'American Idol's C.J. Harris: I don't know if I got enough help with my pitch problems but I will keep working hard

American Idol's thirteenth season eliminated C.J. Harris and determined the competition's Top 5 finalists during Thursday night's live results show.


C.J., a 23-year-old from Jasper, AL, became the eighth finalist sent home from American Idol's thirteenth season after he received the fewest home viewer votes cast following last week's Top 6 performance show, which was dubbed "A Little Bit Country, a Little Bit Rock 'N Roll."

During a Friday conference call with reporters, C.J. talked about his American Idol experience. Below is the concluding portion of his interview. Click here to read the first half.

So, there you are in the bottom two with Jessica Meuse and you're waiting to find out who's going home.  What thoughts are running through your head at that point?

C.J. Harris:  You know, that it could be me, and that it could be Jess.  It was just all about the votes.  But either way, if I went down then I was going to hug her neck, and I was going to do what I had to do, and do my respect, because Jessica is an amazing person with a great voice, and I have so much respect for all of those guys.


We've had other contestants from Alabama on Idol, two of whom have won, two of whom have finished as the runner-up.  Did you feel like you were following in the footsteps of people like Taylor Hicks, Ruben Studdard?  Is that important to you?

C.J. Harris:  Yes, I mean, I looked up them before American Idol.  I watched Ruben Studdard and Taylor Hicks, and I learned a lot of things from them.  But yes, I kind of feel like I was following in the footsteps of them, and I hope I have a successful career.

When you come home to Alabama, what's the first thing you want to make sure you do when you get back to Jasper?

C.J. Harris:  When I get back to Jasper I want to go see my family, my little boy, and probably eat some barbeque. 

What advice would you give to aspiring American Idol contestants?


C.J. Harris:  I'd tell them to always stick to who you are and prepare a lot of songs, not just one genre -- all different styles and genres, country music, all different ones that you can learn, would be the best thing.  I'd say don't bring all your good songs out at the beginning.  If you can save some until you make it farther in the competition, that would be great, too.

The show this year has had a few different guest mentors come in, including Chris Daughtry, Adam Lambert, and David Cook.  So, how did these guest mentors, who have been on the show as contestants before, help you?

C.J. Harris:  I mean, they helped us out in so many ways.  I remember Adam Lambert saying, "Don't look on YouTube," or, "Don't look at the comments or anything," because a lot of people will go just to see what people think about them and you can get some very hurtful things.  But that was really good advice, to not really look at social media too much and keep focused on what you're doing, keep your eyes on the prize.

In regards to your pitch problems, were you getting help behind the scenes on that, and if you were, did you feel like it was adequate or that it was enough?

C.J. Harris:  Yes, I was getting help on it, but I don't know if it was enough.  I don't know if I had enough time to -- because I don't know music, the keys and the notes like I should.  I don't read it, so I feel like over time of me just learning it that I'll be better off than really just learning it over a few days.


I read earlier today that you're moving to Nashville. Is that right?

C.J. Harris:  I would like to.  I would love to.

Would you and Dexter consider being roommates out there?

C.J. Harris:  Yes, we talked about it, and I think that would be a cool thing.  I mean, he's a guy that I definitely trust.

Jennifer Lopez was crying when you got eliminated.  Did she give you any good direction after the show?


C.J. Harris:  Yes, she just told me how proud she was of me and the person that I've come to be, and stay to, and always keep to myself and keep pushing for my dreams, because I definitely have the capability of doing something big, I've just got to keep it pushing.

Above is the concluding portion of C.J.'s Friday conference call with reporters. Click here to read the first half.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski