Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Paul Jolley became the second contestant booted from the Season 12 finals on American Idol Thursday night.

Friday afternoon, the 23-year-old from tiny Palmersville, Texas, talked to the media about his Idol experience.

* Paul says he hasn’t changed his planned musical direction. He still wants to record music in the pop-country range.

* He sees the remaining competition as a battle of the genres rather than a battle of the singers because everyone’s excellent and specializes in their own type of music..

* For some reason, he says he feels like he was the contestant the judges selected to be tough on. “I’m OK with that,” he says, adding he needs the feedback in order to improve and wants to make a career of music. He says he especially appreciated the feedback from Keith Urban.

* He says he’s lost weight during the Idol process, perhaps because the contestants are occasionally served healthy foods at the mansion not of their own choosing. “I’m a cheeseburger and pizza kind of guy,” he says. He doesn’t know how much weight he’s lost, only that his clothes “don’t fit the same” now.

* He says he’d also like to try his hand at acting and fashion design. The shirt he wore to perform on Lennon and McCartney Week was custom-designed for him, he said.

* Paul says he knew he wasn’t going to be saved. “Jimmy already saved me once.” Asked about the value of the save song, he said, “I’m glad I got a chance to sing,” adding that the save-song allows a contestant to leave on a positive note, whether saved or not.

* He says Lazaro, the most harshly criticized of this week’s contestants, has a huge following and an amazing story and he wishes him the best of luck on the show.

* Paul says he starts every day with a prayer and, on Thursday, had a moment where he realized he was about to leave the show and that God had “bigger and better” plans for him.

* He says he can’t wait for the tour when he “can have my moment with the fans” with no voting and no judges “staring me down.”