Interview with Chris Sligh

On this exit interview from AOL, Chris explains his distaste with AI, and why he wanted to leave the show two weeks ago. He also talks about VFTW and Sanjaya. You just know there's more he wants to say... but he can't! AI owns his ass now.

"The judges gave you a hard time about your performance. In rehearsals, did you sense that you were going to have a problem with the rhythm?
I sang with Gwen on Saturday, and I had just picked that song out Friday afternoon after changing my song. I was originally going to do 'Give a Little Bit' covered by The GooGoo Dolls. But I really wanted to challenge myself a little bit more. By the time I got to rehearsals on Monday, I had started to get the rhythm down a little bit. But I actually went back and listened to my performance about 10 or 15 times. It wasn't a great performance, but it wasn't as bad as the judges made it seem. As soon as they gave me the spanking that they did, I kind of new I was going home.

You were an early favorite, but you kind of lost momentum. What do you think happened?
You know what I think it was? I never came into this wanting to win it. I come from an indie / alternative rock kind of background. For me, I think winning would hurt what I was really going for. I think what solidified it in my mind was when I was universally trashed for my arrangement of 'Endless Love.' I kind of thought it wasn't the competition for me. Actually, I almost dropped out that week. I went to the guy from 19 [Entertainment] and said, "If I drop out, can I still go on tour?" And they were like, "No, you have to get voted out." So I was like, "Well, we'll see what happens." This week, I really thought it was a good song for my voice and I gave it my best.

What $50 bet did you have with Phil Stacey?
I knew that I was going home. I had this feeling in my heart that I was going home. Pretty much nobody gets away from being trashed like I was unscathed. I told Phil I was going home. And he was like, "No way! There's no way you're going home before me." So I bet him $50, and he took me up on it and I won.

What did you think about the critiques you got from the judges?
All six songs were risks in one way or another, and I feel like that was ignored. And really, the judges never commented on my voice, and that was frustrating for me. At least say, "You have great vocals but I didn't like the arrangement." But it was never that.

Bob Jones University criticized your musical direction on 'American Idol.' What's your response?
I specifically kept my comments about Bob Jones to myself just for personal reasons. I don't want to throw them under the bus, and I respect what they do. It's just that their sect of Christianity is not what I want to be associated with.

Why did you decided to leave Bob Jones before graduating?
I didn't leave Bob Jones through a choice of my own. I actually got kicked out for going to a Christian contemporary concert. It was a band called For Him. So they kicked me out. It was actually good because I had been figuring out how to leave. My parents had given me the option to go to two colleges, and I chose the less crazy one believe it or not. I was 18 and didn't have the money to pay for college, so I chose what I could. No disrespect to Bob Jones, but again, it's just not the sect of Christianity I want to be associated with.

You were known for cracking jokes, but do you think your irreverence and sarcasm worked against you?
It's funny because I love the show, but at the same time there are some cheesy aspects I poked fun at. And there are people who love the show so much that anything you say bad about the show or Simon -- as I did, for instance -- they will literally write you hate mail. I had a blog and I would get hate mail for weeks after my comment to Simon. People said they hoped I would die because I told Simon I didn't sound like The Teletubbies. It kind of freaked me out. I hope that people would realize that me joking around about the show is very tongue and cheek.

When you said "Hi, Dave" the other week, were you addressing the founder of Votefortheworst.com?
I don't know if I should answer that question. (Laughs)

But doesn't a Website like that hurt you and help Sanjaya?
I think people underestimate Sanjaya. He's 17 years old. When I was 17, I don't think I knew how to sing in a live situation. I have a lot of respect for him, and I do not envy his position at all.

What would you change about the show?
I wish they would let songwriters sing their songs. I wish they'd let people play instruments. And the third thing is I wish that those who enjoy blogging would be able to blog about the experience. I mean, there are secret parts about the show that they don't want to get out, but I think it would be an interesting read. We work seven days a week, 10 to 15 hours a day. Not all of that is stuff that America doesn't need to know about.