My friends are mostly familiar with music that plays on the mainstream radio.

When I found out that I made it to the Season 11 finale, I was so shocked that if you went on YouTube and re-watch the Top 3 Results Show, you will see my face looked like a bus hit it.

Music has always been a huge part of my life.

A lot of people who wanted to audition for Idol have asked me: “What should I do?” or “How to I prepare myself?” I always told them: “Just go in and believe in yourself.”

“I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing” is a hard song to perform, I was worried that I was not going to reach that significant note that is at the end of the song. Thank god, Steven loved it! He was the nicest and friendliest judge that I have met. He also invited me to chat with him whether I had free time on the Idol set.

Have fun. Especially while you're still young, you gotta keep the spark up. Even when things get boring, just remember to have fun.

I always had an idea for what I wanted to do in the future and throughout my career. This wasn't, like, me figuring out what to do after Idol. I've always known the steps in what I had to do to get where I was.