"Platinum Hit" Scatter Amber: "I think everyone saw it coming"

This week’s challenge on “Platinum Hit” was an interesting one. The songwriters had to incorporate the winning rap hooks about having a superpower into a song that combined rap with another genre of music.

Two of the songwriting groups did a great job. And the third did, well, I don’t really know how to describe what they did…

Jackie wrote a hook about how she wished she had the superpower to be a rapper. Jewel and guest judge Rodney Jerkins gave it third place because they thought it had real Missy Elliott-type potential. They were wrong, as the song was named the worst by the judges.

Since Jackie has been such a big part of the show—and Kara is such a fan—it seemed unlikely that she would go home. So it came down to Amber, the jazz singer who helped make the song anything at all, and Brian, who ignored Jackie and Amber completely to do the track. In the end, it was Amber who went home.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak with Amber about the challenge, her experience on the show and her reaction to Nick’s comments about wanting to hook up with her…

Here’s a sample of what she had to say…

On whether she was surprised the song was chosen as the worst: “Of course not. I think everyone saw it coming…It made for really good TV.”

On whether she was surprised it was her who went home: “I knew it would be me or Brian. Jackie is the character. I was disappointed that it was me. But what are you going to do?”

On what kind of artist she is: “I’m predominantly a jazz artist. I’m rooted in jazz musically, I would say. The scatting I was all about.”

On what went wrong in the writers’ room: “There was a disconnect between Brian and Jackie and I when it came to our approach.”

On whether she would do a show like this again: “I totally would. I wouldn’t make it a habit of appearing on reality shows. But this one experience, I will take it and grow. [If I did it again], I would be more vocal. I tend to observe a lot more than I talk. I like to take things in.” Then about reality shows, she added, “I’m a little too real I think.”

On watching the show this week: Amber admitted she was nervous the entire time. “To relive it was pretty emotional.”

On seeing Nick say he wanted to hook up with her: “He texted me last night and said, ‘sorry.’ Nick is a sweetheart. I have a great relationship with him…I’m flattered.”

On whether she sees herself working with any of the other contestants again: “Jess and I still write together.”

On what she’s doing now: “[When the show started], I had just finished my second album. My first album was released in Japan last year. I’m just pushing. I’ve got quite a fan base on Facebook. It’s about tapping into that.” Amber is hoping to release another album in the next month or so. “I’m excited about it.”

On whether the show has helped her career: “It has helped to grow my fanbase. Was I displayed the way I wanted to be? Not at all. But [the contestants] beat out thousands of people. I’m happy for the experience.”

You can learn much more about Amber and do some music mixing of your own on her website at www.amberojeda.com.

Photo Credits: Tommy Garcia/Bravo & Isabella Vosmikova/Bravo