'American Idol' eliminee Avalon Young: Things didn't work out well when I sang a song I didn't pick

American Idol determined its farewell season's Top 6 singers and eliminated Avalon Young and Lee Jean in the process late last week on Fox.


The two contestants ousted from the competition were Avalon, a 21-year-old server from San Diego, CA, and Lee, a 16-year-old student from Bluffton, SC. Last week marked Avalon's second time in the bottom three.

Instead, Idols' judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. chose to save fellow bottom-three member Sonika Vaid, a 20-year-old student from Martha's Vineyard, MA.

On Friday, Avalon talked to Reality TV World about her American Idol experience. Check back with us soon for more from the conference call.

Reality TV World: We saw a scene earlier in the season when Tristan McIntosh picked the song "Clarity" but mentor Scott Borchetta totally shot the idea down, which made her cry. She ended up with a great song choice that week, but did you ever experience a moment like that? Did you ever feel conflicted about singing a song you wanted to do vs. what head honchos on the show wanted?


Avalon Young: Yeah, I definitely had that moment when I sang "Stitches" by Shawn Mendes, not last week, but the week before. I was going to go in there and do a different song, but they suggested maybe I should step out of my box a little bit, and I was totally down to do that.

I tried it out and it didn't do too well for me, but I mean, I have no regrets and ultimately it was my decision. I did choose that song, but to me, I think it's not about the song choice but more about how you sell the song.

Reality TV World: Everyone this season is talented in her or his own way, but obviously La'Porsha Renae has been a standout from the start, even to the point where Kelly Clarkson blurted out she should win the show when she was a guest judge. Did you feel like you were basically in a competition for second place? If so, was that a little disheartening?

Avalon Young: I mean, the way that I see it is, you never know what's going to happen. There were weeks when, like [Lee Jean] is a good example of this: For a couple of weeks, he was going right through, like the first one to go through, and then yesterday, we were all kind of shocked he went home.

So, obviously I have all the faith in the world in La'Porsha. I think she's an incredible human and she obviously is a ridiculously good singer, but I feel like we're not in a place to make any predictions, because you just never know what could happen. It's all in America's hands.


Reality TV World: Viewers learned a little bit about your OCD diagnosis this week, like how it causes you to have a little eye twitch every now and then. Did it affect you in this competition in any way other than that? Was that a struggle for you on the show?

Avalon Young: Honestly, no. I got a lot of interest and comments online about it, which you know, doesn't bother me. Because I've had it since I was a kid, so if they think they're the first to bully me, they're definitely wrong. (Laughs)

I grew up with it and it's not -- to me, it doesn't bother me, because it's not who I am as a person. I'm Avalon, you know? I'm not "OCD," I'm not "Anxiety." I'm like a normal human.

It doesn't take anything away from my voice, it doesn't take anything away from my performance. And those are the only two things that I care about -- wanting to be an artist. So for me, the OCD is such a minor, minor part of my life.

I'm glad I touched on it though because I think there are a lot of girls and guys out there who are young -- my age or younger -- and they deal with it too. And it's never really talked about. I think it was cool for me to have a moment where I could kind of break it down and be like, "This is me," and I know a lot of you out there have it. It is what it is, and if I can get through it, you can get through it.


Check back with Reality TV World soon for more from Avalon's post-American Idol interview.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski