January 13, 2005
Dave: Our next guest is the host of the blockbuster television program American Idol. The 4th season premieres January 18th. Ladies and gentlemen, here�s Ryan Seacrest. [Ryan walks out, shakes Dave�s hand, and sits down] Welcome to the program.
Ryan: Thank you, thanks for having me. It�s great to be here.
D: Oh sure, thank you. We started watching this show, this American Idol thing, and all of a sudden there you are and there�s this big show, and I�m thinking, well geez, where, how did you get your start? You weren�t like an early winner on the show.
R: No I was not. I can�t play an instrument or sing. I started in radio, that�s how I started�
D: Where about?
R: In Atlanta, Georgia. I started driving a van and doing appearances there.
D: What age were you?
R: 16. That was my first gig.
D: Were you one of these kids who just loved the idea of broadcasting when you were a kid?
R: Stalker-like. Yeah, I was one of those kids that would stalk, �cause in Atlanta, you know, the celebrities were the disc jockeys, so I would hang out by the radio station, ask to get autographs. I called in all the time just to get on the air. I pretended when I was 9 to be a disc jockey. I made tapes for my mom for road trips. I did the countdown each week, but I only had three ca-singles, so it was always the same countdown each week. It was always I think at the time a Paula Abdul hit, Rush Rush, at number 1.
D: And now it�s come full circle because you have a big radio show in Los Angeles, and also you�ve, uh, Casey Kasem is dead? [audience and Ryan laugh]
R: No no no. He passed the baton for American Top 40.
D: Oh that�s right, he�s still alive, but he�s not on the American Top 40.
R: He�s not doing the pop American Top 40.
D: But he�s still on the radio, but you have the Casey Kasem count �em down, keep your feet on the, and keep reaching for the stars.
R: Yeah, I just, instead of saying that I just at the end say, �Seacrest out.�
D: Seacrest out, now that�s another thing, I started watching that and I said, �How can you say�� I had no idea who you were and it�s �Seacrest out� like we�re all supposed to, �Oh geez, what did I miss?� [audience and Ryan laugh] Is that like your signature thing?
R: It happened one night when I was doing American Idol, I had like four seconds to finish the show and a bunch of other stuff they wanted me to say and I couldn�t get to it so I said, �Seacrest out!� and I guess it kind of stuck. I think you mentioned it on the show a couple of times �cause you were confused.
D: That�s right, I was so taken about it, it�s as though you�re on a mission and you can�t tell us any more about it. [audience laughs]
R: Well, I take my gig as the talking head on that program very seriously Dave.
D: Now let�s talk about that program, you wouldn�t guess that I�d be the kind of guy that would watch that show.
R: Oh sure I would. I picture you as a total metrosexual and this is your first step.
D: What? [audience laughs] What?
R: [to audience] Don�t ya think? [audience claps]
D: I don�t know what you�re talking about.
R: I believe watching the show is the first step.
D: Now let me ask you about some of the contestants. They deliberately select people who are untalented to be on the show to irritate people like me, don�t they?
R: [laughing] We�re trying to drive you crazy.
D: Isn�t that part of the fun of the show?
R: We take the na�ve and we put them on the show. It is part of the fun. These are the contestants, like there�s a guy named William Hung who was on the show�
D: Everybody knows him.
R: Yeah, William Hung, these are people who are totally convinced that they are the biggest and best undiscovered talent in America, and when you try and tell them that they�re on the wrong path, they don�t believe you. They know that they are going to be, that they�re not gonna be on the show, but they�re still gonna make it, and we say, �Good luck.� I think it�s bad parenting.
D: [laughing] Bad parenting, it very well could be, there�s a lot of that going around. Are some of these people sort of in on their own joke?
R: Some of them are, those we don�t usually put on the show. The ones that are really na�ve, those are the ones that make the show. You�re, it�s like, �Come on dude, just take off the mask, Don Knotts is under there. Tell me, really what�s going on, are you trying to put this on for?�
D: And do you think the end result is actually to the betterment of American popular culture or actually to the detriment of American popular culture? [audience laughs]
R: [shrugging] Just want to get a good rating. [Dave laughs] At the end of the day I just don�t want people to flip.
D: Do you think that the person who is most deserving in the first three years is the person who has won?
R: I do, yes, I do believe so. I think that we�ve had some great winners along the way. Ya know what I love about the competition is somebody anywhere in America says, �I�m gonna go for it,� and they do. They come, they audition for the show, they move to Hollywood, and they go for it. They don�t just talk about it, they act on that.
D: Now I�m just gonna say something here, and you can confirm, deny it, or just we can move on, and I say this for a couple of reasons. I�ve watched him on the show every week for a couple of seasons, he was here one night on our show and his shirt was open down to here [gestures to his stomach], and my impression of Simon Cowell is that, based on that evidence, he�s a putz, right? [audience and Ryan laugh]
R: I do love you, I do love you.
D: But he created the whole thing.
R: He was one of the creators of the show. He is very good at judging the talent, he�s very good at judging the contestants, but� he�s a jackass. [audience laughs]
D: It�s so fun and refreshing and satisfying because he�s quite accurate actually in his assessment.
R: He is and he�ll say it. I mean, he does say what many of us are thinking, but he is completely pompous in real� He thinks he created everything in the world. Any hit record on the radio, �Oh, ya know, that was my idea, I signed that artist.� The water in this mug, he created it. You have to understand.
D: Alright, we�re out of time. Go ahead, take it away.
R: [looks confused for a second then understands] Seacrest out!
D: Wow.
R: That it? Did I follow the lead?
D: We�ll be right back with�
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