American Idol finalist John Stevens is interviewed by Paula Abdul on Entertainment Tonight tonight:

with his boy-next-door charm, John turned out to be quite the crowd pleaser, making it to the final six before being voted off the talent competition.

On tonight's ET, our special correspondent and "Idol" judge PAULA ABDUL catches up with John in an emotional interview that doesn't leave a dry eye in the house.

So just how is the fallen Idol dealing with the verdict?

"The only thing I am upset about is that Big Band Week is next and that is what I would be good at," he says. "Other than that, I have nothing to complain about. I have nothing to worry about, no stress and no panic."

The "American Idol" schedule is a grueling one for all the finalists, but even more so for those who are still in high school. In addition to all the rehearsals, performances and commercials that John was a part of during his seven weeks in the competition, he also had schooling to complete each day, along with DIANA DeGARMO and JASMINE TRIAS.

"It is not a disadvantage," he says, "but it puts more pressure on us. You have to worry about balancing school with performing on TV. I grew close to everyone in the competition, but especially Jasmine and Diana because I was in school with them an extra three hours a day. We became best friends."

One of the positive results of the hectic schedule was the fact that being sequestered kept John from hearing all the negative media buzz that was swirling about the week that JENNIFER HUDSON was voted off.

"They keep us pretty isolated," he says. "We couldn't be on the Internet or anything like that. I think it helps us. If we hear one person's negative comment, it's more likely that that would stick in our mind than all the good comments."

And despite the cocoon of silence that surrounds the Idols as far as what the outside world is thinking, each week John still had to face up to the harsh comments of the judges. That said, John declares his favorite judge was SIMON COWELL, because the Brit wit kept him in his place and was always honest with him. "Most of it is constructive criticism," he says of the judges' comments. "You have to take that and run with it. Try to get better every week. If you do, you succeed."

Still now that he is out of the running, he has heard a bit more of what went on in the media the past two weeks, but refuses to let it upset him.

page 1 | 2