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Chikezie Has No Regrets About His Song Choice
Chikezie singing on American Idol by Frank Micelotta/Fox
Got your own questions for when Chikezie drops by TV Guide for his video Q&A? Share them here in comments.
His heartfelt rendition of “If Only for One Night” prompted Simon to call him “very cheesy.” But American Idol castoff Chikezie has no regrets about singing the Luther Vandross ballad on Wednesday night. “If I had another chance, I’d do it the exact same way,” he told TV Guide. “I knew Simon would hate it, but that song means a lot to me so I decided to do it anyway.”
Needless to say, he wasn’t surprised by the outcome. “I felt I’d done a good job, but at this stage of the game, I might not be good enough,” says the 22-year-old. “It’s an amazing group of talent and I’m proud to have been part of it. I have absolutely no regrets whatsoever.”
Next up, the California native has big plans for the future. “Interviews and sleep!” he jokes. “I’ve been sleeping between four and six hours a night so I’m looking forward to sleeping.”
Luckily, though, that’s not all the future holds. “Right now, while the iron is still hot, I’m going to strike as hard as I can,” he says. “I’m going to start getting myself out there, selling myself, writing songs, getting an album ready and seeing if somebody will pick it up. It’s time to spread my wings and see what I can do.”
And, despite what we saw on Idol, Chikezie’s biggest critic may also be his biggest fan. Simon was the first judge to hug the eliminated contestant goodbye when the credits rolled this week. “He told me I did a good job getting here and just congratulated me on what I’ve accomplished,” says the singer. “He’s not a bad guy! He’s misunderstood.” — Dana Meltzer Zepeda
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Mar 27, 2008 4:16 PM
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Great comments, Chikezie. You're a great guy yourself! Best wishes and success!
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Mar 27, 2008 5:00 PM
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Good luck, Chikezie! You've proved to be a smart, sensistive, mature contestant. You never let Idol's silliness change who you are or the vision that you had of yourself. You will find success regardless of what path you choose.
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Mar 27, 2008 6:22 PM
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Chikezie is a class act. His performance ability is still developing... and if people could have held on to the memory of Beatles night one... they would have remembered how unique and musical he truly is. I don't think he would have one over the two front runners, but he should have definitely been in much longer than Miss. S. and R. Just my opinion, of course.
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Mar 27, 2008 6:43 PM
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oops..... I mean "won" over the two front runners.... not "one".... geez....too tired today!
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Mar 27, 2008 6:44 PM
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I thought he was so much better yesterday. It wasn't his turn to go yet but oh well.
He is a classy guy for sure.
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Mar 27, 2008 7:44 PM
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I want to add my good luck wishes. I'm sure he'll go far. Class act, and I was sorry he was voted off, but he may do better this way on his own!!
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Mar 27, 2008 8:40 PM
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Best of luck to you! You have a great personality, keep dreaming and keep going!
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Mar 28, 2008 4:35 AM
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I thought Chikezie was robbed. While I think that, for the first time in a few years, the public got the top 10 "right," I think the worst performer wasnt even in the bottom 3 - and I'm not talking about KLC. Ramiele's performance was absolutely horrendous this week. Randy was right on the money - the pitch was all over the place. I had to cover my ears; it was actually painful to listen to. I think the girl has some talent, but she is not at all consistent. KLC might not pick the "right" songs, but her voice is good and pure. People might laugh at Paula's description of "colors" in people's voices, but if you really listened to Chikezie sing on Tuesday, you would have heard such tones and notes in that performance. You have to listen to the voice and not so much to whether or not you like the actual song. People keep giving David C. props, but he is not coming up with these arrangements on his own. He is okay, but a little too smug for me. I'll take Michael Johns over him any day. I'll miss you Chikezie - I hope to hear more from you.
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Mar 28, 2008 11:51 AM
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Best wishes to you, Chikezie. You are a class act and seem like a genuinely nice guy. Enjoy the tour, get some rest, and I am sure you will be quite successful.
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Mar 28, 2008 12:05 PM
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Chikezi has a beautiful voice and he will be just fine. I am sorry but KLC needs to go.
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Mar 28, 2008 12:34 PM
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I hope Chikezie realizes that even though he didn't get a higher number of votes to keep him on American Idol, there are lots of us out here that still thought he was an amazing talent and loved watching him perform. I felt his rendition of "If Only For One Night" was his best, and it brought tears to my eyes listening to it. I have just one word of advice for Chikezie though. Don't do what Reuben Studdard did. Reuben also had a nice voice, but he kept releasing songs that had nothing to do with love and sex and romance. They were benign songs that didn't stir up any emotions, and I think that's why he never reached stardom. Chikezie has that Luther Vandross voice down pat. Now I just hope he uses it to stir our passions with beautiful love songs.
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Mar 28, 2008 1:07 PM
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Funny..The first night Chikezie performed I didn't care for him..his singing or his attitude. But as the weeks went on I saw a different side of him. I loved his bluegrassy performances. They really brought out his personality. Now I am sad to see him gone! I wish him the best and hope he does well. He made a fan out of me!
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Mar 28, 2008 8:09 PM
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Chikezie may have been too nice to go all the way on AI. Check out what Justin Guarini from season 1 has to say about the contestants this year, it's pretty interesting. He's been blogging from the first episode of the season at http://thebiz.fancast.com/justin_guarini/
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Mar 30, 2008 3:45 PM
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Chikezie is awesome!!!! I can't believe he got voted off!!! I know he'll still go far and I can't wait to see what he does next!
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Mar 31, 2008 2:04 PM
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