The Outed American Idols Sound Off

Antonella Barba

How hard was it to deal with all the controversy that was going on around you when you were on the show? It was definitely difficult and it wasn't how I intended things to go, but I tried to block it out as much as possible and stay focused on the competition. All that other stuff was completely irrelevant to the fact that I'm here to sing. Visibility is important – does part of you feel that there's no such thing as bad publicity? Yes, it's true that my name is more well-known because of it, but I'm not known for the things that I would like to be known for right now. I wanted to make a name for myself in singing. The pictures that have been released of me – the ones that actually are me – they were very personal and that is not how I intended to portray myself. I'd rather promote myself in a more classy way. And, again, that was private – that was not for the public eye. Were you approached to pose in Playboy? I heard about it but I was never approached. Would you do it? No. Right now I want to look at all the offers I get and sort out what's best for me right now. I'm definitely not opposed to acting or modeling or something. I would definitely do pop music, but I would add my style to it – you know, a little R&B-ish pop music, maybe bluesy, jazzy.

Jarred Cotter

Why do you think you were eliminated? I honestly think it was Simon's comments last week and the previous week, actually. My performance did not warrant me going home. I'm still very disappointed and shocked. I just did not expect to be going home this early. What's next for you? I'm going to stay in L.A. for a few more weeks and see what kind of opportunities there are for me. 19 Management has kind of been helping me out with some things. So I'm really looking forward to seeing what they can come up with. I just can't go back to waiting tables, I'll tell ya that. How would you describe your experience on Idol? It's surreal. To know that you're singing onstage in front of 30-40 million people, it's a dream come true. People know me in the street. So I'm really looking forward to going to New York and seeing my friends and family and walking through Times Square and seeing how many people notice me.

Sabrina Sloan

What was going through your mind when you got eliminated? I really hadn't prepared myself for going home. And part of that is because of the judges' comments. They were saying, "You will definitely be here. You deserve to be in the Top 12," and I took it into consideration and I think America thought I was safe and didn't need to vote (for me). I absolutely wanted to be in that Top 12, and had already gotten ready to sing with Diana Ross, so it's really hard. Do you think being grouped in with the big-voiced diva-type girls that that hurt you in terms of getting votes? I had wanted to sing some songs that would maybe set me apart from Melinda and Lakisha, and a lot of the songs I wanted to sing didn't happen in time. I was hoping the song I sang (En Vogue's "Don't Let Go") would kind of set me apart. What's next for you? Absolutely singing and performing. That's my passion and I'm going to keep doing it. I started writing some music before I got here and collaborating with some friends so I'm going to keep doing that and try to put out an album for sure. And you know the great thing about Idol is other doors might open because of it. I'm not opposed to going back to Broadway for sure if it's the right role.

Sundance Head

On Ryan Seacrest's radio show you mentioned that you think another one of the male stars thinks he has the competition in the bag. I actually need to retract that statement. I love all the dudes on the show and I was baited into that question and I tried to answer it in a funny way but it spun out of control. I just want to say now that all the guys on the show are extremely genuine guys. I have no hard feelings, even for Sanjaya Malakar. He's young, he doesn't have a lot of confidence in his voice right now, but that's going to come to him as he grows. He's going to be a success in the music biz. He's full of talent – he's going to go real far. How did you feel when you were voted off? I was extremely disappointed, even angry. You could see when I did "Jeremy," when it goes into the verse, "Daddy didn't give affection and the boy was something that mother wouldn't wear," I held my shirt. I felt like that was my chance to speak to America. I don't know if America just considered me to be safe, that I didn't need the votes. I thought everything was going pretty well. In fact I was almost positive that I was going to make it to the Top 12. What's next for you? I'm going to go back to Texas, I'm going to get a band together, we're going to start playing. I'm going to throw down everywhere I can do it and just be a road warrior. Try to keep my fans happy. Put stuff on the Internet that they can listen to and just keep on going. If anything else, this gives me more gas in my tank and I'm ready for wheels to roll right off – I'm ready to go!