Idol Chatter & Voice Views

So what advice would Casey James give male contestants on American Idol if a judge, at some point in the future, asks them to strip off their shirt?

“If you feel like you can back that up, and not just be known as they guy who took his shirt off, do it,” Casey said in his Friday morning exit interview with the media.

“Who’s to say if I would be here if I had not done that.”

Here, of course, is finishing third behind only Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze, qualifying for a summer tour on which he’ll get to perform for
thousands of fans all over the nation, and the record deal that’s likely to follow for the 6-foot-3 Texan with plenty of commercial appeal.

Not bad for a guy whose first Idol performance was cut short by Simon Cowell. Idol’s crankiest judge called it a “bad audition” showing “no
charisma” and “no effort.”

Then guest judge Victoria Beckham asked Casey to let his long blonde hair out of a ponytail.

Then Kara DioGuardi asked Casey to unbutton his shirt.

Next thing you knew, Casey James was naked to the waist, but he and his baby blues were bound for Hollywood.

“You won’t regret it,” he told the judges.

“But you will when you watch this back,” Simon vowed. “This is really embarassing.”

Casey might not regret that audition, but he admitted it gave him a bit of extra motivation.

“I really had the drive to knock it out (musically) the first chance I could,” he said. “I think I surprised the judges at that point.”

Along the way, Casey turned in some memorable performances. Best of all was a heartfelt rendition of “Jealous Guy” on McCartney-Lennon night.

There were clunkers too. Like Sinatra Week. Even Casey tweeted that he was surprised to survive and advance to the top four after his performance of “Blue Skies.”

So he said he was prepared when Ryan delivered the news Wednesday night. He was the low vote-getter. The season nine Idol finals would go on without Casey James.

“I’m the kind of guy who accepts what happens and am happy about it,” Casy said. “I am definitely happy with where I landed (on the show).

“Next is a record. It’s time to get started. The reason for the show is to allow us to do music. It’s go time.”

Among the other topics Casey addressed Friday …

* Would he be willing to work with Kara in the future: “As far as I know, she’s a pretty good (song)writer. I’m not opposed to working with anyone who’s good at what they do.”

* Was he offended when Kara described his demographic as mothers and their daughters. Casey said he hopes he has widespread appeal. But, no, he said he wasn’t offended. “My marketing skills are poor. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been doing the same bar gigs for 12 years.”

* Idol’s mentors: Casey praised Harry Connick Jr. for the time he committed to his mentoring gig. “That said a lot to me about who he is as a
person.”

* The Idol finale: Casey, of course, refused to divulge a favorite or speculate on who he thinks will win. He simply said it should be “a crazy,
crazy good show.”