Chris Sligh's elimination from American Idol may have been surprising for some viewers, but Chris says he knew he would be the one going home after he performed on Tuesday night.

"As soon as [the judges] gave me the spanking that they did, I kind of knew that I was going home," he said during a conference call Thursday. He explained "I just had this feeling in my heart that I was going home because pretty much nobody gets away from being trashed like I did on Tuesday night unscathed."

Chris was so convinced he would get the least number of votes, he made a bet with Phil Stacey.

"I had told Phil that I was going home and he was like, 'No way. There’s no way that you’re going home before me.' And I said, Dude, I bet you $50 I’m going home.' So he took me up on it and I won," Chris said.

Chris plans to reunite with his band now that he is off American Idol.

"Half Past Forever is planning on getting back together," he said. "We’ll see what happens. We were getting record label interest before American Idol, so I think doors should open up for us. It will be great."