‘American Idol’ interview: Paul Jolley not upset with Nicki Minaj over criticism

While Paul Jolley seemed like (ahem) a pretty jolly guy during his time on “American Idol” this season, he also had a rough time courtesy of some of the judges. Nicki Minaj was in particular hard on his performances time and time again, and you could even make the argument that for whatever reason, he was held to a somewhat higher standard than some of the other contestants. (We’ll let you discuss possible conspiracy theories about the show wanting something other than their typical sort of male winner.)

But was Paul particularly upset about anything after the fact? If he was, he certainly didn’t let it show in a conference call with reporters. There was really only one thing about the “Super Bass” singer’s critique that he actually would change in hindsight:

“I’m thankful for the critiquing that she gave me. I wish there were more things that I could take and work on and learn from, but I appreciate everything that she says. She did put me through the first round, so I am very thankful.”

During the call, Paul also talked a little bit about something that was also a personal passion of his: fashion, and his desire to someday design his own clothing line in addition to being a country / pop singer:

“[Fashion has] always been in my head, and it is always something that I’ve wanted to do. But this is ‘American Idol,’ and this is where the spotlight is for this. But I think everyone in the industry at one point wants to challenge themselves, so why not look at the full picture now?”

Are you going to miss Paul on the show? If you want to read our full review of Thursday night’s new episode, you can do so over at the link here.

Photo: Fox