Debra Byrd interviewed on "Christopher Closeup"

Idol's vocal coach in chief, Debra Byrd (or simply known as "Byrd" to the finalists), took time in between seasons to speak with Tony Rossi over on his "Christopher Closeup" program. In the interview, Byrd spoke about the impacts different finalists leave on her among other things. Below is an excerpt from the interview:

TR: You are the vocal coach and arranger for “American Idol.” But you don’t see that as just a job; you look at it as a ministry. How come?

Debra Byrd: I love that it’s a service job. I remember the first tour – we were on the road, Kelly Clarkson was the first American Idol winner and so there was a tour afterwards…I was singing backup for all the contestants that I had just mentored. Band members would say to me, “How can you do that? How can you sing backup for these people? You know more than they (do).” I said, “You don’t understand. I’m here to show them how to do this because it’s a huge undertaking. I get to pass on so much information and I’m grateful to do it.”

Byrd also gave a recount of an instance when she had to use patience dealing with the difficulties of of different personalities on the show:

On “Canadian Idol” there was a contestant that no one liked. Clearly, this young man had huge problems that came from his upbringing...Consequently his perspective on life is incredibly different. He didn’t get along with anyone at all. One of the judges on “Canadian Idol” said, “How do you deal with this kid? How can you talk to this kid every day? This is a horrible human being.” And I said, “Through unconditional love. That’s the only way you can get past him, what he brings to the table. I have to deal with him with unconditional love.”

The interview can be listened to in full over on Christophers.org.