Idol Chatter & Voice Views

A couple of years ago, C.J. Harris says he was just barely “trying to get by” as a struggling musician.

Things like American Idol summer tour tickets weren’t part of his budget.

C.J. Harris acknowledges the crowd after his elimination from American Idol. (FOX Photo)

This summer, though, fans will be paying to watch him perform on that tour, including at a home-state gig in Birmingham, Alabama, on July 26.

That tour is one of the things C.J. said he’s looking forward to the day after his elimination from Idol.

The 23-year-old from Jasper, Alabama, was eliminated in sixth place Thursday night, with fellow Alabamian Jess Meuse standing by his side as the bottom two vote-getters.

He landed in that spot despite a country-rock theme week that seemed right up his alley.

But during a conference call with the media, C.J. sorta wondered whether song choice did him in.

He sang “American Woman” during the rock portion of the show. C.J. said he picked the song because he thought it would be a great fit for his voice.

“But I had a hard time remembering all the lyrics and getting up there and just singing without thinking too much,” he admitted during a Friday conference call with the media.

For the country portion of the show, he performed the Zac Brown Band’s “Whatever It Is.”

The judges weren’t thrilled with the song choice because they didn’t think it was a tune that could possibly deliver the type of game-changing performance C.J. needed.

C.J.’s take: “I think I could have picked a better country song to fit my voice.”

C.J. Harris gets a group hug from the remaining American Idol contestants after his elimination Thursday night. (FOX Photo)

He said he’s looking forward to the tour because he’ll be able to get on stage and perform without worrying about cameras.

And after the tour, he’s thinking about moving to Nashville. He’s written enough material for a debut album. And Nashville’s the place to be for an aspiring country artist.

C.J. envisions a debut album that would be mostly country, but also feature blues, soul and southern rock elements.

Heck, it might even feature a duet with the third Alabamian to make it to the finals on Idol, Dexter Roberts.

The two live about 30 minutes apart and were friends before the show, a bond that only grew because of the time they shared on Idol.

And, as it turned out, they wound up being eliminated on successive weeks.

“I would love to do a duet with Dexter,” C.J. said. “We’ve already talked about it.”