Undercover Boss Recap: BrightStar Cares for it’s Clients and It’s Personnel

Tonight’s episode of Undercover Boss highlighted Shelley Sun who went undercover in the company she co-founded with her husband J.D.  The Sun’s started BrightStar Care to help fill the gap in personal care needs throughout the country.  This company, which they began in 2002, is now worth more than $100 million.  This would be an opportunity to discover if the care they think their company is providing is actually coming to fruition. J.D. is also going to do some undercover work.
The duo is undercover saying they are former administrative assistants looking to get into healthcare.  They started out in Arizona with Shelly working in KidCare, hoping to glean ways to make this a larger part of their business.  She trained under James, helping to care for quadruplet two-year olds.  Their father was serving in Iraq at the time of taping, so they got to help do a skype with their dad.  Though Shelly is a mom of twins, she is more of a CEO than a mom in real life and was in over her head.  She said, “It’s been a long time since I’ve changed a poopy diaper, if ever.” WOW!! She did admit she wants to learn to be a better mom. J.D. followed George around in an independent living facility.  While there,  he realized there was a gap in training and communication between the individual caregivers.  He also faced a tough crowd as he was the caller in bingo.  Perhaps most importantly, he discovered that he liked the idea of being in service to people.  J.D. said George was, “Better than great!”
J.D’s adventure was cut short so he could go home and take care of the boys.  Shelly continued her quest for info about their company.  She showed up in northern California as a temp in a nursing home.  Her goal was to make sure her caregivers were  going above and beyond so they can continue to help facilities augment their staff.  She was trained by Arlene, a CNA.  “Linda” got a crash course in personal hygienic care of the elderly.  She seemed to enjoy teasing with the clients.  Shelly’s eyes were opened as she talked with Arlene about her personal life as a single mom to a 7 year old daughter.  She had her daughter as a teen, and her daughter’s dad died, so she’s been working hard for a long time.  She is studying to be an RN while working part time for BrightStar.  She expressed the feeling that they are considered the black sheep because temps are in a temporary staffing situation.
 The next stop for Shelly was a customer’s home in Centerville, Ohio.  She met up with Lisa, an LPN.  “Linda” struggled to find a pulse on the client.  She also got a reminder that if she pursued this career she’d need clean, trim, nail polish free nails. OOPS.  Lisa shared that she  has a combined family with her husband and six kids together.  She said her husband was about to be laid off from GM and they were struggling because she wasn’t getting full-time hours at BrightStar.  Shelly walked away feeling a sense of pride at doing such an important job, but she also expressed concern about how to hold onto someone as important as Lisa, who’s struggling due to a lack of full-time hours.  The experience was emotional for Shelly as she recalled her dad’s last days and the kind of care he deserved.
Back in the boardroom, Mrs. Sun shared her to-do list with the support staff.  They brainstormed how to get Lisa more hours by perhaps pooling hours with other offices.  They discussed how to get the caregivers in the assistant living facility to train each other, versus the family of the client, or even the client having to train the staff.  She brought up Arelene’s feeling of being considered the black sheep.
 During the big reveal the unsuspecting employees were dumbfounded and had no clue who she was.  To James, Shelly gave him lots of compliments on the great job he’s doing.  She also offered to hire a career coach to help guide him to help reach all of his possible potential.  BrightStar also gave him $5,000 seed money to help him pursue a business opportunity or further his education.  In addition, they sent him on a week-long vacation for two with $1,000 spending money.  In talking with George, she expressed how touched J.D. was in having had the opportunity to work alongside George. They offered to pay for his last year of school.  They also offered him a global quality care ambassador position to help make sure someone would be on board to help make sure their new sites around the world would be up to the BrightStar standard.  He would get the opportunity to travel the world on BrightStar’s budget.  When she sat down with Arlene, Shelly expressed an admiration for her hard work.  Shelly offered to send Arlene and her daughter a week-long trip to an amusement park.  That gift was nothing compared to the bigger gift BrightStar gave Arlene.  The company is preparing to set up a new assisted living facility in the same area where she lived and they made arrangements for it to be Arlene’s franchise.  BrightStar contributed the franchise fee and Shelly said she would work to try and secure financing.  In talking with Lisa, Shelly was brought to tears of gratitude.  BrightStar is sending Lisa and her husband and their children and her two grandchildren back to Cancun where they had gotten married, to renew their vows with their family there with them and it will be a paid for vacation for Lisa.  In addition, to help offset things due to her husband’s lay off, Shelly also told her they’d be paying her mortgage for the next six months.   All of those that came into contact with Shelly and J.D. during this experiment will be forever changed.  Shelly’s life will be changed forever, too, as she learned to deal with how with the repressed emotions she’d had regarding her father’s death and also spending time working at being a great mom.
The follow-up revealed James is meeting with his career coach to figure out how best to use his startup money.  Lisa started a charity that allows sick kids to see first run movies while they’re in the hospital.  George is making plans to travel abroad when he completes his RN training in the next year.  Arlene is looking forward to being her own boss.  (REALLY? YA THINK?  Sorry, I couldn’t resist!!)

Omerta? Not for these Staten Island 'Mob Wives'

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Should "Mob Wives" be whacked or get made?

That's the question viewers -- read ratings -- will determine following last night's debut of VH1's newest reality show. Think "Real Housewives" meets "The Sopranos" meets "Jersey Shore."

"Mob Wives" follows the lives of four Staten Island women with thick New York accents who tan, party and drop F-bombs like, well, fuh-ged-about-it!

"Mob Wives" may capture the imagination of the "Jersey Shore" crowd, but will not score any points with Islanders who are fed up with their hometown depicted as the home office for La Cosa Nostra.

In fact, "Mob Wives" insinuates the Island is a breeding ground for the mafia. The women dish about their alleged connections and how they deal with their husbands or fathers in prison, raising children, and rocky relationships.

Last night's premier opened with an introduction of the women: Karen Gravano, daughter of Mafia turncoat Salvatore (Sammy the Bull) Gravano; Drita D'avanzo, whose husband is in prison for bank robbery; Renee Graziano, daughter of an alleged high-ranking member of La Cosa Nostra, and Carla Facciolo, whose husband was convicted of stock fraud.

If you didn't catch last night's show, here's what you need to know: Karen moved to Arizona 10 years ago after Sammy the Bull" turned on the mafia. She returned to Staten Island to the dismay of mob loyalist Renee, who dislikes her and whose credo is, "A rat is a rat is a rat. A snitch is a snitch."

Karen and Drita meet for drinks upon Karen's arrival. The women, after all, had a falling out after Drita married Lee, Karen's ex-boyfriend.

Got that?

"I never would have done that if the roles were reversed. She downplayed that me and Lee dated for seven years," says Karen.

Karen expressed some bitterness toward Drita when speaking candidly to the audience, but all is well between the women for now.

The episode centered on Carla's birthday party. Renee did not want Karen to attend, and she made it known to anyone who would listen.

"I don't know why Carla is making it like it's no big deal. She needs to play on team Renee or team go away," says Renee.
    
Cle-vuh, right?

After speaking with Drita, Carla calls Karen to invite her to the party.

Following a visit from a spray tan specialist, Drita, a professional makeup artist, goes to Carla's house to do her makeup for the party. They discuss Renee's possible reaction to Karen's arrival at the party.

"I think Renee will be mad because she gets mad over every little thing," said Drita.

The night of the party, Carla, Drita and Renee are drinking and laughing.

"When I'm in party mode I just want to have fun. I don't want anyone to get in my way -- not that anyone's brave enough to do that. Party Renee is the center of attraction," says Mrs. Graziano, who is clearly trying to become the Snooki of this reality show.

Karen, who takes a limo to the party, says, "Whether Renee is ready or not to see me, I'm ready to be here."

When Renee sees Karen at the party, she storms out. Karen follows Renee outside to confront her because "that's how gangsters roll."

"I have a problem with what your father did. He destroyed a lot of families," says Renee.

Counters Karen, daughter of Sammy the Bull: "You don't have a problem with the gangster lifestyle? That my father could have put a gun to someone's head -- that didn't destroy families?"

That's the cliffhanga, folks.

Not exactly "The Sopranos" fading to black.

You wanna know what happens next? Well, you gotta tune in next Sunday at 8 p.m.

Game of Thrones' premiere review: Let the 'Game' begin, smashingly

If you haven’t read the book it was based on, Game of Thrones may not have been what you were expecting. The ads made it look like a dark, gritty, grim historical epic packed with violence and sex. Turns out, it was a swift fantasy adventure rooted in the emotions of ambition, greed, and lust. In this make-believe universe, there’s a ferocious realism in both dialogue and action. This distinction in setting and tone is crucial; it’s what makes Game of Thrones rise immediately far above such history-based costume dramas as The Borgias, Camelot, or Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.
The opening hour, “Winter Is Coming,” did a canny job of laying out every theme that will be explored in this character- and plot-packed series… and did so by following the simplest, shrewdest, yet least often followed strategy in literary adaptations: It followed the text of the book. I know, right? Amazing.
Ominousness was established immediately with a journey along The Wall, one dangerous boundary-line in author George R.R. Martin’s imagined world. We got a taste of the kind of blunt terseness that will characterize the entire series in the dialogue among the mounted guards, and caught a glimpse of the eerie, deadly White Walkers.
After that, there was a luxuriously smooth introduction of the House of Stark clan, led by Sean Bean’s hard-boiled Lord Eddard, as well as a few of author Martin’s key imaginative inventions such as the beautiful-but-fierce direwolves. The hour had a lot to get across to its audience. How Eddard was loyal to his old friend, now the king, Robert Baratheon (a robust Mark Addy). How the Lannister clan had designs upon the King’s throne — well, at least Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his sister, the king’s queen, Cersei (Lena Headley) did. Their brother, Tyrion (a Peter Dinklage seeming to revel in his character’s sarcasm, drinking, and general wench-squeezing), holds his small self above that fray as much as he can.
Another plot seemed, during this initial episode, to exist almost outside the rest of the story: The delicate princess Daenerys Taragaryan (Emilia Clarke) being given to the gigantic warriorKhal Drogo in an arranged marriage also designed, ultimately, as a power-play for the throne. By the end of the hour, we had an almost literal cliffhanger: Eddard’s young son Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright), climbing a high wall, came upon the sight of Jaime and Cersei having sex. The act left him frozen; the incestuous couple knew they couldn’t risk being exposed, and so — push! Down went Bran.
The daunting task of turning a massive epic fantasy novel into a merely huge fantasy TV series has been met with bravery by the makers of A Game of Thrones. And by bravery, I mean that writer-producers David Benioff and Dan Weiss have taken George R.R. Martin’s capacious prose and adapted it with fidelity for its large fan-base.
HBO has been promoting Game of Thrones in so many places, with such persistence, you get the sense the channel is a wee bit nervous and a whole lotta proud of what it’s offering here. The show needs to grow beyond its book-readers right from the get-go, because there are only ten episodes to lay out this universe, and get you invested in its multiple plots and characters, in the hope that this is the beginning of a multi-season series that will adapt the other volumes of Martin’s Song of Fire and Ice.
I’ll bet a lot of people watched the first episode. The question is, how many will come back?

Boston guard Ray Allen in full playoff hero form for win over New York

BOSTON – There has been frustration. There have been some quiet complaints and some lengthy explanations about the lack of movement in the offense. There was even the time in late March when Ray Allen, upset over having played 36 minutes in a loss to the Pacers and getting just eight field-goal attempts, walked out of the locker room without speaking to reporters after the game—a rare brush-off from one of pro sports’ most professional participants.
After a night like the one Allen had on Sunday here at TD Garden, though, it’s easy to push all that tumult and tension aside. That’s because Allen was in full playoff-hero form in Game 1 against the Knicks, scoring 24 points on 9-for-15 shooting and knocking down the game-winning 3-pointer with 11.6 seconds to play, helping the Celtics avoid an upset with an 87-85 win.
“I wasn’t worried about it, offensively,” Allen said. “We have so many great weapons out there on the floor. Here in the playoffs, I knew what my matchup was, defensively, I knew what I had to do to keep Carmelo (Anthony) from having a big night and (Amare) Stoudemire, too. Offensively, early, I had a couple of layups, a couple of shots at the hoop. But for the most part, I wasn’t worried about shooting the ball.”
That’s not to say that Allen hasn’t been worried about shooting—or not shooting, as it were—over the past month or so. He’s been a muffled marksman of late, an awkward position for the game’s all-time leading 3-point shooter. Game 1 marked Allen’s first 20-point outing since March 19, a span of 12 games. That’s the longest run of sub-20-point games he has had since 1999. Allen averaged 12.3 points over this stretch, and simply wasn’t getting many looks at the basket, averaging just 9.7 shots per game.
Allen has linked his struggles to the Celtics’ overall struggles, especially their sudden inability to move the ball. That was a problem again in Game 1, but Boston was able to fight through it.
“You guys have been asking me for a couple of weeks about shooting the ball,” Allen said. “But it’s rhythm. It’s all about rhythm, and [taking] your time. Here if I have a shot, Paul is out there, Kevin is out there, I try not to focus on that. There are plays to be made. Offensively, we are our own worst enemy when we don’t move the ball around. I am not going to fall into that hole of thinking I have got to shoot the ball. We have a lot of great scorers.”

But there’s no question that as the Celtics fell into a late-season swoon, especially on the offensive end, Allen’s inability to get his scoring going was the most glaring weakness. Boston was 18-4 in the regular season when Allen topped 20 points. Finding a way to get him back on track is a necessity for this team’s postseason success — especially when there is a big shot that needs making, as with Allen’s clinching 3-pointer.
“No, I wasn’t surprised at all,” Celtics big man Glen Davis said. “I’ve seen it a million times.”
The Celtics—and Allen—would not mind seeing it a million more.

The Wizard of Oz at The Broadway Theatre

COMEDY legend Bobby Davro and CBeebies star Sarah-Jane Honeywell are appearing in The Wizard of Oz this Easter in Peterborough.
The Broadway Theatre will host the New World Productions Easter extravaganza, a lavish professional production of The Wizard of Oz.
Producer Gary Telfer said: “We’re really looking forward to coming to Peterborough on the tour with this fantastic Easter show.
“It’s got a great cast of TV stars and an amazing live band.”
The cast features a host of top quality professional performers including Dancing on Ice funny man Bobby Davro as Scarecrow, star of CBeebies’ Mighty-Mites & Tikkabilla Sarah-Jane Honeywell as Glinda, Ben Hanson (Bouncer from Tracy Beaker) as Tin Man and Steph Fearon (Over the Rainbow Semi-Finalist) as Dorothy.
Director Rob Forknall said: “It’s going to be great fun for all the family both young and old alike.
“Everyone remembers such great characters as the The Cowardly Lion and The Tin Man who needs a heart.
“This show will take the original story written by L. Frank Baum and give it a new twist as only New World Productions can!”
New World Productions are spending hundreds of thousands of pounds to ensure The Wizard of Oz tour will be a spectacular family production, bringing together a top cast, amazing costumes, fantastic dance routines and plenty of popular songs to please all ages.

Planned Parenthood at Center of Budget Shutdown Threat

The elimination of more than $300 million in federal funding for women's health care centers, including Planned Parenthood, may well force a government shutdown at midnight tonight.
Republicans want to zero out Title X, a program implemented under Republican President Richard Nixon in 1970 to provide contraceptives, cancer screenings, and pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease testing at community health centers across the country.
Conservative lawmakers say the money indirectly subsidizes abortions, despite the fact that the federal Hyde Amendment expressly prohibits such use of taxpayer funds.
Sen. John Kyl, R-Ariz., repeated a Republican argument today that abortions are "well over 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does."
Planned Parenthood is the nation's largest abortion provider, but it issued a fact sheet today stating that more than 90 percent of its health care services are preventive, not abortions. It receives about $70 million of Title X funding, and the company says none of the funds are used to fund abortions.
"It's an outrage to shut down the government over an extreme proposal that would deny millions of women Pap tests, breast cancer screenings and birth control," said Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards.
Richards said the company's 4,500 clinics serve an estimated 5 million low income women every year.
Democrats say Republicans are on an extremist crusade to put a "bulls eye on women in America" and undermine essential preventive health care services for millions of low-income women that rely on Planned Parenthood and other non-related centers every day.
"We are not – we are not! – bending on women's health," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said today.
"This has no impact on the budget. It has no impact on the deficit or the debt," said Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski. "Where we will not go is eliminating the health care for women. Make no mistake, this entire debate has involved throwing women and children under the bus."
Mikulski and 40 fellow Senate Democrats have vowed to filibuster any budget deal that includes elilmination of Title X.
While much of the rhetoric has centered on abortion and Planned Parenthood, many smaller, religiously-affiliated health centers will also be impacted by the cuts.

Government Shutdown Inevitable: Blame Game Increases as Clock Ticks

House Speaker John Boehner said today he will return his pay during the days the government is shut down. He made the promise as it became clear that Republicans and Democrats -- bitterly divided over women's health funding programs -- will be hard pressed to reach a deal hours before the budget deadline expires.
In the case of a government shutdown, essential personnel who are kept on duty -- including troops in the field -- do not receive paychecks, but members of Congress do.
"In the event of a lapse in appropriations for fiscal year 2011 causing a government shutdown, I will return any and all compensation that I would otherwise be entitled during such a lapse in appropriations," Boehner said in a letter to fellow House members.
Sixty senators have signed on to a bill that would ensure troops are paid through a shutdown, but time is quickly running out.
Republican and Democratic negotiators huddled behind closed doors into the early hours of the morning today to hash out a budget deal, and talks are continuing. But there is still no deal to avert a government shutdown at midnight tonight if no bill is agreed upon.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he's hopeful the two sides can reach a deal today and said they had agreed to $38 billion in cuts and the Republicans' 65 so-called "policy riders," except the one that aims to bar funding for Planned Parenthood. He assailed Republicans, saying talks have deadlocked on "ideology."
"Republicans want to shut down the government because they think there's nothing more important than keeping women from getting cancer screenings," Reid said. "This is indefensible and everyone should be outraged. Men and women should be outraged. Republican House leadership have only a few hours left to look in the mirror and snap out of it and realize how positively shameful it would be."
Senate Democrats will offer their own temporary resolution that would fund the government for another week. House Republicans passed a temporary measure Thursday but it was dismissed by Democrats as political cover and ideological.
Republicans say there's no agreement on the budget cuts and blame Democrats for not being serious about the cuts.
"If the government shuts down, it's either because Democrats are pretending, pretending that a previously non-controversial provision is suddenly out of bounds or they refuse to take another baby step in the direction of balancing the government checkbook, something we know the American people want," said Senate's top Republican Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Reid and Boehner met with President Obama at the White House Thursday night for their fourth meeting this week.
Sources said Democrats moved up their number to agree to $34.5 billion in spending cuts. Republicans came down to $39 billion, but there's squabbling over about $6.5 billion. Republicans also want to add $2 billion in defense spending, which would be offset by domestic cuts.
Republicans and the president are essentially in a standoff over 0.17 percent of the budget, but the main battle is over health care services for women.
Abortion has taken center stage in the fight over spending cuts. The abortion measure in the House Republicans' extension bill, and one they say they won't budge on, would reinstate a policy that prevented the District of Columbia from using locally generated taxes to provide financial help to poor women for abortions.
The House voted earlier this year to defund Planned Parenthood, but 41 Democrats in the Senate have already said they would not support that legislation. The White House has said the president would not agree to any ban on funds to Planned Parenthood.
"We've come to realize that the moving target has now focused a bulls eye on women in America," Reid said. "We agreed on a number. But we are not -- we are not -- bending on women's health."

Waukesha teen wins C-Span student cam competition

Waukesha teen Jacob Berg is getting national recognition for his work on a documentary. The senior from Waukesha West High School won third place in C-Span's student cam competition, and appeared live on C-Span April 6th.
Berg's eight minute documentary explains what's included in the more than 2,000 page law. He centralizes it around his father who can benefit from the health care overhaul. Berg says, "My dad recently had a few surgeries, and because he has crones disease and ulcer colitis."
Berg's student cam video is just one of 27 winning videos across the country more than a thousand student entries were submitted to C-Span that addresses a national issue facing their community.
During his appearance on C-Span Berg explained why health care was his video of choice. "I wanted to make it so that people would understand it, and it was just a little bit easier to understand.", says Berg.
Berg isn't the only Wisconsin student who was a winner in this national competition. Eight other students from Racine took home three second place awards for their documentaries on LED lights, sustainability, and gun rights.
Each student takes home up to $1,500 for their winning videos.
The three other Wisconsin winning videos will be aired on C-Span throughout the month of April.

Real Housewives of New York Premiere: Has Jill Zarin Changed

The women of The Real Housewives of New York City aren't wasting anytime whipping up drama. In fact, Thursday's season 4 premiere seemed to start right where it left off – with and icy meeting between Alex McCord and Jill Zarin at Ramona Singer's end-of-summer party.

"I think that it was incredibly aggressive to walk into the party and just pretend nothing ever happened," Alex said, still upset about their run-ins from last season. "Jill did some horrible things – not just to me but to other people – and you can't just pretend that didn't happen."

Jill, it seems, wanted nothing more than to move on.

"I was always her cheerleader. Why does she hate me?" she tells Kelly Bensimon. "I just hope that we can resolve it. I hope that Alex and I can get to a much better place."
Throughout the episode, Jill expressed regret about last season's drama and claimed she had learned her lesson. "I just don't have the energy to fight with Alex anymore because that fight with Bethenny took years off my life," Jill said. "I'm never going to let that happen to me again."

Later, at a friend's wedding, Jill was surprised to see Alex outside the church. They had an awkward conversation about whether or not they knew each other were going to be at the wedding and at an upcoming march for Marriage Equality.

"I said I couldn't change and I have changed," Jill said. "And no matter what anyone does, I will always be nice and kind."

But when Jill sees Alex socializing at the wedding reception, she's anything but nice. "That f––ing bitch Alex McCord has the nerve to come up to me at the church and [ask about the march]," she tells her friends. "She's a bitch. Look at her – she's socializing at a party that is so above her."

Following the Real Housewives premiere, Jill appeared on the 100th episode of Andy Cohen's late night talk show, Watch What Happens Live, and addressed the comments she made about Alex.

"Since you brought it up you're going to have to hear the truth answer," she said. "Those words coming out of my mouth don't match the audio track. I was talking to a producer on the side and they put my words in my mouth and I didn't like that."

When asked if she said those words, Jill had little trouble answering: "Yes, but it wasn't meant – no, but it wasn't,

Pia Toscano 'kept blanking out' after 'Idol' elimination

For Pia Toscano, everything since a few minutes before 6 p.m. Pacific time last night has been a blur. That's when Ryan Seacrest announced that the 22-year-old Queens, N.Y., native had received the week's fewest votes from American Idol viewers and would be leaving the show.
Pia doesn't have a very clear memory of what happened next. "I kept blanking out," she said to my by phone today. However, the support that has been shown her by her fans, the show's judges and her fellow contestants has overwhelmed her so much that, she adds, "I'm in a happy place right now."
How much sleep did you get last night?
I didn't get any sleep last night. I haven't been to sleep since 5 a.m. yesterday.
Did you even try?
Nope. I couldn't. I was just processing everything. I don't even know how I'm functioning right now. I could not go to sleep.
Has anybody said anything to you that has helped you make sense out of what happened last night?
Everybody has been so supportive. That's really making me happy right now, to know that I do have that support and I have so many people backing me.
I'm a firm believer that everything truly happens for a reason. You know, it was my time to go on the show. Other things are in store for me, so I'm very positive.
Every eliminated contestant this season has said, "Everything happens for a reason." Do you have any clue what that reason might be for you?
I truly don't. When I auditioned in the past for the show and got eliminated, I asked, "Why?" I didn't understand why, and now I know: Because I was supposed to make it this year. There's always a plan, I believe.
I'm so happy I didn't make it to a point in the show before where I couldn't come back and audition again this season. I try to put a positive spin on everything, and it usually helps.
Is Jennifer Hudson looking more like a good role model for you, considering that she also finished in ninth place?
Jennifer Hudson has always been a role model to me, not just because of the situation, but because of everything she has been through. She's such a powerful woman. I've always looked up to her, since I've been such a huge fan of the show since Season One.
You and Stefano seemed to exchange a few words onstage immediately after last night's announcement. What did the two of you say to each other?
Honestly, it was such a blur to me last night that I kept blanking out a little bit. I just kept trying to stay present in the moment. I'm sure he said something like, "I can't believe this" or "I'm sorry." We were really, really good friends.
It's hard to go home. That's what was upsetting me, the fact that I was leaving people that I love so much. I know I'm going to see them again on tour, but I was so ready for my performance next week. It's hard to go.
Viewers always have a conventional wisdom that says certain singers will go deep into the competition, while others may have to work a little harder to stay on the show each week. Do the singers themselves get that same sort of sense, that certain ones of you are safer than others?
I think everybody has to bring their "A game" every single week, and everybody has to work just as hard every single week. You never know who's going to go home. It's shocking every single week to see who's in the Bottom Three. So everybody really has to bring their A game.
Five weeks into the finals, five women have been eliminated. What advice would you give to Haley Reinhart and Lauren Alaina, the only two women left?
Just to go out there and own it. I don't really need to give them any advice, because they're doing such an amazing job. I truly admire their work on the show, just that they can go out there and own that stage. It's like whatever happens, happens. I know they're going to do great.
What's the thing that somebody has said to you since last night that has made you feel the best?
There's so much support. And people saying, "It wasn't your time," and "We know you're going to have an amazing career. The support has been out of this world. I can't really single out one thing, because everybody has been so amazing.
How soon do you hope to get back into the studio so people can have new music to hear from you?
Well, I have stuff on iTunes right now that I recorded for the show. People can buy that stuff. I'm definitely looking forward to getting into the studio, but I'm focused right now on the tour. After that, we'll hopefully work on an album and get my stuff out there.
People are obviously going ballistic on our website and others today. What message would you like to send to people who are shocked and outraged about your leaving?
I'm just thankful that I made it this far. I'm in a happy place right now. I'm sad that I can't perform for everybody next week, but I'll get my time. It's not over for me. Keep watching the show, and thank you for your support.