Swizz Beatz, Melanie Fiona and Robin Thicke also performed at Keys' hometown show.
By James Dinh

Jay-Z and Alicia Keys perform at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night
Photo: Matt Harper/ MTV News

It was a night of soaring vocals, positive messages and surprise guests when Alicia Keys' Freedom Tour stopped in her hometown of New York City on Wednesday evening at Madison Square Garden. The singer, who was joined onstage by Jay-Z, Beyoncé and Swizz Beatz, performed a string of songs from past to present and even showcased some of her dance skills.

Before the songstress emerged onstage, fans were treated to the soulful sounds of opening acts Jermaine Paul, Melanie Fiona and Robin Thicke. Paul, who has previously served as a background singer for Keys, was enthusiastic in his efforts to hype up the audience. Fiona kept the momentum moving with her powerful vocal range and charismatic smile while she performed songs like "It Kills Me" and new single "Ay Yo."

When Robin Thicke made his way to the stage, it was clear he was aware of his legions of female fans. Decked out in a dark suit and sunglasses, the singer crooned his way through his set, which included the thumping "Shakin' It 4 Daddy" and "Lost Without U." Thicke remained playful as well by ending his set with a sing-along to Lil Wayne's "A Milli."

Shortly after 9:30, the lights went out and the beginning of Michael Jackson's "They Don't Care About Us" filled the air. The drums of the 1996 track intensified as the night's main attraction appeared before fans on towering video screens. "I'm a renegade. I'm a truth seeker. They told me I would never make it and I did. They told me I wasn't strong enough but I am mighty. The element of freedom is tattooed on my heart," Keys announced.

Alicia Keys appeared in a chain-wrapped cage amid the smoke that slowly flooded the stage. She began the show with a medley of her track "Caged Bird" and "Love Is Blind." She whipped her hair from side to side until she made her way out of the spinning entrapment and happily towards the front of the stage.

"New York, you feeling good?" she asked the roaring crowd. There was no hesitation — the jam-packed arena was ready. Dressed in a tight black top, sparkling pants and a red coat with tails, Keys made full use of the stage by fluttering from side to side with her dancers during "You Don't Know My Name." She continued with songs like "Fallen," which she changed around vocally, and her rocking Jack White collaboration "Another Way to Die."

	Alicia Keys, Beyonce, More In Concert

Opening act Jermaine Paul took the stage once again when Keys sat down at her piano for "Diary." While the two played vocal acrobatics around each other during the song's bridge, it was evident that they shared onstage chemistry. After a quick costume change into a sleek white dress, she performed "Superwoman" and "If I Can't Have You." The songstress took several moments throughout her show to explain the importance of believing in yourself.

But after another outfit change, it was her performance of "Put It in a Love Song" that really got fans riled up. Keys performed her way through the dance number, then introduced Beyoncé, who descended from a staircase and joined Keys for the remainder of the song, ending with a dance breakdown. This marks the very first time the two artists have ever performed together onstage. Keys slowed things down after the powerhouse female duet with songs like "Unthinkable" and "Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart."

And with Beyoncé making a surprise appearance onstage, it was only fitting that her husband do the same. As Keys momentarily stopped playing piano, Swizz Beatz ran onstage and was soon followed by none other than Jay-Z. Times Square and the city skyline engulfed the arena as scenes of the city shined brightly for the sea of people. There's something especially moving about listening to the ode to New York City "Empire State of Mind" while actually in the city itself.

Keys is always a master on piano, but her evening in New York proved her ability to put on a show with massive vocals, strong imagery and a powerful message.

• Alicia Keys Brings Jay-Z, Beyonce, More To MSG Concert

• Alicia Keys Brings Jay-Z, Beyonce To Her New York Show

• Alicia Keys
• Jay-Z
• Beyoncé
• Swizz Beatz
• Robin Thicke

Rob Fusari claims he hasn't been compensated for co-writing songs, coming up with her stage name and helping her get a record deal.
By Kelley L. Carter

Lady Gaga
Photo: Jason Merritt/ Getty Images

A songwriter and music producer who claims he helped launch Lady Gaga's career filed a $30.5 million lawsuit against the pop superstar, The Associated Press reported Thursday (March 18).

Rob Fusari says he was squeezed out of Gaga's lucrative career after he co-wrote some of her songs, came up with her stage name and helped her get a record deal. Fusari's lawyer hadn't returned MTV News' calls for comment by press time; Gaga's rep also hadn't commented on the suit.

The producer said Gaga is his protégé and former girlfriend, and she ditched him as her career took off. "All business is personal," said the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Manhattan.

Fusari, who had worked on Will Smith's "Wild, Wild West" and Destiny's Child's "Bootylicious" when he teamed up with the singer back in March 2006, said he persuaded her to trade in her rock music for dance beats.

As they co-wrote songs such as "Paparazzi" and "Beautiful, Dirty, Rich," which would appear on her debut album, The Fame, he transformed Stefani Germanotta into Lady Gaga, a name adapted from Queen's "Radio Ga Ga," the lawsuit claimed.

Lady Gaga told the AP in a 2009 interview that her "realization of Gaga was five years ago, but Gaga's always been who I am."

"I was Gaga from the time that I was 19 through my first record deal," the 23-year-old said of her over-the-top style. "I always dressed like that before people knew me as Lady Gaga. I was always that way. ... I stuck out like a sore thumb."

Per the lawsuit, Lady Gaga and Fusari's relationship turned romantic and then became a business partnership in May 2006, when they created a joint venture called Team Love Child LLC to promote her career. Fusari's share was 20 percent, it said.

Fusari says he introduced Lady Gaga to a record executive who ultimately shepherded her to Universal Music Group's Interscope Records, which released The Fame in 2008. While Fusari has a producing credit on the album, he said he has been denied a 20 percent song-royalties share and 15 percent of merchandising revenue. He acknowledges getting checks for about $611,000 but said that isn't his full share.

• Lady Gaga

'We have these gigantic lasers,' Diplo says of the duo's live show.
By Akshay Bhansali

Major Lazer
Photo: Rob Loud/ Getty Images

Reggae. Dubstep. Hip-hop. However you try to describe the music of Major Lazer producers Diplo and Switch, one thing is certain: It is dance music. And if their songs like "Pon the Floor," "Hold the Line" (featuring Mr. Lex and Santigold) and their new single "Keep It Goin' Louder" (featuring Nina Sky and Brooklyn, New York vocalist Rick Blaze) already make you get down, on tour the party is going to get a whole lot brighter.

"A Major Lazer show is pretty sick," Diplo said when we caught up with him Thursday (March 18). "We are doing a whole U.S. tour, so we have these gigantic lasers — these super-duper f---ing lasers!"

And with Diplo being from the Orlando, Florida, area, it makes sense that the tour is set to kick off at Miami's Winter Music Conference. In fact, for the former Hollertronix DJ/producer, who frequently produces songs with M.I.A., WMC is a place of nostalgia.

"I've been going down there since I was a kid," he said. "I would go down to see Portishead or Chemical Brothers when I was 15. Seeing Portishead when I was really young there was really dope. I was really into their record at the time."

This year, Major Lazer are set to share the Ultra Music Festival stage with one of the more diverse electronic bills to date: David Guetta, A-Trak, Deadmau5, Will.I.Am, LMFAO, Swedish House Mafia, Calvin Harris, DJ Tiesto and many more are all set to perform at UMF.

"There used to be different divisions between underground music and commercial house and experimental stuff and avant garde," Diplo explained. "To be honest, those lines are now blended, you know. I've done a record with Tiesto and he's a f---ing cool guy. Everybody is taking influences ... all of us are just making club music, and we try to outdo each other with how we can make people go crazier. It's a very competitive spirit down there."

Major Lazer's U.S. tour begins Saturday, March 27, at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami and will carry through 17 more cities, wrapping at Coachella in Indio, California, before moving on to Canada and Europe.

Stick with MTV News for more coverage of the Winter Music Conference, which kicks off Tuesday in Miami.

• Major Lazer

Actor also appeared in Disney films like 'Old Yeller.'
By Eric Ditzian

Fess Parker as Davy Crockett, circa 1955
Photo: Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images

Fess Parker, whose iconic portrayal of frontiersman Davy Crockett made him a TV and film star starting in the mid-1950s, died Thursday (March 18) at the age of 85, according to multiple news reports.

A family spokesman told The Associated Press that Parker died at his home of natural causes. Parker was said to be coherent and communicating with his family just minutes before his passing.

Parker launched "Davy Crockett" in December 1954, quickly inspiring an American fad for the coonskin cap his character wore in the show. The three episodes were repurposed the following year as a feature film called "Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier." He followed up that success with a string of Disney films like "Old Yeller" and "Westward Ho the Wagons!"

In the 1960s, Parker again found fame on TV as the star of "Daniel Boone," another show about a frontiersman wearing a coonskin cap. The series ran for six seasons, from 1964 until 1970. Following the conclusion of "Boone," Parker would rarely be seen on the small screen and instead became a real-estate developer and winemaker.

"I left the business after 22 years," he told the AP in 2001. "It was time to leave Hollywood. I came along at a time when I'm starting out with Gary Cooper, John Wayne, Sterling Hayden and Gregory Peck. Who needed a guy running around in a coonskin cap?"

Parker died at his Santa Ynez Valley, California, home on the 84th birthday of his wife, Marcella, to whom he'd been married for 50 years.

"She's a wreck," the family's spokesman said.

Arrangements for a funeral will be announced later.

'I hope one day they can find it in their hearts to forgive me,' James says in a statement.
By Jocelyn Vena

Jesse James and Sandra Bullock
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

In the wake of rumors that Sandra Bullock's husband, TV personality Jesse James, had been unfaithful, James has released an apology to his Oscar-winning wife, as well as his children from previous marriages. In the apology, he says that "the vast majority" of allegations against him are "untrue and unfounded," he still takes responsibility for any actions that may have led to those allegations.

"There is only one person to blame for this whole situation, and that is me," he said in a statement, according to People.com. "It's because of my poor judgment that I deserve everything bad that is coming my way. This has caused my wife and kids pain and embarrassment beyond comprehension and I am extremely saddened to have brought this on them. I am truly very sorry for the grief I have caused them. I hope one day they can find it in their hearts to forgive me."

On Wednesday, Bullock announced she wouldn't be attending the U.K. premiere of her film, "The Blind Side," next Tuesday, for which she won an Oscar earlier this month. In a statement she said that she had to cancel due to "unforeseen personal reasons" and apologized about missing the event.

James and Bullock have been married for nearly five years. He was by her side at the Oscars when she won her award, but it seems that neither will make the carpet next week. "Due to unforeseen personal reasons a trip abroad to support 'The Blindside' has been deemed impossible at this time," Bullock's statement reads. "I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and thank you for your continued support of the film."

First single from The Love & War MasterPeace, 'Bulletproof,' features Ludacris.
By Steven Roberts, with reporting by Shaheem Reid

Raheem DeVaughn
Photo: Rick Diamond/ WireImage

Raheem DeVaughn has never had a chart-topping single or a smash in the clubs. Despite his commercial shortcomings, DeVaughn has been a bit of a critical darling and a favorite among neo-soul fans. With the release of his third album, The Love & War MasterPeace, earlier this month, the Grammy-nominated DeVaughn said that he's just thankful for the chance to release the project.

"A lot of artists don't get the opportunity to even [do] that these days. So I'm thankful for that. I'm thankful for the feedback that's coming back in the streets. It's all humbling — a humble journey to take," DeVaughn said.

While calling the album a "MasterPeace" would suggest otherwise, DeVaughn said that it's simply a play on words. "When you hear the word 'masterpiece,' you initially think, 'Oh a'ight, this better be a masterpiece,' " he explained. "Or it's a level of arrogance like, 'How could you call your own album a masterpiece?' "

He clarified that the title is about people mastering peace within their world. Whether it's dealing with inner peace, your love life or a peace of mind at work or home, DeVaughn hopes his music helps listeners gain that. "I feel like music can be therapeutic for all of us, not just music lovers, but the artists that create it."

The album's first single, "Bulletproof," features Ludacris. He said that Luda and the DTP fam have been very supportive of his movement from the beginning. The singer notes that he sent them the record and Luda recorded his verse without even asking to get paid.

"He did the record with us doing no business or none of that, like, 'Yo, I gotta get paid right now.' It was like, 'Yo, I'm really feeling this and whatever I could do to make it work [I will].' And he's done that."

• Raheem Devaughn

The 16-year-old answers fan questions about girls, music and his favorite things in MySpace chat.
By Jocelyn Vena

Justin Bieber
Photo: Larry Marano/ Getty Images

Justin Bieber participated in a live MySpace Ustream chat on Thursday in London, where he dished all about girlfriends, inspiration, his favorite things and, of course, his new album, My World 2.0, out next Tuesday. Bieber even got fans' hopes up by saying he wouldn't rule out dating one of them.

"I'm really excited about [my album], but I didn't change my style. I'm still pop, R&B — that's always been what I love," he said about the new album's vibe compared to My World. "My fans inspire me, as well as my mom inspires me and my dad and God inspires me. I've looked up to a lot of musicians, like Michael Jackson and Boyz II Men. ... I met Boyz II Men. I didn't get to meet Michal Jackson."

Bieber cited Boyz II Men's "Down on One Knee" as his favorite song and "Smallville" as his favorite show. Asked what his three wishes of all time would be, he answered, "Well, the first wish would be for unlimited wishes because that just makes sense. And then the second wish would be for, I don't know ... to be able to fly ... just fly everywhere. And then the third would be to get rid of poverty."

As for his love life, the 16-year-old said that he's been in a relationship before, but has yet to fall in love. "I've had, like, three girlfriends," he said. And when one viewer asked if he'd ever date a fan, he replied, "I think that it's whatever the situation is. If that happens, it happens."

So, what does he look for in potential ladies? "I look for a girl who is funny," he shared. "A girl who has a nice smile."

• Justin Bieber

Cowell and Seacrest went toe-to-toe twice this week; our human-behavior expert gives their relationship a closer look.
By Gil Kaufman

Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell
Photo: Kevin Parry/ WireImage

Aside from the whole singing-for-a-shot-at-stardom part of the show, "American Idol" has long featured a parallel story line chronicling the sometimes awkward, schoolyard-bully relationship between top-dog judge Simon Cowell and host Ryan Seacrest.

Over the years, that battle for supremacy between arguably the most important person on the show, established TV/music mogul Cowell, and Seacrest, who has his own ever-expanding media empire, has featured insults, vaguely sexual jibes and a whiff of condescension from Cowell amid a general sense of friendly rivalry.

But this week, that tension boiled over not once but twice during the live programs in two incidents at the top of the shows that human-behavior expert Patrick Wanis said revealed a lot about the uneasy dynamic between the men.

On Tuesday night, after Cowell told Michael Lynche that his performance sounded good but was a bit corny and desperate, Seacrest asked the judge what it was about the personal trainer's dancing (with a throwaway mocking line about "Dance Party USA Cowell") or other parts of the performance that felt desperate to him. Cowell looked away, clearly annoyed, and gestured firmly with his hand at Seacrest, asking, "Do you want me to talk to you or talk to Mike?" Unexpectedly, Seacrest then walked with purpose down the steps directly up to Cowell with a serious look on his face, put his hands on the judges' table and leaned in menacingly and said in a serious, vaguely threatening tone, "I'm actually trying to help him out a little bit, buddy, because I want him to stay on the show. You all right with that?"

As Seacrest said this with a stern look on his face, Cowell pointedly rolled his chair back from the table and laughed. "This is getting very uncomfortable," he said, then pointed his two hands at Seacrest and repeatedly told him, "Back on the stage! Please go back on the stage." After Cowell joked that they could sort things out in his trailer afterward, Seacrest went back onstage and stood with his arms crossed looking very uncomfortable.

What was that about?

"This is a guy [Cowell] with a very powerful ego, a narcissist, who has this outward confidence that is really arrogance that comes in the form of 'I'm better than you,' but underneath is stoked by insecurity and the feeling, 'I'm not enough,' " said Wanis, a life coach and relationship expert who has written about celebrity behavior for Cosmopolitan magazine and the New York Observer and appeared on Fox News, MSNBC and "The Montel Williams Show."

"When Ryan approaches him, this is the first time you see Simon become smaller," he said of the judge's reaction to being confronted on live TV. "He pushes his chair back and tells Ryan he's getting too close and he's moving away form him rather than standing up to him. If that was me and you were getting in my face, I would stand up and say, 'Beg your pardon?' "

Watching the tape again, Wanis said in addition to the long-standing friction between the co-workers, there was an added layer of tension he suspected came from how similar they are. "They're both very strong people who are open with their words," he said. "Ryan gives the sense that he really cares and Simon doesn't. But they're both very powerful people in the media, with Ryan setting himself up as the next Dick Clark as his power is building. With power comes confidence and wider boundaries. That's why he feels he can approach Simon Cowell now."

Tuesday night's confrontation definitely felt like a power play by Seacrest, said Wanis, who was unsure if it was a staged bit or a spontaneous show of muscle flexing.

While introducing the panel on Wednesday, Seacrest described his rival as "the very sweet Simon Cowell."

"You want to get the eyeballing out of the way?" Cowell asked Seacrest before the results show got started in earnest, faulting him for his "aggressive behavior" the previous night.

"I just thought that you needed to be a bit more constructive with them," Ryan said sweetly.

"Do you want my job?" Simon asked testily, leveling a serious stare at Seacrest as he spoke to the host over his shoulder.

"No, I'm comfortable with mine," said Seacrest, who suddenly appeared a bit nervous while shaking his head.

"Because it felt like an audition. Can we agree that we don't cross the line?" Cowell asked him. "The eyeballing, the aggressive behavior?"

"No, I love it," Seacrest replied, nervously asking Cowell to stop staring at him.

"It was uncomfortable," Cowell told him again.

"So is this," Seacrest responded before finally moving on.

"We're friends, right?" Simon said, continuing to reassert his prominence by adding, "Just don't ever do it again."

Wanis said the question about auditioning was a typical display of male ego, a suggestion by Cowell to Seacrest saying, "If you think you can do this better than me, go ahead and try." But he also saw it as a tacit acknowledgement by Cowell that, although he's leaving the show at season's end, he is confident no one will ever be able to truly replace him.

"He knows there will never be another Simon Cowell," Wanis said. "So it's his way of mocking [Seacrest]. A way to say, 'You can't do what I do, because you're not as good as me.' "

Either way, it was good television, because it became a topic of discussion the next day, even though it also derailed the show from its ostensible point, which is the singing competition.

"Ryan held his gaze on Simon for some time, and Simon is not used to anyone standing up to him," Wanis said, noting that Cowell made a point to say he was uncomfortable both times, perhaps acknowledging the novelty of someone talking back to him so aggressively. "The first time, he was stunned and pushed his chair back because Ryan was being very condescending and he was in control and telling Simon what to do. But the second time, Simon doesn't push back but turns his body away as if to say, 'I don't want to connect with you.' That time, Ryan walked away because Simon got him. In that moment, Seacrest has been cut down as if to say, 'You've just made a fool of me.' "

What did you think of the back-and-forth between Simon and Ryan? Do you think it distracts from the singers? Let us know in the comments!

Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.

• 'American Idol' In 60 Seconds

• 'American Idol' Season Nine Performances

She also weighs in on her 'Idol' faves: 'I'm rooting for anyone who stands for something and who can be honest and genuine.'
By Jocelyn Vena

Ke$ha performs on "American Idol" on Tuesday
Photo: FOX

On Wednesday night, Ke$ha, along with her pals 3OH!3, hit the "American Idol" stage with their song "Blah Blah Blah." The performance included dancing with TV heads and Ke$ha donning a Native American headdress while bouncing around the stage.

How does Ke$ha think the performance went?

"Well, I never really know, but I think it went pretty well from what I've heard from family members and friends and stuff," she told MTV News via phone Thursday (March 18). " ... I think it came across like we were just having a good time onstage, like, just playing dress-up. And I was kind of making an ass of myself at the end, but whatever. I was having a good time. I hope it was infectious."

As for her look, which included a silver top, hot pants and the aforementioned headdress, she said she took the advice of a certain former Talking Heads frontman. "I just want to inspire people to have a good time, and I feel like if I'm being irreverent, it inspires people to have the freedom to be themselves," she said. "David Byrne said, 'Everything onstage needs to be much bigger.' Maybe I wouldn't be wearing an armored bustier just on the street, but on the stage, I wanted to look like a warrior for irreverence and dance commander."

With the performance behind her, who is Ke$ha rooting for on "Idol"? "I don't know anybody's names but the blond dude that I'm rooting for," she said of Casey James. "I also thought the chick that got voted off [Lacey Brown], I thought she was pretty while singing, which I haven't figured out — how to look cool while singing — but she looked pretty while singing. I was impressed."

While Ke$ha thinks everyone deserves a chance during the competition, she just hopes that whomever wins can live up to the "Idol" name. "I think that 'idol' is a pretty intense word to describe a human being, and you should definitely be able to sing to be an idol," she said. "You have to have a particular message, whatever that may be. I would love to see and hear if they had a chance to put into their own words what each of them stand for, 'cause I'm rooting for anyone who stands for something and who can be honest and genuine."

What did you think of Ke$ha's "Idol" performance? Who are you rooting for this season? Let us know in the comments!

Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.

• 'American Idol' In 60 Seconds

• Ke$ha
• 3Oh!3

'Even though I'm a bubbly, happy person, not every song that I sing is gonna be uptempo,' she says.
By Katie Byrne

Lacey Brown
Photo: FOX

Lacey Brown had an "American Idol" Cinderella story. In season eight, she just missed the cut for the top 36 when the judges opted for another quirky singer, Megan Joy, instead. Well, this was her year. Not only did she get past Hollywood Week to the top 24, she even made it to the top 12 and the big stage.

Unfortunately, her performance of the Rolling Stones' "Ruby Tuesday" didn't cut it, and she was the first finalist to get the boot.

We caught up with the 24-year-old Texan on Thursday (March 18) to talk about why she decided to try out again this year, the judges' conflicting advice and what's next.

Q: The judges have been offering a lot of conflicting advice this season. Do you think that made it harder to show America what kind of artist you want to be?

A: It's difficult with the criticism this year, because it has been a little bit confusing, and therefore I would change things week to week, which can leave the audience kind of questioning who I am. I would say I'm a very different artist. I have a very different voice that's not suited for a lot of different genres, but I really see myself doing more of a pop/folk mix. I definitely can see myself making an album soon. I would love to do that, if I get the chance to. I just want to give people the chance to hear something that's fresh and new and different. There's not a lot of voices like mine right now on the radio, so I kind of take pride in the fact that I'm a lot different. I've always been a little bit more unique and individual, and I try to embrace that, and I tried to show that in my performances. Hopefully people can get that, and hopefully they like it. I'm looking forward to writing some new music that fits my voice and that people really like.

Q: What made you come back this year after making it so far last season?

A: I'm one of those people that gets very competitive. [Laughs.] And I decided that it's way too much of an experience to not try again, to try to get further. If I would have made it into the top 36 last year, I wouldn't have been able to come back this year. So I'm really glad I got a second chance. I'm really glad I decided to come back, because I needed to work on a couple things and come back and get further in the competition. That wasn't a hard decision at all, because everybody that's involved in this show — all the contestants, all the relationships — everything about this has just been a blast for me. So I just decided, "I'm gonna do it twice!" [Laughs.]

Q: Can you pinpoint your downfall in the competition?

A: I would probably have to say energy. They kept asking for energy in my songs, and I kept trying to give it, and they kept saying it was a sleepy performance. They wanted to see a little bit more energy, because [I have] a happy and bubbly type of personality, and they just wanted to see that transferred into my music. The issue that I was having is, I really love to sing ballads. I love telling a story with a song. I love the emotion of the song. I'm very artsy, so that side of me comes out when I sing. I think I kept picking songs that I really loved to sing and really felt, and maybe it didn't transfer as well onstage. Maybe that was it. But I wouldn't have changed any of it, because that's who I am. Even though I'm a bubbly, happy person, not every song that I sing is gonna be uptempo.

Q: Did you get a chance to talk to the judges after the results show?

A: All the judges came up afterwards. I think they genuinely care about the contestants. Sometimes it's hard to hear their critiques, but they're there to help you. It's a fine line between taking what they say personally and taking what they say and applying it to fix yourself and work things out that you need to work out. When they came up afterwards, they had nothing but nice things to say, things like, "This is just another step into your career. You have great vocals. You're very unique." They're just full of compliments, because they want to see us succeed. And they don't want us to feel like all hope is lost, because it's not. I'm in the top 12 right now, and even though I got voted off, this is not the end-all for me. This is a great opportunity to jump-start my career. I think that's the point they were trying to make.

Q: Who are some of your musical influences, and would you ever like to work with them?

A: I have a lot of influences right now. One of my biggest influences is Patsy Cline. Unfortunately, I won't be able to work with her. I learned a lot from her performances, like how to tell a story in a song to make you feel like you've fallen in love again or make you feel like your heart's broken. She was a great performer. ... Also, there's new and upcoming people who I've been following for a couple years like Pete Yorn, who's just an amazing musician and singer that has a great vibe, and not a whole lot of people know who he is yet, but I think he's an upcoming huge deal. I have a lot of indie bands that I like, and I got a couple country bands that I really like right now. I'm finding influence from everywhere.

Were you sad to see Lacey go? Will you follow her post-"Idol" career? Let us know in the comments below!

Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.

• Meet The 'American Idol' Top 12
• 'American Idol' In 60 Seconds

• 'American Idol' Season Nine Performances
• 'American Idol' Top 12 Party