By Michelle Jamrisko Cavalier Daily Life Editor
Fifth-grade teacher Maureen Matty proudly posed with her 11-year-old Travis Tucker autograph for a photo printed in Tucker's local hometown newspaper. Tucker's former high school principal had just finished sending a series of memorandums to county public school employees urging them to vote for Tucker on Fox's "American Idol." Fresh out of Hollywood, Tucker was invited to star in a St. Patrick's Day parade in his hometown.
Recently voted off "American Idol" after earning a spot in the top 16, Tucker, a fourth-year College student, said he was surprised by the outpouring of support from the Manassas, Va. crowd.
"I got back and they were just showing me all kinds of love," Tucker said.
Admitting that he never really followed the show before trying out, Tucker said although the daily schedule in Hollywood was a big change from his usual role in Charlottesville as a "college kid chilling out," he didn't feel overwhelmed by the temporary change in lifestyle.
"Photo shoots were fun, so I didn't mind," Tucker said. "They had these big press circles where you would just go around from station to station and just kind of answer the same questions over and over again, which got kind of repetitive ... but it kind of comes with the territory."
Tucker said he was surprised by the congeniality of the "Idol" employees and by the degree to which contestants really befriended each other during the competition.
Even Simon Cowell, "Idol" judge infamous for his harsh criticism of contestants, received Tucker's stamp of approval.
"Simon doesn't say much [off-camera]," Tucker said. "But if he does, it's cordial. He's not a bubbly person but he's not rude. And Paula is definitely a sweetheart."
But if the likeability of the "Idol" staff was a mild shock, the pressure and stress of weekly national performances came as no surprise to Tucker. Before the pool of 200 Hollywood contestants was shaved to 24 finalists, "you had a lot of time to worry" between solo performances and group pieces, Tucker said.
Being selected for the final 24, however, guaranteed a much more organized schedule. By the sixth week of the show, which began on Feb. 21, Tucker and his fellow contestants were rehearsing with individual vocal coaches.
The finalists chose their performance songs by Thursday, rehearsed Friday and with the band Saturday, and took a break Sunday, Tucker said. Male finalists performed Monday and watched the females perform Tuesday. Wednesday episodes of "Idol" announce the lowest vote-getters of the week.
Tucker frequently was among the contestants picked for possible elimination, only to be told several times that he had survived that week's
voting. He said although he's not sure if this was a coincidence or if the show's producers had specific reasoning for constantly singling him out, it may have worked to his advantage.
"They never tell you what will happen with the votes," Tucker said. "It might have scared people into thinking that I was [at the bottom] and maybe they voted for me harder the next week."
With 11 contestants left on "Idol," Tucker said predicting a winner is a complicated task because of the finalists' differences in style and the unpredictability of the American voters.
"I really don't know what the breakdown is about how they vote," Tucker said. "If it's a lot of middle school girls, it'll probably be the best-looking guy up there."
According to ABC News, last season's "Idol" finale attracted more than 65 million votes. Even with such a broad national audience, Tucker said he became more at ease with the television performances.
"Generally speaking, you get more comfortable -
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