The guy many of us thought would be around until, perhaps, THE END was cruelly dismissed Thursday night. On Friday morning, he spoke to us nosy reporters via conference call. As you might have expected, the Aussie was as endearing as ever.
Since his wife is from Fort Worth, I asked how much we should expect to see him in these parts.
"Apart from last Christmas, I've spent the last four Christmases there," he said. "I get to Dallas usually at Thanksgiving or Christmas. I'm going to be there; my in-laws are there, my whole family. You'll be seeing a bunch of me."
(What news could be better, people?!)
He'd also noted earlier in the call that he'd heard from Dolly Parton after he got the boot. Any other well-wishers? "I got a reach-out from Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman, saying I was their favorite and they watched every week. It's just amazing how far this show reaches -- everyone from a Dolly Parton to Keith Urban. It's insane."
Answers to other questions (including what he thought of the cruel Ryan Seacrest) after the jump.
About those group medleys -- he was hamming it up to the extreme sometimes, right?
"You know what? This year more than any other year, David Cook and I, we tried to bring as much light to it as we could. You can't take that stuff too seriously without looking like an idiot, you know? I tried to have fun with it and just laugh. I actually really, really enjoyed Wednesdays. Not Thursdays, but Wednesdays."
And about that evil hint by Ryan that no one would actually be going home -- psych!:
"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." (Lesser men would.)
About the seventh go-round of Idol: "Of any season that I could have been on, to be a part of this one was just really special. The fact that there was no laughingstock, there were no jokers, do you know what I mean? I think we had a lot of respect in the public eye, and that's something I can be very proud of."
One more shout-out to his wife: "If you look back at last night's footage, just before I'm about to sing, when it really started sinking in just after the finish, I look over at Erin and she mouthed, 'I love you' to me. You see me take this big breath and then I click into performance mode, sucked it up and tried to do my best. She's really special."
Asked by the moderator if he'd like to say anything in closing, he had the best sign-off so far of the eliminated singers: "Thanks for your time, everyone. Try not to be too mean."
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Comments
Posted by Steve @ 10:51 PM Sat, Apr 12, 2008
i thought what ryan did was uncalled for too. i was surprised you was in the bottom 3. no worries, im sure we will hear alot from you real soon
Posted by Denise Spence @ 7:37 AM Mon, Apr 14, 2008
"sign in" by the moderator and I can't get in to say good bye...
Micheal, I wish you good luck and keep on Dream on your dream....never give up
Posted by Jordan @ 8:23 PM Mon, Apr 21, 2008
oh wow... What a great guy!! I hope he cuts an album very soon, he was my ALL-TIME FAVE!!! (: