>’American Idol’: Q&As With the Top 13!(Previous 5)

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How are you feeling about the judges — is there anyone in your corner? Do you miss Simon?

Casey Abrams: I love the new judges. I don’t miss Simon. I’ve forgotten about him already. I think Simon would have made fun of my looks. Randy [is in my corner]. I play bass. He plays bass. We have a connection going.  

Naima Adedapo: I think they are for real and being honest. I think they are really trying to nurture talent and show us the way to achieving the dream. When they critique you, they aren’t just saying things to be mean. You have to learn to take it and use it and channel it or it will destroy you.

Lauren Alaina: I think they are all kind of rooting for me. They’re so nice, y’all. I never would have expected it. And Jennifer keeps telling me how pretty she thinks I am. 

Probably because she realizes I lack in the confidence in that area, but goodness coming from her that means so much. She is one of the most beautiful people alive. Have you seen her? That is the best seal of approval for me. James Durbin: I miss Simon only because I wanted to see if I could win him over. I don’t know how he feels about metal. Steven gets me because he is a rock god and I feel a connection with him.

Ashthon Jones: They are so wonderful. They are different than I expected. They are always talking to us and giving us hugs. They genuinely seem to care about us. They have really helped me on this journey and now I owe them more because they used their powers to save me.

Stefano Langone: Either Randy or J. Lo [is in my corner]. J. Lo has shown it more but Randy and I have a special thing. He’ll give me these looks and say little things to help me out. ”Eh dawg, you could do this or change it up more. Reel it in here.” J. Lo comes out and says nice things. She makes me feel good about myself. It’s all good. I can’t believe J. Lo knows my name. She makes me feel good.

Jacob Lusk: I used to think Randy was in my corner, but sometimes he’s kind of blah towards me. And then I thought it was Steven Tyler, and then he acted kinda blah. Then I thought it must be Jennifer Lopez, and then she kinda reacted sometimes like she loved me and other times could take or leave me. So I think it is more about a song and whether they love your performance. It is really about working us hard and grooming us. I don’t think it is about filling the Simon void. There’s a different chemistry there. They also bring a giant combined amount of first-hand knowledge and experience about what it takes to make it. You can’t really compare that to what they had before.

Scotty McCreery: I think they are all fair and have been nice to me and said nice things about my voice so far, but Jennifer is a little more so in my corner. She gave me the best compliment I’d heard so far when she said, ”You made a Bronx girl love country music.” I don’t know about all that, but I am glad I could.

Thia Megia: Maybe Steven [is in my corner]. But they have all been really helpful and encouraging to me. They are so nice. You really want to impress them every week. It gives me a goal to reach.

Haley Reinhart: I feel like Randy has had to stand up and fill the shoes that someone else used to wear. He isn’t as mean as Simon was, but he has stepped into the tough cookie role. They can’t all just sit there looking pretty and being the sweetest people on Earth. That is Jennifer and Steven’s job. But they are all three great people and I enjoy every piece of advice they give.

Karen Rodriguez: Jennifer and I have the Latina thing, and she is a hero and an inspiration. She has had a career in Spanish and English and that gives me something to aim for. She is a fountain of knowledge so being who I am, I am so glad I waited until now to come on the show.

Pia Toscano: Jennifer and Steven are definitely a little nicer and Randy has gotten a little tougher since Sinon has been gone. I think that is okay. He isn’t trying to be mean. He’s trying to help make us better stronger artists.

What were you doing last year at this time?

Casey Abrams: Watching American Idol.

Naima Adedapo: Cleaning toilets.

James Durbin: I was probably unemployed and had to move back in with my mom. Three of us were in one room. But I eventually found another job delivering pizzas. It was weird, but I knew if I kept positive and kept putting it out there, sooner or later, it had to come back to me. I had to get some good karma coming my way.

Stefano Langone: Going to school as a full-time student and working at my job and singing in my spare time.

Jacob Lusk: I was singing weekend gigs and barely, barely making it by.

Scotty McCreery: Playing baseball with my team. They played a game today that I had to miss. But this was probably worth missing it for.

Paul McDonald: My band was playing at SXSW, eating pizza and sleeping on people’s floors. We were touring out of a 15-person passenger van and just making ends meet. This is definitely something totally different and new. Way flashier. The stage is brightly lit for one, and the sound always works. And there’s way more people at my gig.

Haley Reinhart: I was still doing what I love — singing — just not in front of millions of people. I definitely never sold that many tickets to a gig.