Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Turns out American Idol’s singing nurse is a realist. And a really good sport.

Kristen O’Connor, 24, became the first finalist ousted from Season 13 of American Idol Thursday.

Kristen O’Connor is consoled by Emily Piriz, Malaya Watson and other cast members after her elimination from American Idol Thursday night. (FOX Photo)

She says she was neither surprised to land at the bottom of the voting on Thursday nor by the fact that the Idol judges didn’t save her.

The last-place finish in the voting didn’t shock her because she needed a wild card berth to make it into the finals, the Sebastian, Fla., resident said during a conference call with the media Friday afternoon.

“I felt if I didn’t have a really strong performance, there was a chance I would be going home,” Kristen said. “Although I think I had a good performance, I wasn’t certain it was going to be the one to win America over.”

As for the judges decision not to save her after she performed “Turning Tables” Thursday night … well, the judges only have one save for the entire season.

“I didn’t expect them to use the save no matter who it was (in danger of elimination),” Kristen said. “It was the first night; it was their first opportunity to use the save.

“Just putting myself in their shoes, I don’t blame them. I think once they get down to the high numbers, the save will be more useful.”

Kristen O’Connor sings “Turning Tables” for a save that didn’t come on American Idol Thursday night. (FOX Photo)

Though she was incredibly diplomat about it, she indicated that might not have happened during Wednesday night’s performance show, when she sang Kelly Clarkson’s “Beautiful Disaster.”

“My decision to sing that song — I had taken advice from production and people on the show, though I did come to agree with them,” she said, adding that she received rave reviews for her vocal during rehearsals. “I felt confident with it. I don’t regret doing it.”

But she added “I wish I had gotten to show American more with my guitar, which is who I really am, and something more upbeat, because I feel like America only saw one side of me.”

Kristen plans to continue to pursue music and hopes to release an album. She considers herself an R&B/pop singer with a touch of soul thrown in.

As for the nursing career, that was a practical decision.

She started college as a music major but says she had to work her way through school because, “I don’t come from lot of money” and considers herself “very self-supported.” Nursing paid the bills.

Besides, nursing required three 12-hour shifts per week, which left four days of the week to pursue music.

“And it sounds cliche, but (with nursing), I feel like I’m doing something important and it’s something I enjoy doing,” she said. “It’s a good backup and something I can be proud doing if music doesn’t work out.”

Among her other comments from Friday’s session with the media:

* Asked who she thinks will land in the finals, Kristen declined to guess, saying everyone on the show is incredibly talented.

* She said she leaves the show more confident in her vocal ability, and with the realization that she needs to focus on the positive rather than the negative. She admitted she had a tendency to focus on the one little criticism in an otherwise positive review of her performances.

* She said her favorite moment on Idol was singing “Turning Tables” by Adele during semifinals week because of the energy in the crowd and the positive feedback she got from the judges.

* She praised Idol’s new boot camp, saying she received invaluable advice from Adam Lambert and Chris Daughtry. For instance, Adam told her to ignore negative things people might say on the Internet, something most of the contestants had never dealt with before. “He’s like Kristen, you just can’t read that stuff.”

* She said she’s keeping her options open on what comes next. “I’m interested in anything this can bring to me, musicals, Broadway, acting, anything. I’m excited to see how it’s going to play out.”

* You can follow Kristen through her Twitter account (@ImKristenO) and her Facebook page.