Alexandrea Lushington 'American Idol' Interview
Were you surprised by your elimination?
I was kind of surprised. A lot of people were surprised. I heard a lot of, "What? What? No!" in the background behind me from all the other girls. But it is what it is. I enjoyed every minute of it and I don't regret anything. A lot of people were shocked, but that's just how the dice were rolled. You can't argue with the public. I think because this happened it was supposed to happen. I know that I'm going to benefit from it all.
Why did David Archuleta seem especially sad to see you go?
David and I have known each other for a long time now. We were actually in a [<a href="http://television.aol.com/show/star-search/312273/main" target="_blank">'Star Search'</a>] competition with each other four years ago. We've become really close friends throughout this whole experience. Our dads hang out and talk all the time. We'd make jokes about how our dads were like Laurel and Hardy. He is a phenomenal singer, he's going to do great.
The songs you performed were written before you were born. Were you familiar with them?
My parents made sure I was well rounded so the '60s and '70s weren't necessarily unfamiliar to me at all. They wanted to make sure I had diversity in my music. Music is music to me. When you are picking songs, it shouldn't be that hard. It should be the one that you feel is you. You know when a song is right for you.
What do you think of the controversy over contestants with professional experience?
I just don't understand why people make a big deal about it. 'American Idol' has been on this long and it is going to be harder to find real amateurs nowadays. You can't blame [the singers] for trying to venture out and try to catapult their careers. They aren't in a contract now, which is the rule. That's basically all that counts.
The singers seem really tight. Does that affect how you compete?
We have bonded a lot. It is like a huge family. We are always with each other 24/7. We see each other all the time, we rehearse with each other. We've become really good friends. We try really hard not to compete with everybody else, but with ourselves. Try to stay focused on what we're going to do to better ourselves in the competition.
What will you do now?
Just continue doing my music and writing stuff. I pretty much have my life mapped out the way I want it to go. In the future, I would like to have my own band and hopefully record a soul/pop/rock type of album within the means of Nikka Acosta, Alicia Keys and John Mayer. I'd like to venture into that nice live sound.
