviously we’re going to get tired of each other, because we’re around each other for so long, but we’ve gotten so close that we can confront each other about it. Like, “God, shut up, man. Just shut up.” And we’re cool about it.

SFBG: Is it weird for you being the youngest, or have you totally been embraced?
AI: I don’t know. It’s not weird. I mean, they all treat me like their little sister, and that’s the best part. We’re all family, so that’s how we feel about it.

SFBG: You were just signed recently?
AI: Mhmm.

SFBG: Congratulations.
AI: Thank you, thank you. Yeah, just got signed and recording now, so that’s in the works.

SFBG: So your next plans are album and…?
AI: Album. So, it’s be probably coming out this fall. And then after the tour, I’ll probably be promoting this album.

SFBG: So constant moving around?
AI: Constant moving around.

SFBG: Is it hard to adjust to this sudden fame and different lifestyle?
AI: It is. Well, I think it depends on who it is who’s adjusting to it. For me, it was hard, ‘cause coming from being this normal teenage girl who nobody knows to someone now who these little girls are holding up pictures with your face on it. I’m like, whoa. It’s awesome, but it’s like, wow, I just never thought I’d be here. So it’s crazy.

SFBG: You’re also on Twitter. With all of those followers — and your fans elsewhere — do you feel a responsibility to them. How do you…?
AI: Keep up with it?

SFBG: Yeah, pretty much.
AI: It’s hard. That’s why I didn’t want to get a Twitter in the first place. I don’t like disappointing people. I’m not the kind of person. So I know that if I have a Twitter I have to keep up with it. And I’m a very lazy person. I rarely check my MySpace. I have a MySpace that I just keep for my family. I’m getting a fan-based one so I can get straight with fans, so putting that out there. I’m putting that out there that I’m getting a music MySpace soon for the fans, but I had a MySpace that was just for my family. And you know, I would hate it when they would get mad — “You don’t respond, you don’t reply.” And I’m like, well, I’m just so lazy, and I’ve got things to do now. That’s why I didn’t want to Twitter in the first place, but I’ve got a Twitter now.

SFBG: You got talked into it?
AI: I got talked into it. I got hooked. I’m hooked now. But you know, it’s hard, because being on Twitter, people expect things from you. I’m adjusting now. I have to, you know, update it and stuff.

SFBG: Speaking of the Internet, what about the gossip blogs? Does that bother you, having people talk about you in a not-so-positive way?
AI: I’m avoiding it. Even if I read it, I could care less about negative things. Maybe not care less, but I wouldn’t let it get to me. Probably read it sometimes, to at least let it help me make whatever they’re suggesting better. I don’t mind taking criticism. It’ll definitely help me for my next performance. I definitely don’t want to let it bring me down, though. I’m not that kind of person.

SFBG: It seems like because you are all so friendly and getting along so well, there’s not a lot of material out there for them to pick on.
AI: Yeah, there’s nothing for them to put up about us.

SFBG: Have you had any time to do anything exciting in the Bay Area since you got here?
AI: I haven’t. I mean, I went to Cheesecake Factory at about 12:00 a.m., but that’s about it.