Idol’s “Teflon” Tim Urban: It’s been a crazy, awesome journey

And then there were six…

We’re almost halfway there, Idol fans.  Were you surprised by Wednesday’s vote? 

“Teflon” Tim Urban, the guy with a guitar and a smile, was eliminated from Idol Wednesday night.  Despite often harsh criticisms from the judges and ending up in the bottom three so many times, Tim surprised many (including himself) and kept plugging along on the show. 

After he was voted off, Tim talked to us at the Larry King Live blog about his Idol experience and what’s next for him…

LKL Blog:  So how are you feeling?

Tim Urban:  I’m actually feeling really good.  I’m not really that sad about it.  It’s not really one of those things.  It’s been a crazy, awesome journey.  And it’s really just beginning.  So I actually feel really good.  

LKL Blog:  Were you surprised at all by the vote Wednesday night?

Tim:  Not really that surprised because you don’t really know who’s going to go home.  It could always be you.  So it wasn’t really that surprising.  I was ready for it mentally just because I’ve been in the bottom three so many times before, so I was ready for it.  So it wasn’t a huge shock. 

LKL Blog:  You said it was a great journey anyway – you weren’t supposed to be in the top 24, let alone the top 12 [Tim was added to the top 24 contestants after Idol producers disqualified another contestant].  Was this all gravy for you?

Tim:  Pretty much.  I mean after you get called back to be on the top 24, I’m like this is amazing.  So even if I got sent home the first week of the top 24, which a lot of people thought I was going to be, it still would have been an amazing journey.  To get this far, it’s just unbelievable to me.

LKL Blog:  The judges were pretty harsh over the course of the past few weeks, the name “Teflon Tim” and what Simon had been saying – but a lot of people commented on how happy you seemed.  That you kept smiling through it all.  Did any of that get to you?  Did it bother you?

Tim:  Not really.  That’s kind of who I am, that’s my personality.  I don’t let things get me too down.  It just took it as a joke.  I wasn’t going to think about it too much.

LKL Blog:  It must have been nice, after all of this, to hear Simon say last week that you went from “zero to hero.”

Tim:  That was really cool to get that encouragement from him, that response.  To hear him say that I was working really hard, to hear the from all the judges, that was encouraging. 

LKL Blog:  Did you learn a lot from this experience?

Tim:  I did.  I learned so much about myself, about the industry, about what I want to do.  It’s been definitely a learning process for me.

LKL Blog:  What do you want to do?

Tim:  I want to be in the entertainment industry.  Be it music, acting, any number of things.  I just know that I love being in front of people.  And I love performing. 

LKL Blog:  Tell me about the past couple of weeks.  As a singer, you were able to meet, work with and be mentored by people like Alicia Keyes, Miley Cyrus and Adam Lambert.  What was that like?  Who helped you the most?

Tim:  You know, they all kind of helped me in their own way.  I think Alicia Keyes was really special to me.  I have huge respect for her, she’s an amazing artist, but also because of the work that she’s done.  I thought that was really cool.  We got to talk about that a little bit before the session started.  So I had this new found respect for her.  And she was just really cool.  And she was really encouraging as a mentor.  So she was really great.  But the rest of the mentors have been really classy people, really nice, with some good encouragement.  So overall, I’ve loved the mentors.

LKL Blog:  What’s it like for you as a contestant?  I assume you all get really close to each other.  Do you talk about what’s going on?  Do you help each other through it?

Tim:  We actually have turned into a big family.  And we do encourage each other after the shows.  And we do have that support for everybody, it’s really cool.  After you get done, after the judges have torn you up or loved you, you know you’re going to go back there and the family is there to support you.

LKL Blog:  Between now and when you all go on tour, what do you do? 

Tim:  I’ll have some time at home to rest and recover, keep working, keep trying to improve and get ready for the tour.  Hopefully get some time to myself and try to process everything.

Posted by: LKL Producer Jason Rovou
Filed under: American Idol • LKL Web Exclusive