Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Colton Dixon apparently had no intention of trying out for American Idol in Season 11.

He went to the Savannah auditions to support his sister, Schyler.

But the 20-year-old was convinced to try to out by the Idol judges.

And he wound up outlasting Schyler and all but six other contestants.

He run on Idol ended Thursday night. On Friday afternoon, Colton talked to the media about his time on Idol.

Here’s what he had to say:

* Colton says he definitely wants to do Christian music.  He’s going to write as much music as possible, and what comes out will determine what genre he winds up in.

* Colton also said he’d love to record a duet with his sister. 

* Colton said contestants, this week, were given a two-page list of songs they could choose from for both the current and soul selections.  “Unfortunately, I don’t think I made the best choice.”  Sometimes, he says, the choice is as limited as 13 songs.

* Carrie Underwood sent out tweets of support for Colton last week, and Colton said he was thrilled to hear that, partly because she’s another artist who doesn’t shy away from her faith.

* His message to other Idol contestants: “Stay true to yourself, no matter who’s in your ear.”

* Colton says the “Switchfoot” route is exactly what he’d like to do.  Music “is about a ministry for me.”  He said he’d love to perform Christian music, but record music with cross-over appeal as well.

* About the apology, Colton said part of it was because of the clip of him shown on TV where he was quoted as saying he “didn’t care” about the critiques from the judges after Wednesday’s performance of “September.”  He didn’t like the way it came across, partly because of TV editing, but he said he definitely made the comment and “that’s not who I am.” 

* The other part of the apology was for the song choice.  He thinks “Bad Romance” might have turned off some of his fans.  Message is usually what he considers first when picking a song.  The message that “Bad Romance” portrayed “really wasn’t who I was.”  He says he thinks that’s the main reason “why I’m talking to you right now.” 

* “You have to have a valley before you can peek, which is what makes me excited for this album. Hopeful album, I should say.”

* He says in seasons past, he could clearly pick a winner on Idol.  This year, he says he thinks “it’s anyone’s game.”  People were surprised to see him go, but it just shows how strong the cast is, he said.  Some people are solid every week, but he still thinks there’s room for “a dark horse.”

 * Colton admits he had a feeling he was in the bottom three, partly because he was standing beside Jessica Sanchez and Phillip Phillips, and one of them was going to be among the bottom three.

* Asked about his ideal theme week, he says he’d love to have a theme week where contestants have to write a song and then record it, working with co-writers based on their genre.  “That would be so much fun.”

*  Even if the save was still around, Colton said he isn’t sure the judges would have used it on him.  He said he would like to have hoped they would.  At the same time, he said he was glad to see the judges save Jessica last week because she deserved it.