Despite being a favorite of the judges from the beginning, Jessica Sierra found herself in the bottom three two weeks ago and again on Wednesday, when she was eliminated. The 19-year-old from Tampa, Florida, showed diversity with songs like "The Boys Are Back in Town" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart," but Simon was not a fan of LeAnn Rimes' "On the Side of Angels" for her '90s week selection.

MTV: How frustrating is it to get generally positive critiques the entire competition and still be eliminated before nine others?

Jessica Sierra: It wasn't frustrating. It was just so sad to go because I just had a phenomenal time, and saying goodbye ... actually, I'm not going to say I said goodbye because I'm gonna see them again for the tour and stuff. But it was hard.

MTV: Was "On the Side of Angels" your first choice of songs?

Sierra: Yes it was. I love that song, and I think it has a lot of meaning to it.

MTV: Country is your favorite genre, but we rarely heard you sing it. Was that to distance yourself from Carrie Underwood?

Sierra: I love listening to country and I've always sang country music, but I thought coming on the show was a good opportunity to pull out of that whole labeling-me-as-a-country-singer thing. I think I can do much more than country. Every week when we got the different genres, it challenged me.

MTV: Was it hard not having your mother [who passed away] here to see you go through this?

Sierra: It was hard, but she is definitely watching down on me and she's very proud of me.

MTV: What was going through your mind after you were eliminated and had to perform?

Sierra: I took a deep breath and was like, "I'm not gonna cry," 'cause there's no reason for me to cry. I've had a fantastic time and I've gone onstage each week and done my best every single week. I figured that it was my last time performing on "American Idol," so I wanted to give my best.

MTV: What is next for you?

Sierra: I have the "American Idol" tour and album on my plate, and then I plan to pursue this whole singing thing full-force. You've not seen the last of me.

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