Q. Hello, Amanda. It seems like you’re more capable of going on to the next step and being less needy than a lot of the contestants. Can you just give us an overview of your life at this point?  In other words, as I understand it, you already own a home back in Indiana. Did your car or truck get messed up by the action or do you still have one? Do you expect to go back there or do you expect to stick around L.A.?  What is your situation right now?

A. Amanda Overmyer American Idol 7: Yes, I’ve owned a home in Indiana for three years.  I can go back in my career if need be.  As of right now, no decisions are being made as far as what exactly I’m going to do, because I have no idea if there are any options out here, if there are any.  It’s going to be a little bit of a waiting game for the next couple of months probably.

Q. It was very good nature that you showed and everyone was surprised when you were voted out.  Basically, are you quite optimistic about your life and where you’re going from here?

A. Amanda Overmyer American Idol 7:  Absolutely.  Yesterday was the most traumatic thing that’s happened in my life; I just got voted off of a TV show.  I was thankful to be there and privileged to have that many millions of Americans vote for me just to keep me on until 11.  With someone like me, who is completely different, I’m cut out of a different mold from everyone else in the competition, I found that very warming that I had that much support.

Q. Can you tell us, have you ever used your singing to maybe serenade patients as a nurse, and do you think you’ll go back to that career as a stepping stone?

A. Amanda Overmyer American Idol 7:   No, I’ve never used it to serenade patients.  Just to verify, my job was home oxygen and durable medical equipment, so I wasn’t like taking care of patients in a hospital.  If nothing comes up out here for me to pursue with music, I’ll probably give it maybe a good six months, and if nothing happens I’m going to go back and continue on the career path that I started.

Q. Your dad was in the military.  Would you have any interest in singing in Iraq for the troops or anything like that with the military?

A. Amanda Overmyer American Idol 7:  Absolutely.  The service they do for this country is really a great thing and it takes a special person to be able to do that.

Q. Before the competition started, the producers were very excited about all the unique personalities they had this season.  It seems like in the past few weeks, the singers with the most unique personalities have been the ones going home.  Do you feel like the American Idol format is one that sort of benefits people who have, like you have, a very distinctive voice?

A. Amanda Overmyer American Idol 7:  Yes, it benefits anybody with any kind of distinction because it gives us that platform to start from and get exposure, the biggest exposure that we could ever get.  As far as winning it, you just have to look at the demographics of the voters and the people watching American Idol versus the demographics of your particular genre.  They may not necessarily correlate.

Q. I wanted to ask you, I know that Simon, at one point in the semi-finals, made a joke about you smiling, that it was okay to smile.  You seemed really serious a lot of times when the judges were talking to you.  What was going through your head when they were picking apart your performances?

A. Amanda Overmyer American Idol 7:  Well, when I was done singing, I was done singing.  It’s just like when those judges would give their comments, I wanted to be respectful and listen, but the comments weren’t going to sway me one way or the other as far as what I was going to do.  The objective of being on this show was to go out there and show America me, perform like me, look like me and see how well it would take.  The comments from the judges were based more on the idea of trying to win, and I had a different agenda.

Q. Right.  Ballads are boring was part of that, right?

A. Amanda Overmyer American Idol 7: Right. 

Q. What did you learn from your experience on Idol?

A. Amanda Overmyer American Idol 7: The main thing that I learned was that I’ve always been unique and different in the small confines of Indiana, but it was good to know that I was also unique in the nation’s eyes, too.  That was something I was unaware of.

Q. What was the best piece of advice you received and who was it from?

A. Amanda Overmyer American Idol 7:  I don’t know.  Probably just from my dad, to keep your head straight and keep grounded.

We are out of time.  Amanda, do you have any closing remarks?

A. Amanda Overmyer American Idol 7: Yes.  I just want to tell everyone that watched and everyone that voted how much I appreciate their time and support.  It’s a really good feeling, knowing that somebody different like me going into a platform such as American Idol, that there were people to support you and keep me in as long as I did.  I really appreciate it.