American Idol's Jeremy Rosado: "Jennifer Lopez Told Me She Wanted to Keep Me!"

"I will forever be grateful to her for being on my side and literally fighting for me until the last minute," contestant says of the judge's unwavering support

By Tierney Bricker Mar 09, 2012 6:19 PMTags
American Idol 11,  Jeremy RosadoMichael Becker / FOX

The first cut is the deepest...especially when it's not decided upon by America!

Jeremy Rosado is the first American Idol contestant ever to be eliminated by the judges and not America: Last night, Jennifer Lopez, Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler the choice to send home either the lowest male or female vote-getter. In the end, Elise Testone edged out Jeremy to remain in the competition. 

Jeremy spoke with reporters on a conference call this morning about his future plans, Steven and Jimmy Iovine's harsh comments and Jennifer's support for him. Plus, was Jennifer really going to save him?! 

"I definitely cried a lot. I cried and prayed," Jeremy says of being eliminated. "It hurt a lot. I'm still devastated, but I'm recovering."

Jeremy reveals that Jennifer was actually planning on saving him, just like she did last week when she gave him her wild-card vote. "Last night Jennifer came up to me and told me she wanted to keep me. It made me feel pretty good." While he's not sure of the specifics of the judges' voting, Jeremy says, "All I can say is that I know she was trying to save me. I'm not sure what happened with the other two."

So how did it feel having Jennifer's unwavering support? "It was crazy. It was amazing," Jeremy gushes. "I will forever be grateful to her for being on my side and literally fighting for me until the last minute.

"That was a huge blessing. It will forever be a huge blessing. Just to think that she saw something in me that was special to her. I honestly believe that it was just my heart. I wear my heart on my sleeve ever ytime I perform and I know she felt it."

Before his elimination, Jeremy dealt with some blows from Steve, who said Jeremy should be the one to go home, and from mentor Jimmy, who provided some harsh critique of Jeremy's performance. "It definitely didn't help. It definitely made you think that you were the one going home," Jeremy admits. "I'm grateful for the four of them [Jennifer, Steven, Randy and Jimmy] and especially to the judges and the producers for bringing me this far."

While the judges saved him last week, Jeremy wishes he would have gone home through the traditional voting. "I will never know if I [had] the lowest number," he says.

Of his future plans, "Hopefully maybe some TV...a record deal" Rosado says, adding that he would never audition for other reality singing competition shows like X Factor or The Voice

"I love my coworkers. They're like my family, but I don't want to go back!" Jeremy says of returning to his job at the infectious disease clinic. 

Do you think the judges should have kept Jeremy in the competition? Would you like to hear more music from him? Sound off in the comments!

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