In the 30 years that Much has been on the air, our VJ’s have conducted literally thousands of interviews. They’ve sat down with everyone from musicians and actors, to athletes and politicians. 99 percent of the time these interviews go off without a hitch, are cordial and professional and end with a handshake and a thank you.
If you’re George Stroumboulopoulos, you may even have Bono tell you that he’s a fan of yours.
Yet even the most seasoned Much VJ can name that one time when an interview got weird, or turned ugly, or went completely off the rails. They never know when it’s going to happen, and when it does they just have to wing it and hope it ends quickly.
So what can make for a disastrous interview? We went deep into the Much archives to find a handful of truly infamous interviews, and we’ll pinpoint for you just where they go wrong. You might remember some of them, so sit back and get ready to cringe.
George Stroumboulopoulos & Sebastian Bach, 2000
Where It All Goes Wrong: When George dares to bring up the band Poison. Guess Sebastian isn’t a fan.
*Sidenote: 11 years after this interview, George and Sebastian officially buried the hatchet.
Larissa Gulka & Mary J. Blige, 1996
Where It All Goes Wrong: When Larissa asks Mary what her least favourite thing is, which at that moment happens to be Larissa.
Bradford How & The Used, 2003
Where It All Goes Wrong: When Bradford surprises Bert with a clip of then-girlfriend Kelly Osbourne. Bert gets the ultimate revenge.
Jeanne Beker & Iggy Pop, 1980
Where It All Goes Wrong: No one ever accused Iggy Pop of being a gentleman, so the interview was probably doomed from the start. Whatever’s in Iggy’s cup might have had something to do with his behaviour too.
Nardwuar & Blur, 2003
Where It All Goes Wrong: When Nardwuar politely asks Dave where to stand for the interview.
Leah Miller & The Killers, 2006
Where It All Goes Wrong: When Leah asks the band to play the “Seven Deadly Sins” game. They were NOT feeling it.
George Stroumboulopoulos & Eminem, 2000
Where It All Goes Wrong: When George asks Dr. Dre about Suge Knight, the one guy just about everyone in the music industry never wants to talk about.
Rachel Perry & Weezer, 2001
Where It All Goes Wrong: When the band realizes that they’re surrounded by a few dozen screaming fans. Not the ideal scenario for a guy like Rivers Cuomo.
Hannah Sung & Matthew Knowles, 2005
Where It All Goes Wrong: The interview doesn’t really go wrong, but it definitely gets a little uncomfortable when Hannah asks Beyoncé’s dad for his thoughts on the media.
Leah Miller & Gene Simmons, 2007
Where It All Goes Wrong: When an audience member asks Gene Simmons (of all people) for relationship advice, his response makes everyone feel all sorts of yuck. And speaking of yuck, pay close attention to Gene’s hands at the end of the interview.
Hannah Sung & Snoop Dogg, 2005
Where It All Goes Wrong: Depending on who you ask, this interview may not have gone wrong at all. Snoop is always entertaining, but he definitely gets a little suggestive with Hannah.
In celebration of Much’s 30th Anniversary we’re going to be looking at more amazing past interviews, which went better than the ones you just watched, all month long. Keep up with the great anniversary content on Much.ca and by using the hashtag #ForeverYoung.
