His song choice was criticized by the judges, and he was eliminated from American Idol after singing it, but Chikeze has no regrets about choosing Luther Vandross's "If Only For One Night" this week.

"If I had gotten another chance to do it again, I would do it the exact same way," he told me during a conference call this afternoon. "Because that's the only way that I could have gone home happy, is by following my heart...If I had done something that wasn't me, and then I had gone home, I would have been so upset that I didn't follow my heart. I would have been so upset and so distraught about it. I'm so glad I did what I did."

I also asked Chikeze, who seemed to have multiple music personalities while competing on Idol, what kind of music he would like to record in the future.

"Basically, I love the idea of fusion." he said. "I love the idea of bringing together several different styles to make something new, make something fresh, make something people have never heard before. I really respect people like Gnarls Barkley - people who could take risks with music and come out on top because they believe in what they're doing and they're dedicated to it."