'Idol' castoff Paige Miles: 'Really bad timing' for laryngitis

~Interview by Kristin McGrath, USA TODAY

Praised for her powerhouse vocals early on, American Idol Season 9 Top 11 contestant Paige Miles couldn't quite hit the right notes Tuesday night when she took on Phil Collins' Against All Odds. Miles, 24, was still suffering from laryngitis when USA TODAY caught up with her Thursday, March 25 during a post-elimination conference call.

Q: How do you think Miley Cyrus did as a mentor?

A: Miley did a great job. She has tons of experience in the business and touring and making albums, doing things a lot of us in the competition are trying to do. I'm older than her, but her age didn't come across at all. I was speaking with someone with experience doing what I want to do, so she was great.

Q: What's next for you?

A: To continue moving forward with my singing. I love to perform, and this is something I want to make a career out of. And possibly move out here to L.A.

Q: The judges were pretty critical of you this week. How much influence do you think they have over the voters?

A: The judges have a certain amount of power, but it also comes down to a solid performance. Tuesday night definitely wasn't my best, and they ripped me for it. It can go both ways. Sometimes (voters) back up the person the judges were too hard on, but you never really know how America is going to vote.

Q: Did you and your fellow contestants ever discuss how to please the judges?

A: The best thing to do is to be yourself and do what makes you most comfortable, because the judges can give mixed messages.

Q: Your voice sounds worse. How long have you had laryngitis?

A: It was bad last night, but not as bad as it is now. I've been struggling with laryngitis for three weeks now. I have a swollen vocal cord. There's a lot of inflammation, and singing and rehearsing as much as we do, I had very little time for it to heal. It would get a little better, and then I'd have to sing again and it would be worse. It's tough when you're in a singing competition and you have no voice. It affected my song choice because I steered away from what I would normally do, which is big belty numbers, such as All Right Now, which I love. And I shied away and tried to do something smaller in an effort to not overtax my cords.

Q: How did you even sing when you had no voice?

A: I just got it together and let it rip.

Q: Do you think the judges are being too harsh this season?

A: Some of the things they say, I agree with and totally understand where they're coming from. But in some ways, it can be a little hurtful. Sometimes we think they could rephrase it and say it in a better way because it does come across as pretty harsh.

Q: Did you realize, when you chose the song, how much Against All Odds had been sung in previous seasons?

A: I actually hadn't realized. I was in rehearsal last week, and I was just trying to find a slower song that I didn't have to stress vocally over. I didn't want to do anything too uptempo and crazy. I probably should have picked something I was comfortable with and just gone for it. But you live and you learn.

Q: What is the process like for choosing a song?

A: The judges make it sound easier than it really is. We have to meet certain criteria, and we usually can't do the same artist, so it's tough.

Q: Do the judges have any influence on song choice?

A: No, they don't. Actually, I wish they knew more about the process we go through to pick a song.

Q: During your final performance, Kara (DioGuardi) was going nuts at the judging table. Do you think they were disappointed that you were eliminated?

A: They were all kind of going nuts at the table. They were bummed that I was going. They did have the option to save, and they exercised their decision before I even performed.

Q: What did they say to you afterward?

A: They thought it was a fantastic performance. They thought I did a great job. but that was a little too late.

Q: Do you think your lack of screen time at the beginning hurt you?

A: Early on, a lot of contestants were able to build a fan base, whereas I wasn't. But what you do onstage really sets the tone. And if I had delivered the way I know I could have, maybe I would still be around.

Q: What was your favorite part of the Idol experience?

A: Being able to perform on a stage and sing. I would have done it in jeans and a T-shirt or in a pretty white dress.

Q: Were there any other contestants you were close to?

A: Katie (Stevens), Lacey (Brown) and Siobhan (Magnus).

Q: What did you mean when you told Ryan (Seacrest) that you got lost in the song?

A: It was tough to find my way around it because my total range wasn't there. So just finding my place in the song, finding the meat in the song I could really sink my teeth into. I could never really grasp it, even in rehearsal. I wasn't ever able to grab it, in a large part due to the laryngitis.

Q: What are the criteria that go into choosing a song?

A: We have to think about what the audience will like, making sure you're doing what the judges are looking for you to do, which always is very tough because sometimes that doesn't work. And then trying to be true to yourself as an artist and finding someone else's material to make your own and hopefully not get compared to them (and hear from the judges), "That's great, but the original did it better." We're not usually trying to outdo the original, we're just trying to showcase ourselves.

Q: Simon (Cowell) said early on that you had one of the best female voices in the competition. What did you think when he said that?

A: I thought it was a pretty awesome compliment. I was happy he said it. A lot of people didn't know anything about me, not from my city audition, not during the Hollywood rounds, so it was nice to hear him say that.

Q: What would you have performed next week?

A: It was a tossup between Don't Leave Me This Way and I Can't Stand the Rain by Tina Turner.

Q: Did it sting knowing you just missed making it on the (Idols Live) tour?

A: Yeah.

Q: Was there more pressure this week, knowing that the tour was at stake?

A: Yes.

Q: It seems like a lot of people are getting sick this season. What are the producers doing about it?

A: They're doing as much as they can. It's just exhaustion being met with sickness makes it that much harder to fight off.

Q: Do you think the judges should have more involvement in song choice or should be able to suggest songs for the contestants?

A: I think that would be a cool little twist, because that's what we get nailed for more than anything.

Q: The judges have slammed a lot of people for not knowing who they are as artists. Do you feel you knew what kind of artist you are during the competition?

A: I know who I am as an artist. The problem was finding material that fit me and that would also work with the laryngitis. It was tough. I love rock/pop/soul. I rock it out with a soul/R&B twist. I like uptempo music. And when my voice started to fail me, I tried to take it slow, and that really didn't work for me.

Q: Do you think you should have risked more damage to your voice and gone with something more uptempo?

A: Yeah, but I was concerned with doing some permanent damage. So I really had to take it easy. Unfortunately, it was really bad timing.

Q: Did you have a feeling you'd be eliminated, or was it a shock?

A: I knew I had a poor performance, but I really didn't think it was my time to go. So I was surprised.

Q: Did it hurt when the judges said they would not be using the save before you even sang last night?

A: Yes, it did. I initially thought the save was something that, even if they don't use it, you get to sing for it, and then they make the decision. For the statement to be made before I opened my mouth, I was really bummed.

Q: Ryan said your students were looking forward to you coming back. Is your teaching gig a full-time job, and will you be going back to it?

A: The preschool is every day. And I do after-school from 2:30 to 6 p.m. every day. I love working with kids. But I won't be going back to it right away. I want to continue to pursue my dream.

Q: Were the kids supporting you during the competition?

A: I have very little time to communicate with anybody. It's hard for me to even keep in touch with my family. But I would get e-mails, and they'd send me cards and packages and goodie bags, pictures they'd colored. I know they supported me 100%.

Q: Is teaching preschool what got you into coloring to relax before performances?

A: Yeah, we'd do it in class, and it was a way to calm down the room. Idol is very high-stress with a lot of tension and anxiety. People usually can't find a way to get the nerves down. Some people do yoga, some meditate. I just like to whip out a box of crayons and color. I can't draw to save my life, but I can color. I can stay in the lines.

Q: Are there any artists you'd like to mold your career after?

A: I wouldn't say mold my career after, because I think what makes an artist great is how their career has molded itself. But I really admire Christina Aguilera. She's a beautiful woman, and she has an amazing voice. And she follows her own drum. She doesn't put out an album every year. She takes her time and makes art out of her album.

Q: You said you had a personal connection with Against All Odds. Was there a life experience that made you connect with the song?

A: I chose it because I was trying to find a ballad that worked for me this week, and I wanted to do a really big ballad. But my voice just kept going in and out all through the week, and rehearsing it was difficult. And it was against all odds, me being where I was, with everything going against me. It's a love song, but I attributed it to my life and where I was right now.

Q: What did you miss most about Houston?

A: The kids. And the hospitality — Southern hospitality, there's nothing like it. Nothing makes you feel more at home. That's why Lacey and I bonded. She's the Amarillo girl, and I'm from Houston. And my dogs.