Allison leaves ‘Idol’ with head high: ‘I stayed true to myself’

Q: Were you feeling pretty confident last night?

A: It was weird. I’ve been in the bottom three before. When it was down to me and Danny (Gokey), it was like, “It’s either him or me.” And it was me. I’m glad I got the opportunity to perform on that stage.

Q: The link between you and Adam (Lambert, when the singers dueted on Slow Ride) was amazing. Tell us about that whole pairing.

A: We thought about doing a duet for a while now. We kept saying: “We have to do one. It’s going to be fun.” When we saw that Slow Ride was on the list, we were like, “We should do that.” It was great. We’re going to do that on the (Idols Live) tour.

Q: Did you choose the pairings, or did the show?

A: We did.

Q: What do you think about going back to three (judges)? What does Kara (DioGuardi) add to the show?

A: Change is good and I love Kara.

Q: What was your favorite judges’ comment during the show?

A: I really liked that they would say that I was different, you know? I stayed true to myself. It’s been a long ride and I’ve been happy.

Q: It definitely seems you have a little-sister relationship with the guys.

A: It was so fun because they would pick on me. They ran with an argument. They would say “You stay out of this. You’re only 12 years old!” and I would be like, “Wah, wah,” and they would say, “Fine! Fine!” It was great because it was like a family. They would help me with song choice.

Q: Did you get any pranks pulled on you?

A: No, I got lucky (laughs).

Q: Did you have a parent stay in the Idol mansion? Did that cramp your style at all?

A: My mom stayed with me. Not really. She was very supportive.

Q: The constant comment from Simon (Cowell) …

A: Every week he’d say, “You’re boring. You have no personality.” I just thought it was the perfect time to stand up for myself and go: “I’m not who you say I am. You say I don’t talk enough, so yeah, I’m going to talk.”

Q: You’ve done singing in Spanish and English. Is that something you’re interested in doing in the future?

A: If I had the opportunity to go back to what I was doing, absolutely. I started singing in Spanish and it was great.

Q: How shaken up were you by blocked rehearsals (after a couple of accidents on the set)?

A: We didn’t know how to react. That day was just not going well. Things were not going the way they were supposed to. During each of our performances, we were all a bit shaky.

Q: Can you talk about working with Slash?

A: I was like, “Oh, my gosh! I can’t wait to meet him.” He’s been one of the best mentors we’ve had.

Q: If it’s any consolation, (Chris) Daughtry finished in fourth too. Did it cushion things for you that he was there last night?

A: He’s done so much and so well, and if he’s done well and he didn’t make it all the way to the top, that gives me a chance.

Q: You’ve gotten comments that had nothing to do with your singing. Did that bum you out?

A: Sort of. I’d think, “Come on, I’m singing here!” They look at how you can sell yourself as an artist. But I had fun with it, and that’s what matters.

Q: You were in the bottom three many times. Did that affect your song choice?

A: It really didn’t affect anything. I just thought, “If I’m in the bottom three again, I’m leaving on a good note.” I think that I did pretty good.

Q: Do you have to go back to high school?

A: If I take my GED test, I’m totally done. I was home-schooled, so I was doing a lot of things ahead of time.

Q: You really seemed to be pulling out all the stops for (the farewell performance).

A: I felt really great about it. This is my last time on here. Give it my all and leave on a good note.

Q: Did you regret your (last song)?

A: I don’t regret doing (Cry Baby) at all. I was just feeling it.

Q: What are you going to tell the people who voted for you?

A: They’ve got to vote for whoever they think is awesome. It’s so hard in the competition because everyone is so different.