Jenna seemed like one of the sweetest girls competing on Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious, but unfortunately being sweet doesn’t guarantee anyone a spot in the group. Robin Antin and the other judges came down on Jenna for lacking energy in her rendition of a Destiny’s Child tune, and eventually decided that she wasn’t right for Girlicious. Today we had a chance to talk to Jenna about Natalie’s meltdown, what really happened when she almost quit the show, and what she plans to do in the future.
Read on for the complete mp3 and transcript of the interview.
Hi, this is Don from BuddyTV, and today I’m talking to Jenna from Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious.
Hi, Don.
Hi Jenna, how’s it going?
Hey, I’m fantastic. First of all, I have to say I am so excited because I have been looking on your website since before the show even started. I am so excited for this interview, you have no idea.
That’s awesome. So how long have you been performing, and what made you decide to try out for the show?
I’ve been performing since I was three. My first performance was at my aunt’s wedding. Nobody was on the dance floor, so I was like hmm, maybe I should go sing. I went and sang “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston, then everybody started dancing. That was my first real singing experience, and then from there I did competitions, sang in stadiums and whatever. I’ve just been doing it my whole life. Then the last season of The Search for the Next Doll, I was really interested in that show. I loved it, and it was like a religion to me that I had to watch it, then the last episode they showed that there was going to be tryouts for Girlicious. I went online and got all the information, went in, tried out, and I honestly didn’t know how far I would make it. I’m so glad that I made it this far, it’s such a blessing. They went to 11 different cities and different states, so it’s just such an accomplishment. I was so excited.
Last night, the judges kind of came down on you for seeming lethargic and low energy in your performance. Did you feel like that was a problem, or do you feel that they made the wrong decision?
You know what, they said that throughout a lot of my performances, but I also did get a lot of great comments too. Ron Fair, last night he did say that he didn’t think I meshed well with the group, but he thought I would be better off as a solo artist, which I totally agree with. Robin and Lil’ Kim agreed with that pretty much the whole time. I don’t think that there was a lot of bad commentary, but the whole laziness thing, I actually really don’t agree with it. I obviously have a different thing going on than the other girls. I am a little bit different, so I don’t think it’s necessarily bad, it’s just different.
I know you were in the room when Natalie went off on Kenn Hicks and stormed out and all of that. What was your reaction when that was happening?
Natalie is a dear friend of mine, and I was actually really shocked that she did that. Kenn Hicks is such an accomplished person, and we were so privileged to even have him there teaching us. We were all really shocked and kind of like “whoa,” but you also have to understand that it is a TV show, and it all is edited. She also had a lot going on. Her grandma had just passed away, and she just had a lot going on. There was no excuse for her walking out, but what audiences don’t remember is that it is an edited show, and there was a lot more going on with girls ganging up on her and stuff like that. I think that it was kind of upsetting, but she apologized and she knew that she was wrong.
Regarding the editing, after watching the show did you have any problems with it? Was there anything cut out that you thought should have been in there?
Actually, last night I was kind of upset when they tried to show me in the kitchen eating. That kind of upset me a little bit, because that wasn’t even really how it happened. What happened was Cassandra had made the dish that I was making, and when she had left all of the girls were like, “Wow, we really miss that dish that she made.” It’s called dog chow, by the way. She had made this dog chow and everybody loved it, and I was like well, I think I remember how she made it. So I went in the kitchen and everyone was like, “Try to make it, try to make it.” I was like uh, okay. I tried to make it and then, you know, they tried to make it look like I was being a fatty and I was eating my life away in the kitchen. That’s really not how it happened.
In last week’s episode we saw you almost quit the competition. Was that just due to the stress of living with the girls, or was there more to it than that that they didn’t show?
That’s so not how it happened either. I think there was a point where all the girls had said, “I want to go home.” They just chose to focus on the time that I said it. I really didn’t want to go home, because I had worked so hard just to get to that point. I didn’t really want to go home, but I was really frustrated. I had a lot going on too, just like all the other girls. I shouldn’t have maybe said the things that I said, but I was really upset, and frustrated with Charlye. I just couldn’t hold it in anymore and I got really frustrated. Obviously it panned out the way it did, but I can’t take it back. If I could take it back, I would. That’s just the way it worked out.
Do you feel like you made friends with all the girls by the end, or did you still have problems with Charlye and a couple of the other ones?
Actually it’s kind of funny, because I feel like I almost get along better with Charlye than I do with any of the other girls. Charlye and Carrie actually, I hang out with them the most, which is kind of funny. I get along with everybody, but I hang out with Charlye and Carrie the most.
Which of the challenges that you had to do was the toughest for you?
I don’t really think any of the challenges were hard. I get excited when there’s challenges because I’m a very competitive person, so I think that all the challenges were really fun.
Was there one that you liked the most?
I really, really liked the one where we met Nelly Furtado. The karaoke challenge. She was so, so nice, and I never would have got the chance to meet her without that opportunity. I feel like that was the really, really cool opportunity that I’m glad I got to take advantage of.
So now that you’re done with the show, what’s in the future for you? Are you going to keep performing?
Oh, definitely. I have a lot of things in the works right now. I have a MySpace, and I actually just recorded a new song called “Mind Funk.” You can get to my MySpace by going to jennamusiconline.com, and it will take you directly to my MySpace. It’ll keep you updated with all my new appearances, all my new music, my new photos, everything. Anybody can message me anytime. I’m always on and I always message my fans back.
Alright, Jenna. Thanks for talking to us today.
Thank you so much. I really appreciate you interviewing me. I was so excited when I read on my paper this morning that I was going to be interviewed by you guys. I love your website! I go on it every day.
– Interview conducted by Don Williams
(Image courtesy of the CW)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
