'The Glee Project' Interview: Nellie On Stepping Out Of Her Comfort Zone

07/19/2012

One of the more soft-spoken contestants, Nellie was consistently put in situations she wasn't totally comfortable with - which usually involved being sexy. I spoke with Nellie about how her time on the show improved her confidence and what it was like to see her name as a trending topic.

What went through your mind when you were told you were going to have to be Britney Spears in the video this week?

Well, I instantly thought of her more provocative videos where she’s like dressed in absolutely nothing. And so I was like really nervous again because I was like really, like I have to be wearing nothing again? But the outfit actually wasn’t as bad as I was anticipating and it ended up being really fun to play her.

When you were talking with the judges after your last chance performance you were asked if you really wanted to be on Glee or if you were just more interested in being a singer and a performer. What did you think about those comments?

I think the comments that they made were fair based on, you know, what they saw from me. But it was still, you know, it was frustrating because it showed me that like I hadn’t been expressing myself well enough for them to think that I really wanted it which was probably the most frustrating part about the exit because I was like, I hope this wasn’t the reason that I went. Because I definitely - this is something that I have wanted for a very long time. Literally, I’ve been trying to audition for the show ever since like it’s been allowed. So it was frustrating but it wasn’t anything that wasn’t understandable I guess, based on my actions.

You were having some trouble when it came to answering some of Ryan’s questions with “I don’t know” answers. Do you think some of that was just nerves?

Yeah, honestly I just - I was kind of deer in the headlights for part of that. And with the, you know, what character you would have played, I wasn’t sure how to put it. But I wasn’t thinking about what other character I would play because I was trying my best to kind of embrace what I was given. And it’s unfortunate that I couldn’t find the words to express myself correctly kind of in that conversation.

The theme of Glee and of The Glee Project really seems to be “Be yourself.” Did you feel like you were being pushed to be yourself or to kind of find something beyond your comfort zone on the show?

You know, I think the show does stay true to what it is. I mean it’s not as if they were telling me to be a different person. I think they were just trying to make sure that I was able to be outside of my comfort zone. And really in the end, although it was frustrating in the moment, I thanked them for it because my comfort zone has now officially been expanded into something that it never would have been.

If you could create your own dream Glee character, who would they be?

I would love to kind of - now that I’ve figured out through the show what I represent, I would love to represent just that. You know, the kind of more introverted girl who has a lot to offer but has to be given that chance first and not the kind of person who’s going to just stand on top of a table in the middle of the room and yell about what I want. But I think that’s a lot of girls and I think it would be really relatable to kind of have this more tomboy, introverted character on Glee.

What did you find was the most challenging week?

The most challenging week was probably sexuality because initially I was convinced I was going home that week. I remember when we got the song and we knew what our line was I went and hid and was crying because I was like I’m going home this week for sure. Like I’m not going to be able to do this. And I wish - in a lot of ways I wish I could have kind of expressed that and been like, you know, if I really didn’t want to be here I would have went home sexuality week instead of, you know, really stepping it up.

How hard was that for you to be friends with the other contestants but also be competing against them?

Yeah, that’s a really interesting question because I don’t think any of us anticipated how close we would get to each other. The way that I think we kind of - or I guess kind of what we realized throughout the process is that it was very much a group effort up until the reveal of the bottom three. And that was the point at which like it became okay, this is a competition. I have to fight for my right to stay here. But then even immediately after that it became like oh my goodness, one of our best friends is leaving the show.

Now that the experience is over what do you think you’ve taken from it the most and what are you looking to do now?

What I’ve taken from it the most is definitely a new level of confidence and kind of reassuring myself that I am going to do this for a while and like I want this to be a part of my career. And along with that, I’m always going to be pursuing music, that’s for sure. It’s my passion and I love writing and that’s just going to be happening always. But I think right now especially it’s going to be kind of the time where I also want to explore acting because that has always been a love of mine even though it unfortunately isn’t showcased quite as much on the show.

What are you working on now? Are you writing songs?

I’m always writing. But it’s going to be kind of I’ve got to figure out my game plan and kind of my strategy for how I want to approach what I want to pursue because I do want to try and be able to do a little of both for the next few years, you know, acting and singing. So I’ll definitely be making music soon. I just don’t know when or what exactly. It’s going to be a process for sure.

I don’t know if you knew this but you were a trending topic.

I did hear about that.

How did you react to that?

It’s kind of ridiculous. The last thing that trended about the show was when me and Blake did our performance. So like I’ve been trending twice on Twitter which is ridiculous. It’s really crazy. The fan response to me and like what I represent on the show has been really, really exciting and inspiring.

Follow on Ology: Mary Oates | The Glee Project

Follow on Twitter: @mary_oates | @TVOlogy