I spoke with Sanjaya Malakar during a conference call with the media on Thursday.

When I asked the much-talked-about teen if it was hard dealing with the harsh criticism and negative buzz every week, he replied "It was a little hard but I try to make everything into a positive or try to learn from it. If it's not possible and it's just that negative, then I just let it roll off my back like a duck with water because I know that if I don't then it will get overwhelming."

I also asked Sanjaya if he is more or less confident about his singing ability these days. He said "I feel like I've grown so I'm more confident because I was able to do this every week. Practice makes perfect so I'm just ready to go out there."

People.com has some more quotes from Sanjaya's call with reporters. Read Sanjaya's quotes here.