American Idol’s Diana DeGarmo On Reliving Her American Idol Moments on ‘Rewind’

Jen Smith
Fancast.com

Everyone remembers Diana DeGarmo as the 17-year-old with a powerhouse voice on Season 3 of American Idol. Although Diana lost to Fantasia Barrino in the finals, she landed on her feet and went on to release a successful album and star on Broadway.

Diana adamantly thanks AI for giving her her big break, and now she’s ready to speak out about all things Idol, including her current stint on American Idol Rewind.

Watch American Idol Rewind clips on Fancast.

American Idol Rewind is showing Season 3 this year… was it fun to reminisce?

It was, but at the same time it was really stressful because it’s like watching those really bad home movies of yourself that you’re hoping your mom totally forgot about! So there were a couple moments where I was like “Oh no, do I really have to relive this all over again?” But it was still cool because when you’re actually doing the show you don’t get to take the time to really enjoy it for what it is. It goes by so quickly. And personally I never even really watched any of the episodes. So it was kind of neat to watch it again.

Which season was the best or most exciting?

That’s tough because I have a bias towards my season! I think that we had such a great amount of talent. And I think Season 4 was really good. When you have artists like Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, Bo Bice, all coming from the same season, I think that’s a really big testament to the amount of talent in each season. But from my season, Jasmine Trias is the Whitney Houston of the Philippines, and Jennifer Hudson has a doggone Oscar! Everybody’s doing all these wonderful things, so it’s really cool to say that was my season.

Are you still working on your country album?

Definitely. I just released an acoustic EP that I’ve been selling hard copies of on the road but is going to be in iTunes soon. And it’s called Nashville Unplugged. I wanted to give people a taste of what I’ve been doing because I know a lot of people were curious. It’s all songs that I’ve written and it’s just a little tidbit that’s leading to the full-length album next year.

Is it true that your next Broadway project Godspell was canceled?

Unfortunately, due to the economy we lost two investors. Everyone’s on a budget, no matter who you are. Entertainment gets the first real squeeze. We were the first wave of it with Godspell. It was a heartbreak for everyone because we had a wonderful, wonderful cast. Just the amount of talent was through the roof. Literally I was zipping my suitcase when I got the phone call. They politely said “postponed indefinitely” but that doesn’t mean anything concrete. I would love to still be a part of it.

Do you think that the addition of the fourth judge and the Wildcard round are going to be good for American Idol?

Definitely. I think all the changes are great. Bringing back the Wildcard show is wonderful because it gets the audience more involved in the stories of each person. I feel like we help that person get a second chance into the show. We had Wildcard on my season. I remember when you go through the weeks leading up to it and you see these great people and think “There’s more than just those two from that week who deserve to be in the top 12.” And of course the judges and the producers see that and decide to bring back people that they think deserves another chance. I think it’s great that they’re going to a broken-down less polished version in the first half of the season. It gives the contestants more of a journey and makes the American people feel more connected to them. With the fourth judge, I think she’s great. She’s so awesome. She actually wrote a few of the songs on my first album and she’s so talented. With the songwriter’s point of view I think she’s going to definitely bring a whole new view to the judges’ panel.

So you like the idea of showing fewer bad auditions in the early weeks?

I think the show got a little wrapped up in the aspect in just getting ratings for the first few weeks, but it’s not what the show is actually about. And this is disheartening as an alumnus to watch because a lot of people stand in line for a long time and go through this huge process. And to see people who were so horrendous get more notoriety and more face time over people who are actually talented, I thought it wasn’t fair. My season they actually blew through the Hollywood week, and that’s a great week of competition that people don’t know much about. Each and every day is a different kind of task, whether it’s writing your own song or performing with a group.

Jennifer Hudson has obviously had a rough couple months, as well as Fantasia Barrino who nearly lost her house to foreclosure. Do you have any words of encouragement?

I can only begin to imagine what [Jennifer is] going through. I know she’s so strong in her faith and if she sticks with that, her family will be able to get through this trying time. We’re all here for her; she knows that. Each and every one of us from Idol whether we were on the same season or not– we all feel for her. In Fantasia’s situation, the hard part about being in the entertainment industry is there’s never a consistent paycheck. It’s a roller coaster industry, and with this economy we’re all feeling it. I hate to see that she’s going through such a personal struggle so publicly. We’ve just got to stay strong for them and pray for them.

AMERICAN IDOL REWIND is nationally syndicated. Viewers can check their
local listings to find out where to watch in their area. New episodes
premiere every Saturday, with encore episodes airing on the TV Guide
Network. All new Season 4 REWIND episodes debut January 31st.