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I felt like I got more comfortable on 'Idol' when I just started being myself and not trying to be what I thought I had to be.

I grew up always wanting to be a part of 'Idol,' and I never thought I would make it as far as I did. I was really lucky, and it's given me the opportunities that I have now.

'Idol' was more of a competition, and that was more of a platform that I wanted to get a hold of and get on top of. And I finally got that opportunity, and now it's more like, I just gotta show and prove myself to everybody that I'm not just the 'balladeer.'

When I was younger, there was a huge gap between what I wanted to do and what I could do as an idol.

Originally I considered myself a singer.

People tell me I'm their idol and a huge inspiration - that's really surreal.

To idolise a person means you don't get to know them, and the idea that you can become one is a myth, and it also means that you don't need to talk to one another because you're the same person.

Long before 'American Idol', people used to call me a diva. And I be like, 'Hold on, are you calling me something else on the sly? You gonna call me a diva, call me a good diva.'

I don't feel like an idol to anybody. I don't feel anybody should look up to me.