I picked and co-wrote the songs that if I was a guy who would be spending my hard-earned money buying an album I would want to hear.

I'd like to teach kids how to write songs. This will be my first year so I'm just as green as some of the rest of the folks. It's like a music camp and I get to hang out with some of the past contestants.

Just practice hard and stay grounded. Treat people like you want to be treated and work hard.

Obviously everybody knows that I'm an original songwriter and I got my band. And the guys in 'Sugar Money,' no matter what, are part of my family and they always got something to do with me, and I don't care if they just hang out with me.

I think I started lip-synching about halfway through the first day, and it's not as easy as you think it would be. But it's definitely better than a day job.

I'm not trying to be evasive, but when I say yes and no, I say 'yes' because there are narrow-minded people that won't look past the logo and 'no' because 'American Idol' put me in front of millions of people and I would not have a career without 'Idol.'