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John Park had a tough week one, but when he took the stage and belted out John Mayer's "Gravity," the judges seemed to really enjoy it. Sadly, America didn’t agree and Parks was one of the four Idols to be sent home during week 2.
The Northwestern University student from Northbrook, IL, came all the way to Hollywood to follow his dream. During an American Idol (TV) press call, the fallen idol talked about what made this journey so unforgettable and his plans for the future.
From past series of American Idol, who were your idols from the show and what was it that inspired you?
My favorite idol winner was Kelly Clarkson and I just vividly remember her finale show when she sang "A Moment Like This," and she was crying onstage. It was just an incredible moment for me when I was a kid.
What would you say is your most memorable experiences from the show?
Most memorable is just meeting the other contestants and really becoming good friends and also working with Rickey Minor and the band. I mean, just working with the top of the top crew and band and coaches. It was just incredible, just the whole, just meeting new people and meeting incredible people.
What was the nicest and the meanest thing that any of the judges said to you?
Let’s see. I mean, the meanest thing, I think, they said was -- I mean, Simon said that I was going to go home and it came true. But that was as blunt as it could get. I mean, but all the judges said nice things to me like that I had a great voice and just yes, them validating that I had a great voice. That was just really nice. And after I got eliminated how they told me that I sounded great, that I should be doing this for the rest of my life, and that I do have talent.
What are your plans now?
Well, I’m going to head back to Chicago and see what kind of open doors there will be for me. And I don’t -- just kind of wait it out and probably go back to school this upcoming quarter, which is happening in about two weeks. So I’ll just take some time off to decompress.
Closing Remarks?
I am just so, so thankful and really all I have is gratitude. And just thinking about before all of this happened, where I was as a performer, and just a person. I feel like I’ve come out so much more confident and I like, I've never believed in myself this much. And just meeting all these incredible people and talented people and working with them every day has really been like a dream.
And it’s still kind of seems surreal that I went through all of this. But this experience definitely made me realize that I do want to pursue music instead of going back to school and study economics and go in that direction. So when I go back to school, I'll most likely study something that’s going to be more relevant to the music industry.
And even if it’s not performing, I would like to have a career in the music industry, whether it's management or songwriting and whatnot. Yes, and that’s it. I just want to thank everyone for their support and their kind words while I was on the show. And even now, when I’m off the show, it’s just people supporting me. I just want to say thank you.
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