Scott Savol, a roly-poly Caucasian R&B singer from Shaker Heights, Ohio, was hardly a favorite of the "American Idol" judges or media (see [article id="1500886"]"How Has Scott Savol Managed To Last So Long On 'Idol'?"[/article]). But he survived for weeks, with more close escapes than Houdini, as Simon Cowell put it. Finally, after what many considered his strongest week, the 28-year-old father was eliminated.

MTV: Is it frustrating to be eliminated this week after doing well on Tuesday?

Scott Savol: It sucks ... but I'm not really too bent up over it. Things happen the way they happen. People voted, I got the least number of votes, so I'll be heading home.

Performance-wise, I didn't think I should be in the bottom, but it doesn't matter what I think.

MTV: Was it hard taking all that flak from judges and press?

Savol: Not really. I was just on the show being me. Anything I said was me. Anything I did was me.

There were people that hated me or loved me before the show; now there's just more of them. There's a lot of people who don't like all of us. If we performed with that in mind, we would have had bad performances.

MTV: Do you think your past arrest contributed to it?

Savol: I doubt it, because there were others that had things come out. Mine was just blown up more. I think it was just because somebody really wanted me to get kicked off the show. But it didn't really affect me.

MTV: Method Man was sitting with your friends and family last week. Are you related?

Savol: No, he's not my family. I met him while I was out here and we became cool and whatnot and we just kept in touch. I asked him if he wanted to come to the show. I got him a ticket and he came and enjoyed the show. I heard he had a good time and enjoyed what he heard.

MTV: How did you meet him?

Savol: I was at a shoe store in L.A. and I walked in there and he recognized me and I recognized him and we talked for a half-second.

MTV: Do I see a collaboration in the works?

Savol: We'll see what happens. We'll see what I get into and where that goes. It'd be real cool if that happens.

MTV: What inspired you to shave your beard and grow your hair? Did the stylists influence you?

Savol: A little bit, but it was good to throw something different at people. Just like my song selection, people thought I was always going to be one way, sometimes [I would] throw something different at them.

[article id="1486475"]Get "Idol"-ized on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.[/article]