Chris Speaks...

Well, it should be no surprise to anyone that Chris Sligh had plenty to say about his elimination—which he says he actually knew was coming…

Chris had originally chosen “Give a Little Bit,” while Phil was going to do “Every Little Thing,” but when Phil changed, Chris changed too fearing that his original choice was just too safe. However, he struggled with the song and Ricky Minor even gave him a metronome to help him work on the beat. But he says when Tuesday came around, it just “wasn’t clicking with the band so when [he] performed it, it was like [he] wasn’t sure,” he told “Entertainment Weekly.” But Chris says he really didn’t think it was that off (I have to agree, by the way.).

So why the “my bad”? Remember Chris’ comment to Simon about the Teletubbies? That’s why. “Idol” made Chris take down his blog when he made the top 24 (as they did with all the contestants), but the comments people left him were still going to his e-mail account and people were very angry about what he said. So he “really bit [his] tongue for the past few weeks.”

After getting blasted by the judges, Chris was so confident he was going home he packed his bags on Wednesday morning and made sure to thank the hair stylist and clothing stylist for everything they’d done. He says they told him he wasn’t going home and he responded with “Yes, I am.” And he made that bet with Phil that he was going home, so he did get $50 out of the deal…

Why so confident? In Chris’ words: “Haley has had two or three weeks where she’s been on the rise because of her hot pants. With her rising and because of my last few weeks, I knew I was falling…”

Speaking of those last few weeks, Chris admits that “glasses off was a bad choice,” but he says he likes the fact that he took chances with his songs.

And in case you’re wondering, yes, the contestants hear the questions from Ryan beforehand. Chris says he was a little surprised that his knitting and crocheting comment came off so sarcastic to some people because he was just “being silly.”

So what are his thoughts on Sanjaya? He says he is “a good kid” and that he’s getting a “bum rap. If you listen to his recordings on the ‘American Idol’ website his voice sounds good. When I was 17 years old I had no idea how to sing on stage either.” Chris says he did a double take when he first saw the Mohawk, but says it “takes cojones” to do a hairstyle like that. Chris refused to follow the hair stylist’s suggestion to flat iron his hair because he “would lose all rock credibility.”

Chris also shares that he and Phil were roommates and “really close,” and that he and Blake are “very, very tight.” And he tells “EW” that some of the older contestants had to learn to talk around Sanjaya and Jordin because “Blake and Chris definitely enjoy their cuss words,” but he says Jordin is “incredibly mature for her age.”

And even though Chris said he was “bringing chubby back,” he may not bring it back to the finale (Did you notice how much thinner he looked on Wednesday’s show?). Chris has already lost 34 pounds—with some treadmill motivational yelling from Chris Richardson—and he hopes to “show up to the finale looking completely different.”

If you’re already having Chris withdrawal, you can check out the new CD from his band, Half Past Forever called “Take a Chance on Something Beautiful.” It’s ironic that Chris stumbles after his band releases their CD, just as (in season four) Constantine stumbled right after his band released theirs. Hmmm…