QQ. What was going through your head after you were eliminated?
A. What was going on in my head was that I absolutely knew it was coming. I really felt at peace with the decision.
Q. What would you have done differently?
A. If I had to do it all over again I'd probably pick songs that were better and showed the range and some of the bigger qualities of my voice. I think I would have done a better job of making myself stand out vocally like I a lot of people were waiting for me to do. I never quite did that, but then again, I have no regrets. I did songs that I like, and love to sing, but I didn't necessarily pick songs that showed off my voice.
Q. What happened when you forgot your lyrics, did your mind go blank or did you get caught up in the moment?
A. It's actually kind of funny because I wish I could chalk it up to nerves or pressure of going first; as a lot of people speculated. Honestly, it was me having too good of a time, I went out there, had a good time and did my little dance. The crowd screamed and that is the loudest the crowd has been the whole competition. I was like, "Woah, this is awesome, what the heck are my words?" I completely lost my mind, my mind went blank, I reverted to a different version of the song and sort of paused to wait for my opportunity to jump in and did so the best I could.
Q. What is next for you?
A. Hopefully my slow, but sure, takeover of the world! I feel like the sky is the limit for what is upcoming, this show can be such a great vehicle, it was incredible to be in the top twelve. I hope I can use it to kick start my career in music, this is what I've always wanted to do, have a career as a musician. Of course I'm always open to other things, such as acting, but hopefully I'll get my hands on any opportunity that comes my way and make the best of it.
Q. Would you ever go back to being a backup singer or did this give you the confidence to pursue a solo career?
A. You know, I think this gave me the confidence to seek a solo career. I've said it before, when you're a little kid, you don't dream of being a background singer. It's a great job and I love every second of doing it. On the same page, I've always wanted to be on that big stage, and to get a taste of that, is a little too sweet to let that slip away and be relegated to the background once again.
Q. How was working with Diana Ross and did you find her advice helpful to you?
A. It was fantastic and she's an absolute sweetheart but incredibly intimidating. Not by anything she says or does but just by her presence; being in her presence just made me so nervous. She told me about those nerves, she said her father told her when she was little, nerves are the same as excitement. So, I'm not just nervous, I'm excited and she told me to find my center and really concentrate on finding my peace in performance and making sure my nerves don't get ahold of me at the wrong time.
Q. Given that you and Melinda have the background singer history, do you think that might have actually worked against you, and the judges may have held you two to higher standards?
A. It very well may have but on the same page, look at Melinda, she is a background singer too and she stepped up to the occasion. Like I said, I didn't choose songs that allowed me to that. I think the judges, and a lot of people, thought that I was capable of doing, that I think I was capable of doing, I didn't do that, and that was a failure on my part. I don't know if that worked against me or not, I think my picking the wrong songs worked far more against me than anything to do with my background singing.
Q. What did you learn the most from your experience on the show?
A. What I learned the most is that no matter what people say, in the press or the judges, I can take it and I'm good enough to be out there. Every time I step on the stage I just need to sing like it's my last moment. Every time I step on stage, whether I am singing my music or someone else's music, I need to bring it like it needs to be brought and take no excuses. Just give it your all, all the time, every time. That's what I didn't do with this show, I gave it my all, but with limits.
Q. With being a background singer; were you able to give advice to the other contestants about stage presence and confidence?
A. I think that my background in background singing really helped me to give a little perspective to some of the people about how great and grand this opportunity was. How not to beat yourself up about things, just go with the flow and have a good time on stage, I think that's the only thing I could really help everybody with. It's easy to give advice but it is hard to apply it to yourself; that's the tricky part.
Q. You used to sing background for Christina Aguilera, Anastacia and many other singers. Have you heard from any of them during any point of the competition?
A. The only person I have heard from is Anastacia and I've been singing with her the longest and we're the closest probably of all the people I've worked for. She is just so loving and she's so supportive of what I'm doing and she's very happy for me. She's very happy to see me move on; she's always told me that I could go beyond being a background singer. It was really nice to hear from her and hear that she was supportive and rooting for me.
Q. Did the judges come up to you after the show and say anything?
A. They all came up to me after I had gotten voted off the other day and they all told me it was my song choice; it wasn't my singing. It wasn't my ability, it was all about song choice, I didn't choose the right songs and wit hindsight being 20/20, I know that to be true. I didn't pick songs that best display what I can do. I had the luck of choosing a good song the first audition, "Always On My Mind," maybe it was a bad song choice because it made them hold me to that standard. I never quite lived up to it and that essentially is why I got sent home. I think it had very little to do with me forgetting the words.
