By Brandon Garcia, Idol Chat Editor
She was the “bad girl” on America’s most wholesome show.
American Idol producers delighted in showing Season 5 viewers the cattier side of Brenna Gethers, including a face-licking feud with a fellow contestant and several razor-sharp repartees with Simon Cowell. But like a lot of things on Idol, Brenna said, what you see isn’t always what you get.“They think they know who I am,” she said.
“There is so much to Brenna Gethers. When you add it up, you might have seen seven hours of who I am, and I’ve lived a lot longer.”
Brenna Gethers, familiar to many Rio Grande Valley residents from her TV ad spots with local eye surgeon Dr. Raul Peña, was eliminated during the semi-finals of last season’s American Idol. She visited Pharr on an Idol-themed tour last October, along with headliners Ruben Studdard and Justin Guarini. She’s currently the lead singer of the Bomb Squad, a funk rock outfit with an American Music Award to their name — quite an about-face from the soul/R&B diva Idol viewers came to associate her with, the one who sashayed through Stevie Wonder’s “Sunshine of My Life” and Donna Summers’ “Last Dance.”
“I grew up on pop, Bob Marley, Coltrane, Michael Jackson,” she said — influences she didn’t have the chance to reveal during her short stay on the show.
Unlike many of her opponents, Brenna’s shot at Idol stardom hadn’t been a lifelong goal.
“It was my first (singing) competition,” she said. “I wasn’t classically trained. My mom wasn’t a vocal coach,” unlike, say, the stage parent of last year’s runner-up Katharine McPhee.“I really didn’t think this was what I wanted to do. I just went for it.” While Brenna initially found a welcome audience in the producers with her outgoing personality and stylish singing, the inner workings of the show soon began to show their true colors. She likens it to The Truman Show.
“At the end of the day, it isn’t about singing. You really see it for what it was. The definition is what it is: reality TV.”
Still, she’s got no qualms about her association with the TV juggernaut.If she hadn’t been a contestant, “you wouldn’t be talking to me. You have to know where your bread is buttered up. Although I have no lasting affiliations with the entity, I really feel that Idol gave me the will to want to (pursue a career in music). There’s no turning back.”
While it’s a new direction, Brenna enjoys the camaraderie of working with the Bomb Squad, whom she calls “a bunch of brothers.”
“When you’re a solo act, it’s a risk-taking venture. I like having the band there to give me input and bounce ideas off each other.”
Plus, “I’m bringing a different demographic. The people we’re bringing together are from different circles.”
“You don’t need to win Idol to see Idol success,” she says.
Click on the photo of Brenna and the Bomb Squad to view their MySpace page.
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