'American Idol' eliminee Sarina-Joi Crowe: You could drive yourself nuts thinking what you could or should have done

American Idol eliminated Sarina-Joi Crowe and determined its Top 11 artists during the first live show of its fourteenth season on Fox. 

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Sarina-Joi, a 19-year-old musician from Columbia, TN, was the last of the Top 12 contestants asked to perform a song that got "the party started," which ultimately revealed she was on the chopping block based on the nationwide vote following last Wednesday night's show.

Sarina-Joi then got to sing for the one "Judges' Save" of the season that expires at the Top 5. She took the stage with "Neon Lights" by Demi Lovato. However, Idol judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. decided not to use the save because it's so early on and someone inevitably has to go home every week.

During a recent conference call with reporters, Sarina-Joi talked to Reality TV World about her time on the show and early ouster. Below is the concluding portion of her interview. Click here and here to read more. 

Was there any valuable advice that you obtained from the judges?


Sarina-Joi Crowe: The most valuable advice that I've obtained from the judges is to just be myself and to really listen to what's going on around me and, mostly, to just be confident. Because even if you're nervous, if you go on stage and you're confident, people will look at you in a different way and it'll do wonders for your performance quality. And so, I'm very ecstatic to have taken that with me.

What have you learned about yourself in this whole process, what that you can share?

Sarina-Joi Crowe: I learned that I am very motherly, apparently. According to the other contestants, I'm extremely motherly, and I care a lot about other people. And, I always say, if American Idol was a beauty pageant, I would have won Miss Congeniality, apparently, because I was trying to help everyone a lot. 

I learned that I opened my heart more than I thought I would. I came back to the show with very little friendships from the years previous, aside from like [Savion Wright], and so I didn't really know how to really gauge the different people, and I ended up falling in love with 48 contestants that went to 24, that went to 16, that went to 12, and I opened my heart to them.

And, I didn't really know that I could do that so quickly with people that I didn't know, and I was just sad to say goodbye to them because they're such a huge part of who I am. They've all impacted me so deeply, and that's one thing I learned about myself that I didn't know about myself before.


Can you tell us a little bit about "Neon Lights?" How you chose it? How it worked out? I think a party anthem is, maybe, kind of a hard thing when you are singing for the "Judges' Save."

Sarina-Joi Crowe: Yes.  Well, "Neon Lights" was originally my song for "Get The Party Started," so had I been called, I would have performed "Neon Lights" for America's vote. But since I was in the bottom, since I was the last person to be called, that ended up having to be my save song.

So, that's just what the circumstances brought, but for me, like I said, I never really -- I didn't know that I would be singing for the "Save," so in my head, "Neon Lights" was what I was going to perform. So, when it got down to the point where I had to sing it, I wasn't really thinking about, "Oh I have to give this huge vocal performance so I can be saved."

Because, in my heart, I kind of knew my time was up, so what I did was I said, "You know what? I'm going to give a great performance and I'm going to have a good time and enjoy it for myself. And, if they save me, great. But if not, I'm going to go out feeling good."

Because, at the end of the day, I'm the only person that has to get onstage. Nobody else kind of has to do it except me, so I can't leave feeling bad or it's going to affect me, so I had to do what was best for me. Yes. You'll drive yourself nuts thinking about what you could have and should have done. But, it was out of my hands, and so I just had to do the best I could.


What would you like to tell your fans? Is there anything you'd like to say to the people who supported you?

Sarina-Joi Crowe: I just want to thank them so, so, so much. I love them dearly. I've been reading so many great things on Twitter, and Facebook, and it's just really, really awesome to see a group of people who are just so dedicated and loyal.

And I owe them everything because I wouldn't even be here if not for them, so I would just tell them to just hang tight. Because like even though I'm not going to be on the TV every week, this is not the end, and there are great, great things coming if they would just stick with me a little longer.

What character trait did you learn about yourself on the show that you hadn't recognized before and would like to develop going forward?

Sarina-Joi Crowe: I want to develop confidence in my decisions. Some things I'll do and I'll be like, "Oh, yes, this is great. This is going to go well." And then other things I'll say, "I don't know if this is a good idea," and I'll weigh it back and forth. I just want to get to where every single decision that I make is 100% what I want to do. You know?


I don't want it to be a sometime thing. I don't want to sometimes feel like, "Oh, this is what I want to do," and other times feel weird. I want to always be 100% confident in what I'm doing, and that's the one advice that I've always kept dear to my heart, which is trust your instincts, follow your gut.

You were speaking about the other contestants and how motherly you were towards them and how close you all are. Do you have any words of advice for those still left in the competition?

Sarina-Joi Crowe: Absolutely. I would just tell them to keep their heads up and to not let anybody change them and to constantly do them, because all 11 of them are so incredibly diverse and so incredibly talented. And, if you guys think this is going to be an easy year for elimination, you're mistaken. 

It's going to be hard every single week because those kids are ridiculous, all of them. They're amazing, and I would just tell them keep their heads up and to stay focused and to stay close. And they're going to understand this -- nobody else will -- but to do the thing. They'll know what I mean by that.

Are you going to watch the rest of the season?


Sarina-Joi Crowe: Absolutely. Absolutely. I'll be watching every single week. I'll be watching because, more than anything, those are my friends. I know everybody gets this idea that we're all competitive and we want to beat each other, but we're not. We're like a family. We're brothers and sisters. 

Apparently, I was like the mother of the den and I was okay with that, and I wanted everyone to succeed. There were times that we helped each other on our performances. We sat down and helped each other learn lyrics, or learn keys or run scales or warm up. This is so much more than people really realize, and I will be watching every single week, right down to the finale, and I'm so happy for all of them.

What for you was a high point this season of your own performances? Which one really defines who you are as an artist or was a really favorite moment for you?

Sarina-Joi Crowe: "Mamma Knows Best," hands down. I've wanted to sing "Mamma Knows Best" for so long; It's been my dream. And, I said, "No matter what, I want to do 'Mamma Knows Best' and get a chance to do it and be able to say, 'I finally accomplished what I needed to accomplish.'"

And, "Love Runs Out" is what it is. "Love Runs Out" doesn't define me and it won't ever define me. And in two weeks, nobody will care about "Love Runs Out," but "Mamma Knows Best" will live on forever in my heart, and that's what's most important to me.

Do you know what you're going to do next?


Sarina-Joi Crowe: Absolutely. Like for now, I'm just going to spend some time with my mom, who's like my best friend, and I call her my Day 1. She's my best friend. She's been there for me this whole time and we're going to just relax in LA for a couple of days.

And then I'm going to go home and see all my friends and family that have been rallying for me because I love them dearly. And then I think I'm going to pay a visit to a friend in Massachusetts that I've been dying to see, so that's going to be the next step for me. Just a little [R & R] and then back to work.

Any final remarks, Sarina-Joi?

Sarina-Joi Crowe: Thank you all for taking the time out to talk to me. I really appreciate it and I just love everyone that's been supporting me. It's been really helpful and motivational, and this is not the end of me, and just never give up, and follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook if you want, and there's definitely more to come. Definitely.

To read more from Sarina-Joi's interview, click here and here.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski