Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Lazaro Arbos said Friday afternoon his future plans include an album and perhaps even some acting.

Speaking on a conference call with the media, Lazaro said people keep asking him if he’s sad after his elimination from American Idol in sixth place.

“I am so far from sad,” the 21-year-old from Naples, Fla. said. “I have so much to look forward to. I feel great.”

Among those things to look forward to — he said his former high school is planning a pep rally in his honor when he returns to his hometown, quite a turn-around for a guy who described himself as a loner because of his stuttering problems.

Then, of course, there’s the Idol summer tour.

After that?

Lazaro said he wouldn’t mind doing some acting. One of the great things about Idol is that the show helped him shed some of his nervousness about trying new things.

In particular, he’d love to land a role on “Glee” and “Modern Family,” a show he said he loved.

And if he gets to record an album, Lazaro said he’d like to make a commercial pop album with some love ballads mixed in.

His only regret about his Idol experience?

Lazaro says he thinks he could have done a better job of picking songs that suited his voice on some weeks.

As for Thursday’s elimination, Lazaro said he was far from shocked.

“I wasn’t surprised because all the guys were going home. It was my turn,” he said. “All the five girls are so amazing.

“Winning the show wasn’t my main goal,” he added. “My main goal was to get known and become a performer.”

Among Lazaro’s other comments …

* Lazaro admitted he let some of Jimmy Iovine’s comments get him down. But he said Jimmy seemed very nice. He also added that those mentoring sessions with Jimmy typically lasted no more than 5 minutes.

* Lazaro said he would like to sing with Cher on the Idol finale. He said Cher reached out to him after he first appeared on the show, followed him on Twitter and they’ve been in touch since then. Lazaro said he loves her music.

* Lazaro said the group number flub with Devin Velez and Burnell Taylor was a combination of trying to learn a song he was unfamiliar with the nerves of performing the song live.