by Gina Scarpa

On last night’s episode of American Idol, we said goodbye to Scott MacIntyre.  The theme, this week, was songs from the years that the contestants were born.  Scott chose Survivor’s “The Search Is Over” from 1985, opting to stand at a microphone and play the electric guitar instead of sitting at the piano.  While Kara and Paula gave him positive feedback, Randy and Simon were not fans of the song choice or performance at all.  When it came time for Scott to go, the judges were split 2-2 on whether or not he should be saved.  Simon made the final decision, telling him that it was the end of the road.  Today, Scott participated in a conference call with reporters to discuss his experiences on Idol.  Read on to hear his thoughts on everything from the judges to his performances to what he learned from American Idol.

On how he felt when he found out that 2 judges wanted to save him and 2 wanted to eliminate him…
“I have to say that that was one of Seacrest’s most agonizing pauses.  He’s getting a little too good at that.  I was actually very thrilled to know that it was a split decision between the 4 judges.  That was something very nice for me to walk away with, that it wasn’t unanimous.  I stand by my performance on Tuesday night.  You never know what the judges are going to say but I think if people watch the performance back, it was a good, solid performance.”

On why he thought he should have been the next American Idol…
“I felt like I had a story to share, what I’ve overcome, and that I’ve pursued music as my main passion.  All of that combined, I felt it would be a shame not to share that with the world.  Idol is the platform I was hoping for.  I’ve connected with so many people.”

On why he wanted to get his story out at this time in his life…
“I have never tried out for American Idol before.  I think that this was the perfect year to audition.  It’s actually the first time they’ve come to Arizona so that was perfect for me.  This just turned out to be the right year, the right time.  I had been following the show since season 5 and the moment I decided I needed to be on the show is when they rolled out the grand piano out on stage last year."

On heading home and meeting up with his fans…
“You would be surprised about the bubble we live in over here.  I try to read things when I can but the competition is so fast paced at times.  I don’t think any of us appreciate what’s going on out there.  I’m so excited to get home in a couple days.  I cannot wait to meet people, to feel that energy and feel that response and that support.  I’m so appreciative of that.”

On what he learned from his experience on the show..
“I really learned that, number one, I worked more quickly than I ever thought I could.  There’s a very fast paced atmosphere involved with Idol, preparing a new song each week… sometimes a couple songs.  It’s quite crazy and it really taught me to budget my time extremely well.  I also learned that anything is possible.  I never dreamed that I would be in the Top 8 of American Idol.  I was following the show a few years ago and now, here I am.”

On what kind of music he plans to make in the future…
“You can definitely look forward to a lot of music coming from me in the future.  I have a huge catalog of original music.  The music that I write for myself to perform is very much along the lines of John Mayer, Gavin DeGraw, Bruce Hornsby, Vanessa Carlton, a little bit of Mark Schultz.  It’s very pop/rock singer songwriter meets adult contemporary.”

Tune in to American Idol next Tuesday at 8pm ET on FOX.

(Image courtesy of FOX)

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