On Wednesday, April 1, the remaining Top 9 performers from Season 14 of Fox’s “American Idol” once again jockey for votes and position, as they explore the songbook of Season One winner Kelly Clarkson.
On Tuesday, I got on the phone for a second chat with the pride of White House, Tennessee, Clark Beckham — our first, in-person, conversation can be found here — and once again, we talked about the role faith plays in dealing with the pressure being in a live TV competition.
Asked how he prepares, Beckham says he often refers to Philippians 4:6-7:
It says, be anxious about nothing, but in everything, with prayer and supplication, make your requests known to God, with thanksgiving — I think I’m skipping words — and the peace of God that passeth all understanding, as one version says, will guard your heart and your mind.
I say, “God, thank you for your Word, and that I can stand on it.” I just declare that anything I might be anxious of, nerves or a note or anything, and I give that to Him with thanksgiving and confidence. And He stays true to the world, which He always does.
And then I accept the supernatural peace of God that passeth all understanding. So that’s what I go through a lot.
Beckham also says it may not be as hard as you think, being a stranger in a strange land:
When you feel the most centered, and feel the closest to God, is when you’re doing His will, and I’m doing that on this show. A lot of people have this idea, here I am, a Christian, being in the hostile environment of Los Angeles, and it’s really not that way.
Everywhere you go, you’re going to have battles. You’re going to have things where you have to stay focused, but, really, I feel as close to God as I ever have. You’ve just got to keep focused. I remember, a line, in everything that you do, to see Christ and the Kingdom. That’s our goal, to stay focused and to remember.
He’s also clear on why he’s doing it:
Growing the Kingdom of God is not so we can have a bigger club of, “Look, it’s this way, and I’m right.” It’s not like a social, empirical group of people. We want the Kingdom of God to grow because we want people to be set free of sin, not just the penalty of sin, but the bondage of sin, of being trapped, of not being abe to stop sinning or ruining their lives, whether it be lust or greed or jealousy.
On more mundane matters, Beckham is coy about what Kelly Clarkson song he’ll be singing — although TVLine.com claims it knows the set list — but he did say:
It’s closer to some stuff that I’ve done in the past in this competition. I’m not playing an instrument. I’m just getting up there with a mike stand, and I’m just
singing the song.”
Last week, after singing a stripped-down, emotional version of The Police’s “Every Breath You Take,” judge Harry Connick Jr. complemented Beckham on his ability to deliver a song without a lot of theatricality. Beckham heard just what he wanted to hear:
That meant everything, because that’s what I was going for. There’s a beauty in simplicity in music. There’s an ability that some musicians have, where they can play the least amount of notes and sing the least amount of vocal riffs or vocal-acrobatic types of things, and it’s the best thing you’ve ever heard. I was trying to channel into all that.
So, to hear him say that specifically meant everything, and he’s the king of that. He’s the king of singing just what needs to be sung.
In Part 2 — click here for that — Beckham talks about being a street performer, fellow competitor Joey Cook’s engagement, social-media marriage proposals, and what interests him besides music and God.
Image: Courtesy Fox
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