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CHIKEZIE ''If I had done [a song] I felt wasn't right and had gone on and on and made it to the top 5 and then went home, I would feel ten times more horrible than I do right now''
Michael Becker

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It ain't easy being Chikezie. The four-time American Idol auditioner got the ax last night after singing a song (Brenda Russell's ''If Only for One Night'') he says was ''in my heart,'' but got a cold shoulder from voters. Before resting up for the Idol tour this summer, Chikezie called EW to tell us about the other song he considered, why he dropped his last name, and what everyone around Idol is calling that cute little David Archuleta.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You sound really depressed. Are you okay?
CHIKEZIE: Yeah. I'm just tired. I've been up since 3 a.m.

Were you up all night thinking you should have sung a different song?
Nope. I love what I did. I'd spoken to the vocal coaches and [bandleader] Rickey Minor and they counseled me that if I'm going to do something, I have to do what's in my heart.

Was any other song in your heart, or was that it?
I'd run through a couple of different songs that would have been what people would have expected. You know, something active that had me moving around. But there was no reason for it. It would have been that kind of song just for the sake of doing it. I don't do things for no reason. When I'm performing, it's with the intention of lifting up people's spirits and entertaining them.

Well, you could say the reason would be because people liked to hear you doing up-tempo songs. What was the second choice?
Stevie Ray Vaughan's ''Look at Little Sister.'' It's a great song. I'm not going to say it's a bad song. But I'm no Stevie Ray Vaughan. I can't pick up the guitar and jam out to it. I'd be stuck just singing the lyrics.

You could have backed yourself up with the harmonica?
I did want to try the harmonica again. I was looking for a song where I could play it.

The judges and fans really liked it a couple of weeks ago when you did ''She's a Woman.'' Did you think maybe you should have done another song like that?
The thought had run through my head, honestly. I'm not going to lie and say it hadn't. I just gotta be me, though. That's the only way I can be happy about going home. If I had done something I felt wasn't right and had gone on and on and made it to the top five and then went home, I would feel 10 times more horrible than I do right now.

Let's talk about your mother. I love her. Does she know that Idol fans love her?
Yeah, I have no complaints there. She got the Best Mother award a long time ago. She knows she's a celebrity.

NEXT PAGE: Why he dropped Eze from his name, and the big plans Chikezie had for Dolly Parton week


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