Danny Noriega Interview
Here is a bit of an interview that Danny Noriega gave a few days ago now.
Q: Were you surprised by the reaction to your YouTube clip making the rounds online?
A: That’s something that is so, like, forever ago that I used to do. It’s almost like another person ago. That’s when I was younger. It was more like an acting thing I used to do, personalities and stuff like that. I’m actually kind of shocked that they used that one. There’s more interesting ones. [He laughs.]
Q: You’re not the only one with a pseudo-scandal: David Hernandez has also been taking some heat for his stripper past. How do you guys handle that pressure?
A: It’s just really weird. Doing something as simple as making an acting video — which I did, like, so many moons ago — something little like that, that was made for humor, gets blown up out of proportion and can be kind of shown as your character, and it’s not the kind of person that I am, you know what I mean? I just think it’s pretty sad that people will do that just to tear down somebody’s success. We’re all trying to be somebody in life right now, and we don’t understand why people would try to cut us down by doing things like that.
Q: Do you think your unique personality helped you get this far in the competition?
A: You always want to stay true to yourself. I think the other contestants were all different, but I definitely was, like, really, really different. [He laughs.] But I wasn’t trying to be different or anything, it just came naturally.
Q: Did anyone ever ask you to tone it down a bit?
A: Definitely. I got that a lot. Yeah, I didn’t really listen! [He laughs.]
Q: How do you feel about becoming a role model to young “Idol” fans?
A: I love the little fan letters that I’m getting from these little kids telling me that they admire me … for being myself and that I’ve showed them that you can be different and still be successful. … I really like to inspire those little kids that think that they can’t do anything because they’re different in ways, whether it’s sexuality or their race or anything like that. It’s fine to be yourself and be successful.