Ousted
'American Idol' finalist Haley Scarnato surprised at legs
uproar
She has legs, and Haley Scarnato sure seemed to know how to use
them. However the newly ousted American Idol 6 finalist said she
doesn't understand what the big deal was.
"I didn't think it was going to be that distracting. It's just
shorts," said Scarnato during a conference call with reporters on
Thursday afternoon. "It hurts of course... It's just legs. It is
what it is. It's legs. I mean I don't even know what to say about
it. It's frustrating because I'm just trying to go out there and
perform and sing -- and it is a singing competition -- and they
weren't listening to me anymore."
Scarnato made Idol 6's Top
12 but didn't really capture America's attention until the
following week during the Top 11 performance episode when she sang
"Tell Him."
"I thought about the shorts just because it was a more upbeat kind
of song and it would be comfortable to wear," said Scarnato,
explaining why she decided to bear her legs for the performance.
"And [Idol stylist Art Kahn] just kind of finished the style. We
just molded it together... you get so much feedback from everybody
and they're kind of like, 'Keep it.'"
Following her rendition of the song, Idol judge Simon Cowell called
Scarnato a "naughty little thing" and added he though "people are
going to be talking about a lot more than your singing
tonight."
"They always say this is a singing competition and yada yada yada
I'm like, 'Okay. This is a singing competition.' But you know, it
is what it is, you just kind of brush it off and do the best you
can do," said Scarnato. "I got a good vibe from the judges and I
didn't want to loose it because I didn't get any great vibes from
them before. My stylist liked it. It just seemed to kind of work,
everybody was kind of liking it."
Idol executive producer Ken Warwick stood-up for Scarnato and the
way she was presenting herself and performing prior to her
elimination.
"I think she's good looking kid. I think she has a very good voice.
I think she was given a really bad rap by Simon earlier," Warwick
told reporters during an April 3 conference call. "She's quite a
shy girl; that's the problem. She's not one that's in your face all
the time. But she's a lovely kid. I love her. She looks great on
stage and she has a good voice. I don't care what Simon
says."
The next week Scarnato's vocals didn't receive the best of
compliments from the judges, but Cowell commented on how nice her
legs were following her Top 9 performance of "Ain't Misbehaving"
when he said, "I think you've got great legs." However her
appearance apparently became a negative following her Top 8
performance of "Turn the Beat Around." Cowell told Scarnato, "I
think you have a very good tactic at the moment Haley: wear the
least amount of clothes as possible. Because, look I'll be honest
with you, you can't do well in this competition based on your voice
because there are much better singers."
"I'm on international TV... I still want to stay in that frame of
mind you have to respect him. He's Simon Cowell. It does hurt a
little bit, but you've just got to brush it off and try to get
through it. You can't please everybody. I didn't go shorter. I
didn't wear less clothes. I just did the same thing," said
Scarnato. "I mean I never really changed my look since Hollywood
Week. I kind of showed my midriff a little bit and stuff like that.
I want to stay true to who I am and it's fun dressing up... you
know playing the part of the theme week and the song that you're
singing. I don't think I wore less clothes than before... I think I
stayed true to who I am."
With Scarnato's wardrobe and appearance judged more than her
singing, at least the 24-year-old from San Antonio, TX was able to
take her elimination lightly.
"Definitely if I was still going to be here next week I was going
to wear a choir robe," she told reporters.