More on the Mario AMERICAN IDOL fiasco:
He was on Regis & Kelly and said that it "just didn't feel right" (being on Idol). He said it's like when you are in love and you inexplicably fall out of love. He said being on Idol just didn't feel right for him. And he had to go with his intuition.
Could this really be the real reason? I must say that would seem really dumb to me.
If this is his real reason, then I can totally understand it. All the hype. All the promos. The whole "machine" that is "American Idol".
At this point in the competition, the outcome - his outcome - is totally out of his control. The producers start picking theme shows. All those cheesy group numbers and videos start. The "judges" just keep doing what they've been doing - and not doing. And it's the public that chooses "your next American Idol".
Yes, in a sense, the public always chooses the next "Idol", but with the way the whole show has progressed over the past three seasons, it's not such a "simple" competition any more.
Making the show may have been the "thrill" he was looking for, the goal he wanted to achieve. Being voted the next "American Idol" may not mean that much to him now.