Jorge Nunez: Country Music for "Jorjito"

In his post-American Idol elimination interview, Jorge Nunez talks about which song he would've performed next week, how he would've been the first Puerto Rican in the history of Puerto Rico to sing country music and how Lil Rounds calls him "Jorjito."

You mentioned earlier that you are pretty close to graduating from college on the way to becoming a lawyer. The world has a lot of lawyers that live good lives and musicians who are broke. Are you going to go back to law or pursue music?
You know, this show is so amazing that I want to do both. I'm going to finish college but I'm going to pursue music too.

Did anyone have any helpful words for you after last night's show?
The judges did encourage us both to keep going and I think the most important thing I have now is God and I know it's gonna be great.

What did you learn from your experience on Idol?
I learned that being a singer is more to stay true to who you are, no matter what anyone might think. The artist is the person who needs to know who he is and what he wants. I kept that integrity thorughout the whole show, I picked the songs I wanted to sing.

What was the most challenging aspect of the show?
The most challenging aspect of the show for me is that even though Puerto Rico is a territory of the US, we have our own culture there. My biggest challenge was picking shongs for the show in the sense that it's not the kind of music I'm used to singing but I think I did a good job.

Were you at all hurt when the judges didn't save you?
I was not hurt by that because I believe that a person should not have any excuses and when something happens, it happens for a reason. I took it like a man and things are going to be great for me from now on.

I loved the montage of your family cheering you on. What was the reaction once you got voted off?
I've gotten lots of text messages saying lots of wonderful things. None of them said "I'm sorry," they said things like "you're great" and "things are going to be great for you." They're so happy that I was able to be on the show.

Do you think they'll throw you a big get-together to make you feel better?
I hope so! I've been here for months now, I can't wait to go home and eat some Puerto Rican food!

When you guys heard on Tuesday night that there was a big twist coming, did you talk about what it might be?
We did. We were like, "What's going to happen now?" We figured it would be something like this.

What do you think it will do to the competition?
I think it's a good thing. There are big people who didn't win (Daughtry, Clay Aiken, Jennifer Hudson) and they could've gone farther. There are people who should've gone further in the competition.

What song would you pick next week for country week? Did you have one picked out?
Country week was going to be hard for me. If I ever got to sing country, I was going to be the first Puerto Rican singing country in the history of Puerto Rico. I was thining about "I Know You Won't" by Carrie Underwood or "Anyway" by Martina McBride

Do you think that there was any language barrier and if so, did that hurt you at all?
You know what, it's something that is really logical. My first language is Spanish so when I'm going to do my best is in Spanish. To me, it wasn't a disadvantage, it just meant that I needed to work harder. I think I did a great job.

Are there any contestants left that you developed a bond with?
I love them all, but if I had to pick epople that I actually got to know better, I would say Lil Rounds. She calls me Jorjito, which means "Georgie." And Allison because she is Latina too. We speak Spanish around the house. Oh, and Jasmine too. She's not here anymore but we're close too.

Closing remarks?
I just want to say that this has been such an amazing experience and there's nothing to be upset about when you've done so good, I mean 13 out of 100,000 people. You should keep pursuing your dream because it's just the start of something much, much bigger for you. I'm feeling really happy and you're going to see more of me.