Casey Abrams, the 20-year-old bass-playing musician who was eliminated from American Idol Thursday night, said he wasn’t too surprised by the result. “I feel like it was my time to go,” Abrams told EW in a backstage interview after the show, “and I felt that this is the best time to go.” Abrams finished his Idol journey by singing Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell on You” in what was one of the show’s most exuberant exit performances. “My mission was to kiss every single girl [under] this roof,” joked Abrams. “Randy came up to me and said it was the funniest thing he’s ever seen. I thought he was crying at first, but I think he had tears of laughter.”
Looking back on the whole experience, Abrams revealed that his favorite memory would be singing Hoagy Carmichael’s “Georgia on My Mind.” The contestant also reflected on receiving the Judges’ Save during Top 11 week. “I don’t think I could ever watch [that moment] again,” he said. “I’d just start bawling.”
Check out the full interview below, during which Abrams also discusses his post-Idol plans and names his three favorite albums of all time (plus one movie trilogy too):
For more contestant videos, photos, and Idol news, check out americanidol.com.
Read more:
'American Idol' official website
EW.com's ‘American Idol’ Central
‘American Idol’ recap: Tragic Spell
Not to be mean or anything but he looks older than he really is. It’s probably the facial hair I guess.
Being overweight tends to make you look older, too.
Overweight!?!?!?
Yes, as in fat.
Better fat than stupid.
In what world is Casey overweight? Actually, I think he is smaller than James.
He’s not super slim or crazy jacked but overweight is harsh. He looks normal to me..
@ whatevs… Your name says it all, whatevs, I think you are a little delusional if you think that Casey is overweight. Maybe you are still watching on an old T.V. that distorts the picture? Kind of a stupid comment.
Actually, being overweight usually makes you look younger (at least when you ARE older). It plumps out your face and you have less wrinkles. I’ve had friends who’ve lost weight and they look much older than they did… but they’re thinner…. so I guess the trade-off is worth it. But I don’t think Casey’s fat. He does look older than 20, though. Probably the beard. He’s still got a chubby/baby face.
Saying Casey is fat is an ignorant comment. Maybe tonto and whatevs should have their eyes examined and their brains (if they have one at all.) Jealous people like u are pathetic. Casey is a musical genius.
Geez, people relax. He just seems to me that way, maybe because his clothes make him look bigger. I didn’t say he sucked or anything. I think he’s a great musician.
People think I’m being rude and they respond with more rudeness? At least my comment wasn’t made with malicious intent.
He’s not really overweight, but he has a chubby face. Not “hatin’”, just a fact. Let’s call a spade a spade.
Hes not Obesse but is his level of fitness really becoming acceptable these days??
Yeah, what dlipy said. His body actually looks relatively slim. He just has a very full face, which the facial hair only emphasizes further.
He’s got a chubby face and wears baggy clothes, both of which can be blamed for making him look a little heavier than he is, and it’s true that he has lost some weight during the course of the competition, but c’mon people, he’s most certainly not a WAIF. He looks around the heavier-side-of-average to me. No disrespect; there are LOTS of body shapes in this world, and being on the heavier side isn’t automatically an insult. Not everyone is a skinny minnie.
I think he looks normal sized to me. I know the music industry likes to have their stars to be fit for the cameras,their photo ops and album covers (so they don’t want to look embarrassed) but Casey should stay the way he is!
He did definitely lose weight over the course of the show. At the beginning you could MAYBE argue he was slightly overweight, but by the end he is perfectly normal weight.
Ummmm…. Casey is NOT overweight. If you actually look at his performances that show his whole body.. he’s actualy very slender. His face often has a puffy look, which some may confuse for being chubby. I am almost certain that this is a result of the steroid medicine he has to take for his medical condition. In fact….he’s actually lost some weight this season; probably also a result of his illness. BESIDES… the camera adds weight too, so I’ll bet if you met him in person you’d be surprised by how slight he actually is. Give the guy a break all right? Geeez!!
Casey looks like every other twenty something out there at university.
he does?
you are in love with a chipmunk
Yes, he does. TV cameras sometimes alter faces dramatically, depending on bone structure. This kid has a large bone structure, but he is really quite thin, terribly so after he left the hospital. He will mature nicely, he looks like his father.
He is overweight. There is no need to sugar coat it. So is Jacob and James as well. What guys can get away with and what girls can in terms of boy image is just ridiculous.
Seriously?? Casey and James are NOT overweight!!! Jacob maybe just a little bit but who gives a crap about weight. This is the reason people are so screwed up in this world. Look at people for their personality and talent! GOD I HATE PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree Chichi – where is this universal outrage when Lauren is called fat or overweight? The double-standard is sickening.
Nasty comments above…no wonder so many kids deal with weight issues…idiots like whatevs and tonto. Easy to call someone fat when no one can see what a gross loser you probably look like.
Pointing out that someone is is a little overweight is not automatically a “nasty comment” – just an opinion, which was expressed in a polite way. Flat-out calling someone “fat” (like Tonto) is a little insensitive, I agree, however attacking whatevs is pretty uncalled for IMO.
I liked Casey, and he was one of the most interesting ones left and dare I say one of the better ones left, at his best. Maybe it wouldn’t have been your time to go if you stopped growling your way through songs instead of singing them, you dumbass.
Zach – you’re the dumbass
I was really sad to see him go, but that was an awesome final performance
I wonder if there is a clause in the contestants’ contracts that says they aren’t to be romantically involved with another contestant during the competition. My husband brought this up last night because he thought it was strange how Steven Tyler asked Casey how much he loves Haley on performance night. If this is so, Casey probably took the fall so his girl could stay.
Are you kidding.
Nope. You seriously believe Jacob received more votes than Casey? Or Pia had less votes than Stefano? The powers that be aka Uncle Nigel and Co. are picking this year’s American Idol, not the audience.
It may be that the downfall was his eagerness to help Haley out. So she won’t be in the bottom 3. What happened was that by helping her, he got in the bottom 3. I guess Casey become overly confident bc he knows he has gazillion fans. He’s too loving a person to the extent he forgets himself.
I am sad to see Casey go, he was by far the most talented one left. I think the votes are rigged and a girl will win this year just because that is what idol wants to happen. It will probably be country bumkin Lauren that will win. American Idol is afraid of true talent like Casey Abrams and Adam Lambert.
Candy, I couldn’t agree with you more. Casey is a musical genius. I love his growls because it make him unique. He is a genuinely nice person and humble. I knew he couldnt win AI because he is not the usual teenybopper fluff that wins. I can’t wait to see more of him. I am done watching AI.
“Musical genius” is a bit of an overstatement in describing Casey. He’s competent at best
furthermore, there’s nothing “humble” about him
I agree with you Robyn. Casey really IS a musical genius. For TC and anyone else that isn’t convinced yet, I encourage you to go to his YouTube page under PierceAbrams. Check out his early performances. In one of them he sings an 8 harmony acapala piece all by himself. Yep! He does all 8 parts himself. It’s pretty impressive! Even for very seasoned gifted musicians,it can be hard just to find 3 or 4 harmonies…. but he does EIGHT by HIMSELF with no music & no headphones to hear the other parts. Not only that, He plays over 20 instruments, starting when he was 3 yrs old. If that’s not musical genius, I’m not sure what is. Casey is genuinely gifted Y’all. Straight up.
Scotty and James are the anointed frontrunners, not Lauren.
I’m with you Cat! James and Scotty will each get a car.
@candy
I agree that Casey and Adam are really talented. Probably two of the best ever on the show. BUT COME ON…do you REALLY think Idol would want to be marred with this record of lackluster winners? I dont think AI is who you blame. You blame musically uneducated, untrained, and basically robotically trained listeners of music today. You dont hear Caseys type of music on the radio and therefore people dont connect and he is then voted off.
The last time anything like what Casey does was remotely popular was that influx of jazz influenced, swing music in the 90′s!! Had this been on during that time when Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Brian Setzer Orchestra were popular, Casey may have made the finale.
Radio has dumbed everyone down. Esp. our youth!!! Blame the radio….and Ke$ha!!!
I heart Casey! Great personality–great energy–great talent!
Casey, please don’t spend too much time at that cafe back home eating meatballs. I don’t want you to go away– MAKE AN ALBUM! How could he even hesitate when asked that question? Sheesh!
He’s not making an album until after the tour. I think he took the question to mean, “what are you going to do now, before you go out on tour?” Even though the interviewer meant it like “what’s next in your career?” I think he’ll be one of the most entertaining on the tour (I almost wish I could go… some really good people this year!) and hopefully, he will record an album afterwards.
I guess is that he is just being humble. I’m willing to bet he’ll have an album sooner than we think. He can’t waste time now. He should use this window of opportunity before he gets on the “tourage”, as he calls it.
I think he is not even sure he wants to make an album and that makes me sad. He is so talented and special. But he didn´t use his talent the right way. I heart him though. Sometimes in life talented people in life just go unnoticed because of their looks.
I actually think he is kinda cute in his own way. Such a great kid! I am gonna miss him so much. When he did Georgia it was such a moment. I thought he was gonna win the whole thing. Oh well. He just needs a bit time to mature and know who he wants to be as an artist.
Love you Casey!
He is cute and cuddly with his beard and curly hair. It would be a shame if he doesn’t make an album.
When he got voted off I said maybe it is meant to be. But now it’s Sunday and I get more sad each day. I don’t want Wednesday to come and know he’s not gonna be at AI. I have decided not to watch it anymore and not to vote for any one of the 5. That’s how much I love Casey.
yeah tough to believe jacob got more votes than casey…
so bizarre after pia’s elimination Nigel went so “attacked” by people being upset by Pia leaving, he was patronizing his own shows audience by saying “all thing in Japan happening, why are you crying about Pia?!” The guy sounds like such a jerk, wouldn’t schock me if he was “fixing” the votes
Maybe the votes are rigged. The moment Casey and Haley got too cozy , even though they were not dating, gave way to Casey’s exit. Women………..
How could Stefano have more votes than Pia; How could Jacob have more votes than Casey and Scotty? Oh, they used the word “random” so we won’t know they rigged the votes. Bc there is no way they would put Jacob and Casey so they put Scotty and Casey so it wouldn’t show they rigged the votes. Because if it were Jacob and Casey people would complain again just like when they put Pia and Stefano together as the bottom 2. People complained bc they can’t fool the voters. The voters knew there was no way Stefano had more votes than Pia. Even Stefano couldn’t believe it. This is not fair. What’s the use of voting if they rig it all the time. To show the advertisers millions are watching the show? No integrity. More people will watch it if they’re honest. I wonder why they let Casey go. When people were saying they could have used the save for Pia instead of Casey, Nigel said Pia was never the frontrunner and that Casey was very talented. Now all of the sudden they let Casey go. Hmmm, maybe they don’t like romance in the contest. When you start romance in the workforce, it ain’t good. Casey should have told everybody and publish it that he was not dating Haley.
meant so say Nigel FELT so attacked
Casey’s personality finally came out during his final song. His performance was free and I loved the interaction at the end with the other contestants. He may not be an Idol winner, but he’ll do grrrrreat things, should probably lose the grrrrrowl though.
And wht should he lose style and technique? Blues has growl – period.
I agree, it’s annoying, and NOT IT’S NOT A BLUES THING.. IT’S A CASEY THING.
I didn’t like him in the beginning and then did see his talent come through. He’ll be fine whatever he decides to do.
the back to the future trilogies!! marry me please!
He was one of my favorites, but now that we’re nearing the end, fans have to choose for their ultimate favorite to really support and vote for. I have decided to support James all the way!
I am sad to see Casey go, I think he’s great. He’s funny yet he sings really well. He has an old soul vibe to him, that’s cool. GOOD Luck to Casey, and whoever thinks Casey is overweight should really get their eyes examined because we can not be looking at the same person clearly, he is not overweight in the slightest.
That’s it… he has an old soul. That’s why he seem older than 20…. not just the beard. He is mature beyond his years and, however he looks… he is, in fact, sexy. Sexy is not beautiful, or handsome, or cute (although it can accompany those attributes). Sexy is something in and of itself.