Westlake's Josh Ledet performs in front of ''American Idol'' judges on Wednesday. (Michael Becker, FOX / Special to the American Press).
No idle start for Westlake's Josh Ledet
Last Modified: Monday, May 21, 2012 9:36 PM
By Johnathan Manning / American Press
Joshua Ledet called his elimination from “American Idol” “bittersweet.”
The 20-year-old Westlake native was cut from the show Thursday night, leaving only Phillip Phillips and Jessica Sanchez to compete for the crown of “American Idol.”
“You were happy for your friends, but you were also upset that you were leaving,” Ledet said Friday. “I was extremely excited for Phillip and Jessica because they are both amazing. It’s nothing that you could get upset about because everyone in this competition is so good and everyone deserves the title.”
Ledet wouldn’t make any predictions about who would win the show next week. He said he will vote for both Phillips and Sanchez.
Ledet posted on his Facebook page Friday that he has signed a “huge deal,” but wouldn’t discuss the specifics.
He also said he has been offered some movie roles “just from (Thursday) night.”
After Ledet was eliminated from the competition, he sang “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” — one of his most popular performances from the season — as his farewell song.
Despite being noticeably disappointed that he was eliminated, Ledet delivered a gracious final performance, even bringing his mother on stage with him.
“I knew that if I was going to leave the show, I was going to leave it with a bang, I wasn’t going to be crying through the whole performance,” Ledet said. “I was going to leave my mark.”
Ledet’s mother, Jacklyn, stayed with him in Los Angeles through much of the show.
“It helped a lot,” he said. “It brought a lot of home back to me.”
Ledet visited Southwest Louisiana the weekend of May 11-13 for a homecoming parade and concert. Between 7,000 and 8,000 attended the parade down Sampson Street, and 7,900 were at Burton Coliseum for the concert.
“I didn’t know that many people would show up,” Ledet said. “It made me feel real good inside.”
Ledet said he hopes his fans remember him for person that he is and for his message — “if you believe in yourself, anything is possible and the sky is the limit for you and your dreams.”
Although “Idol” ends this week, the show still has a summer tour on which the top 10 finishers perform. The tour will travel to 44 stops in 66 days, including hitting the Cajundome in Lafayette on July 30.
“It’s going to be a great show, I know that,” Ledet said. “A lot of diverse singing and a lot of numbers. It’s going to be
a fun show.”
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