Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 Being on national television and making it to the Top 12 on one of the top shows in America, that's a pretty big deal. What was it like going back to school after the show? Well, going back to school was definitely not the same as the way it was before, and I definitely didn't expect it to be. As you said, the biggest show on television, it's definitely going to change the way people act around you, and if it was up to me, I wouldn't have wanted anything to change. I'm the type of guy after my elimination and coming home, finishing up the last few months of my junior year - I'm now a senior - finishing up the last few months of my junior year here in New York, I would have loved to come back right away, sat in my seat, got out my notebook and start taking notes and life would be back to normal. But of course I knew that was not going to be the case. Instead...you know, my family was great, my closest friends all treated me the same and that's all I wanted was for them to see me as Kevin and not what they saw on the show because you know, while I was genuine on the show, I don't need Hollywood to absorb the opinions of people closest in my life. But, as far as acquaintances, and people that you don't like, going back to school...it definitely gets a little rough. I mean, there's certain people that want to try to get to you, or want to try to say things, and while no one ever said anything to me outright to fully insult me or approach me or anything like that, people try to bring me down. And it was definitely the case, I mean, it's high school - it's immaturity surrounding you. And I consider myself a little wise beyond my years maybe, and for me, that kind of immaturity, I didn't want to deal with it before Idol, and I don't want to deal with it now...but you know it's going to be there. There's going to be jealousy, and that's just the way life is. But at the same time, there were so many more people that were giving me praise and were so thankful for what I did for them and you know, I look back at those people and those are the people that are closest to me. Overall, how has your life changed? My life has changed completely. I tell everyone that asks the same thing, I tell everyone that I was such a happy person. I was the happiest 16, now 17-year-old kid - I lead a great life, have great family, great friends, great school environment, and life was good. But since doing the show, it's given me even more opportunities, and it's made life just a little bit sweeter which is great for me. It's given me opportunities with my music of course, which of course I'm going to pursue in the future. I'm definitely not going to rush it though, you know, being a 17-year-old, I know I've got all the time in the world to put out an album and to make the kind of music that I know my fans will love and appreciate. And while it's done that, it's also done things for acting. I love to act as well, I might get into some possible movie or television stuff in the near future, maybe coming up later this year. Nothing I can say for certain, but you definitely might see it. And that's the kind of stuff I love, I love playing a different part and being a different person, that's great too. It's just definitely made me more confident, it's changed my mindset. I was a confident kid before, but now I know that I can go in front of thousands of people and speak my mind or sing a song and it'll just be easy for me. I did it in front of 40 million on one of the biggest platforms in the world. So, it's definitely meant a lot to me and has changed my life in so many ways, and in all great ways really. So your immediate plans are to just finish up school then? Yeah, for the most part, right now I plan on finishing up school, but at the same time I don't plan on going into isolation and blocking myself out from media. That's not my plan. I don't want to go down that route. I want to continue making appearances and doing things, and like I said, I would love to get into acting and I think that it's something that might happen and I have a good feeling about that. Of course, my music career as well, which I guess you could say is on hold a little bit, but right now I'm just honing my craft. Idol for me just allowed me to break out so much musically, because at the start of the show, I was such a nervous performer, and I was so restricted. But by the end of the show I was comfortable in my own skin on stage, and now that I have that, I know that there are no limits to what I can accomplish. I'm just planning on doing a lot of things, but education as well as the show biz thing, are definitely on the top of my list. You know, going to college next year - not sure where, maybe close to home - and doing broadcast journalism in college, so that way I'm hitting on a whole other field of things that I love and down the road of education. I'm just hitting on all the things that I love in life and doing a little bit of everything and keeping myself happy that way. Are you planning on watching American Idol this season? Oh, most definitely. And I know other people have other Idol's saying, "Oh, I'm done and I'm not going to watch anymore." But you know, that's not me at all. I've loved the show ever since I first watched it and I'm not going to be ignorant now, I love the show still. And personally, as much as I love the great singers at the end - I guess you can put me under that category now since I made it that far - but as much as I love that part, I love the beginning. I love the comedy aspect of the show and the entertainment value is just incredible, so I'm definitely going to be watching because I enjoy it. It's a great show, it's a great family show, and maybe I'll be watching a few episodes with mom this year...I'll just have a different outlook on it because I've gone through it. Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3