[IMG:L]Not even Michael Johns could quite believe that Michael Johns was eliminated from American Idol last week, which will easily go down as this season’s biggest shocker, no matter who gets eliminated or when from this point forward. Here’s what else the 29-year-old Australian had to say about his (surprisingly short) stay on Idol.
On Ryan Seacrest hinting that, like last year, no one would be eliminated during “Idol Gives Back” week, before announcing that Johns was, in fact, going home:
“Look, I get the television aspect of this competition, but it was tough. I thought, ‘OK, I’m going home.’ And then he did that and I was, ‘Wait a second, maybe I’m not going home. Maybe they’re just having a good laugh.’ I hadn’t been in the bottom three before, so I was thinking that was a possibility. Then reality set in and Ryan gave me a look as if to say, ‘Look, I am so sorry I had to do that, but you get it.’ I don’t hold it against Ryan or anything. After this, I’m hopefully going to make a great record. It won’t be the last you see of me.”
On the judges:
“I think Paula [Abdul] has been spot-on this year. I really do. It’s been kind of a weird judging year, you know? All the contestants kind of feel that. Paula grabbed me [after I was eliminated] and said, ‘Look, I have no doubt in my mind, I’ll bet my house on it, that I’m going to be sitting at a concert you’re doing one day very soon. You’re super-talented.’ Randy [Jackson] gave me that kind of advice, too, like, ‘I can’t wait to see what you’re going to do with your career.’ The fact that Simon [Cowell] told America that he was going to miss me and I’m a good guy… Hearing you’re a good guy from Simon, that’s really cool.”
On the group’s overall camaraderie:
“You think that [elimination] nights are put-ons and people are crying in front of the camera; it’s not. You’re with each other, seriously, 24/7 and get to know each other intimately, you know what I mean? You learn about people’s husbands, wives and boyfriends–all that kind of stuff. I’m going to be sad to see them all go. I think they’re really talented. There are a lot of people behind the scenes, too, that aren’t the contestants that are just there to help your career, guide you and give you advice. I’m going to miss those people, too.”
