Be Warned, 'American Idol' Contestants! New Mentor Scott Borchetta Hates 'Slackers'
Scott Borchetta, the businessman behind Taylor Swift and the founder-president-CEO of the Big Machine Label Group, has a blank space on his artist roster that he will fill with this season’s American Idol winner. In fact, he’s open to signing more than one contestant on Season 15 to his team, which includes Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, and Florida Georgia Line, if he sees potential while guiding them as the competition’s new weekly mentor.
You are certainly not hurting for work. Why did you want to get involved with Idol?
It’s really about the fundamentals of A&R. We’re looking every day for new talent, and this is another type of opportunity to find one. And with this show, they’ve already screened tens of thousands of kids and they’ve done a really good job doing the legwork. Every day we work so hard to get TV and media opportunities for artists who are selling a million records. And to be able to look at this opportunity and start backwards from 8 to 12 million people a week, however big the ratings are going to be, and know that you have a built-in audience is huge. We should be able to engage in what we’re going to do. I look at it as another opportunity for us to sign an artist. So, it’s not just me. It’s my entire team. And we’re going to try to make sure that we sign an artist that’s going to be very successful. If we’re lucky, we’ll find more than one to sign.
How do you think you’ll be different as a mentor than your predecessors?
I’ll try not to use the phrase “pitchy dawg.” That’s someone else’s line. I don’t know what they did behind the scenes. So, all I can tell you is that I’m going to be me, and we’re going to approach it the same way we approach everything at the Big Machine Label Group — full-on frontal attack.
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Where do you fall in the personality spectrum? Are you demanding, mean, a pushover?
I’m very specific and hands-on. I can be demanding but I demand what I believe an artist to be capable of. I’m very specific about caring. I want to help these artists achieve their goal of becoming the next [winner of] American Idol. If I think you’re doing the wrong thing, I’m very specific. Same as if I think you’re doing the right thing. So it’s very black and white. I don’t like slackers.
What have you learned cultivating unknowns and turning them into superstars? How will you apply that to American Idol contestants?
Each one of [the contestants] should be different, and I will mentor them as needed. Some of them will need more help on image, while others probably haven’t played live in front of big audiences from a big stage very often. Maybe someone will need more help finding the right song or shaping their musical persona. There’s not a cookie-cutter way to do this. Like if you do X, then Y and Z are going to happen. If there was, my job would be a lot easier.
So you’re saying that if I put on high-waisted shorts, I can’t just become Taylor Swift?
Forget about it. There’s only one Taylor Swift. And hot pants work on some and they don’t work on others. But the reality is each one of these contestants is different, so it’s up to us to understand that and provide the arena for them to do their best work.
Who’s your favorite Idol judge?
There are some very smart ones on this season, but my all-time-favorite judge? Had to be Simon. Just because he was so entertaining. He said some of the funniest stuff. He just said his gut reaction and I appreciated that. Steven Tyler would be a close second.
And your favorite Idol winner?
Carrie Underwood. She’s just got a jet engine of a voice and can throw down in any situation. She’s just awesome, a great performer and a good-hearted person.
American Idol airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on Fox.
