Tyler Grady claims that even if he had received "constructive criticism" from American Idol's judges prior to his ouster last Thursday night, he wouldn't have listened to it.

ADVERTISEMENT

"If I would've made it through to another week, it would've been due to a fan base that appreciated what I was doing, so I probably would've just stuck to my guns and performed in the same style I've been performing in," Grady told reporters during a Friday conference call.

"I may have chosen a more recent rock song, but you wouldn't have seen me coming out in baggy jeans and wearing a headset microphone. I wouldn't have been changing my performance style at all."

The 20-year-old from Nazareth, PA -- who had seemed to draw more attention for 1970's rocker look and wardrobe than his singing during the competition's prior audition phases -- was one of four semifinalists eliminated during American Idol's first tenth-season live results show on Thursday night.

Grady subsequently told host Ryan Seacrest "he didn't really get much constructive criticism during Hollywood Week, and I feel like what [the judges] told me was a little bit too late," a comment that Simon Cowell could be seen agreeing with.

"I definitely respect the judges, and I think that they're very qualified to be critiquing the contestants on the show, but at the same time, when you are building a fan base and your fans are supporting you, they're supporting you because of what you're doing, so you can't turn on your fans," Grady told reporters during the conference call.

"You can't change up what you're doing to the point where you irritate your fans. If they're supporting you, you need to give them what they want and support them back."

Had he survived another week, Grady reiterated it would have been due to his fans and he would have owed it to them to remain true to himself.

"Essentially, if I would've gotten through another week, I think it would've been fair to assume that my fans appreciated my style of performance, because I've been consistent from the Boston audition to now," he explained.

"And if you see my band play ever, that's exactly the style of performance I give every time. In response to [Ellen DeGeneres'] critique of my lack of honesty and charisma onstage, I do absolutely respect her as an entertainer and as a critic, but I feel like she kind of misrepresented me there."

In addition, Grady said he found it "very confusing" that the judges enjoyed his 1970s style during his Boston audition and then bashed him for it during the competition.

"At this point I'm trying to move on from that. I don't have any bitterness or anything," he told reporters.

Grady also discredited his lack of attention during the ninth-season Hollywood Week episodes as the reason for his early exit.

"I don't want to make excuses," he said.

"I mean, Kelly Clarkson and Kris Allen, both winners of American Idol in the past, didn't have that much airtime going into the live show, so I wouldn't say that that would've affected the results."

While Grady initially said he "can't explain" why he was eliminated, he eventually provided an explanation.

"I was eliminated because I didn't get enough votes. I got one of the least number of votes out of the 12 guys; that's why I got eliminated. As a performer, you have to stick to your guns. You have to be honest and true to yourself," he told reporters.

"If you're gonna change your style ... and be inconsistent, you won't be able to build a solid fan base, because people won't be able to catch on to you. And once you build a fanbase, you need to feed them what they appreciate about you. You can't constantly change yourself, or you're not really respecting your fans."
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio

FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON GOOGLE NEWS