In a conference call a day after his elimination from the competition, the 23 year-old gospel singer also addresses contradictory advice he got from the judges.
- May 7, 2011
AceShowbiz - Jacob Lusk isn't hiding the fact that he is left bitter by the negatives thrown at him while he was on "American Idol". The 23 year-old gospel singer got the boot from the singing competition on Thursday night, May 5, and the morning afterward, he opened up about what he really feels about mentor/record producer Jimmy Iovine's criticism.
Asked how soul-destroying Jimmy's negative comments about his song choices, the aspiring singer who finished fifth on the competition told reporters during a conference call on Friday, May 6, "I wouldn't call it soul-destroying." He elaborated, "It definitely hurts a lot, to have someone who is supposed to be mentoring you tearing you down."
"What you have to remember is you're not doing it for him, you're doing it for the people out there in America. They're the people who are voting," he pointed out. Still, he did admit, "It definitely hurts. It's definitely hard to have someone beat you over the head with a baseball bat, then say, 'Now go out here and sing for your life.' "
Though hurt, Jacob won't let the negatives get the best of him. "What I do, and what I definitely will continue to do now that the show is over for me, is to really give my all and continue to show my heart and continue to do my best to touch people, because that's what it's about," he stressed. "It's about touching people with music."
The singer from Compton, California, additionally, disagreed that the pressure was getting to him. "I wouldn't say the pressure was getting to me," he claimed. "I was getting a little tired, probably. I was trying to do different things that I thought that he would like. At the end of the day, I definitely went out and gave them my all."
Asked if Jimmy has talked to him since his elimination, he said, "I did not speak to him or see him after the show." Nonetheless, he noted, "But all is well. I have no complaints. He has his opinions, and he's definitely entitled to them. I'm no longer an active contestant, but all things work out together for good to those that love the Lord."
During the chat, Jacob also admitted to have felt that he "definitely got some contradictory advice" from the judges. Still, he added, "But at the end of the day, and what Randy tried to tell me, was that it's up to me and I have to be myself. Any time I'm being myself, they can't say anything. When you're great, you're great. When you're good, you're good. Nobody can argue with that, and that's what I have to do."
On his elimination, Jacob confessed, "I had expected it, not because of my bottom three finishes, but because of the judges' feedback and my performance this past week." He went on to point out, "I was the only one who wasn't in his element this past week. I did songs that weren't in my genre, that weren't really my thing. This wasn't the time to do that."
He explained further, "I feel that's why I was voted off, not because I was horrible or because they didn't like me or liked somebody else better. Those four people that are there did amazing. They were in their element Wednesday night, and I wasn't."
