Phillip Phillips had an emotional moment while performing his single, “Home,” after winning “American Idol,” and backstage after the finale, he explained why he teared up.
“I wasn’t thinking about my family, the music or anything, or the song or nothing… [I] just started thinking about how long the road is to this and how much all of us put into this show and into our work,” Phillip explained to AccessHollywood.com’s Laura Saltman, following his win. “It’s just tough and it was just crazy that I had won and, I don’t know, it was just overwhelming.”
The 21-year-old called his victory “crazy,” especially since he didn’t think he was taking home the top prize.
“[My family] said they knew it, but I never thought any of this would happen,” Phillip said.
Jessica Sanchez, who was the runner-up, also predicted Phillip’s win.
“I told him on Top 3 results… I was like, ‘You’re gonna win this whole competition,’” she told Laura backstage.
But Phillip said he didn’t believe Jessica either.
“She said that, but I still thought she was gonna get it, and to me, she still won,” he said. “If you didn’t see that performance tonight [of ‘I’m Telling You’], man, she killed it.”
Phillip joins a long line of recent guitar-toting “Idol” winners, including David Cook, Lee DeWyze, Kris Allen and Scotty McCreery, but he told Laura he feels like he comes from a different place, musically speaking.
“I feel like I’m different than the other guys. They’re great guys, I met a few of them, but I don’t really play just the regular chords,” he said. “I like doing something different with the guitar and different with the music, so hopefully, people enjoy it.”
Phillip showed his diversity with his “Idol” single, “Home,” but he is ready for the follow-up tune.
“It’s a good song. The writer did a good job of it,” he said. “It’s not one of my own, so I’m excited to get my own stuff out there.”
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