After enduring week after week of Simon Cowell's jabs, worldwide hair phenomenon Sanjaya Malakar was finally voted off American Idol last Wednesday night. Rather than hide his feelings behind that winning smile, Malakar instead let fly during a tearful farewell to the remaining six. The next-day, the 17-year-old opened up to reporters about Simon, his hair, hiring a bodyguard and more.

What do you think turned the tide for you on Tuesday night?
Honestly, I'm not a country singer. I think that that really took a toll on me. And I didn't have enough really strong performances to let people forgive me for that. Like, for example, Lakisha, she's not necessarily a country singer either, but she had enough strong performances to get her though – and I don't think I did.

What have you learned most as a result of being thrust into fame like this?
I think I've learned not to let any negativity get you – just to keeping on trucking, I guess. And try to find the positive in everything.

What would you say to Simon?
Well, from the beginning I think that Simon saw potential in me, and when I didn't fulfill that potential, he was kind of disappointed. So I just want to say to him that he's an amazing person, and what he does is awesome. He's very opinionated, but I learned more from him than anyone else while I was on the show.

Is it true that you had a habit of reading the online blogs to gauge your performance? What kind of an affect did that have?
Well, I read the blogs more to balance myself, because it was kind of impossible not to hear stuff, and often times it was negative. So I kind of balanced the negative and the positive just to keep my self grounded.

Was it frustrating for you that your hair got almost more attention than your singing?
No, because at a certain point, that had kind of become my thing. Because I think that everyone looks for something to grab on to with each contestant, so I feel like my hair was that for me.

With all the hair and the hats and everything, was your philosophy at a certain point just to go for broke?
My philosophy was just to stay true to myself and try to put my personality out there – and that's all.

You had the sense that the tide was against you. Did you ever consider quitting or dropping out in deference to your fellow singers?
Not at all, not at all. I was going to stay as long as I possibly could and just work every week and try to learn from everything that happened.

How did you react when Hilary Clinton was asked about you at a news conference?
I heard about that very briefly. And it's interesting because I had no idea how much impact the show has. I think it's interesting that someone like me, a 17-year-old Seattle boy, could have so much impact to get into the presidential debate.

What will you do next?
I'm definitely looking at a music career but I also want to venture into acting and modeling and possibly Broadway or something because I want to get the full entertainment business.

With the pros and cons of celebrity, are you thinking about getting a bodyguard?
Yeah, I'm definitely ready to hire a bodyguard. I'm actually looking to do that right now.