AMY KREBS
Your song choice, ''I Can't Make You Love Me,'' turned out to be prophetic, huh?
Yeah. I wish that Paula would've stuck up for me a little bit more because she has in the past. But to have all three judges sort of say the same thing was a huge eye-opener for me. As much as the criticism was probably the hardest thing I've ever had to take, it definitely made me take a look at something that I've always struggled with, which is trying to fit in somewhere and feeling comfortable in my own skin. And Simon kind of let the entire world know what I'm going through, which was not so fun in front of 30 million people, but I want to do this for the rest of my life and if that's something that's going to hinder me, I want to know about it so I can work on it. It's been a huge growth and learning experience, which is what this show is about for me.
Since Simon did compare your personality to a candle, what scent would you be?
Cinnamon. A little spiciness, you know? It's my favorite — I actually have one burning right now.
Speaking of spice, how about those racy photos of Antonella?
I don't think it's a big deal, personally, but it was something that she probably didn't want to happen. She's dealing with it and has a great attitude about it. We've all become good friends and kind of rallied up around her, but she's doing great.
What did you do last night after the show? Well, I bawled. I don't think I've cried that hard ever. And unfortunately, two of my friends had driven down thinking, ''Yay, we're going to celebrate afterwards!'' So they took me out and just kept my mind off of it. It was so nice not to talk about it.
NICOLE TRANQUILLO
Randy used the phrase ''too urban'' to describe your performance. How did you interpret that?
To be honest, I don't know — maybe I should ask Randy what he meant. I guess he just thought it wasn't the right song for me, but I had fun with it. I love R&B and soul, that's where my heart is. I don't regret the song; I thought it was very me, and I had a blast doing it.
Did you take anything away from Fantasia's appearance on the show?
That's when it sunk in for me — that ''Oh my God! We're on the show!'' [feeling]. When she performed the song from The Color Purple, she was so incredibly moving. I looked around and a lot of the girls were crying.
Besides your fellow contestants, what will you miss about Idol?
Going shopping with a stylist every week. We'd get a certain amount of money for clothes. That was so much fun and something I'll miss.
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