Didi Benami was the next contestant to be eliminated from “American Idol” and the third finalist to be cut from the Top 12. The 23-year-old waitress from Los Angeles, CA, shared her thoughts in a recent conference call. Excerpts are below.

Q: Were you at all prepared for the scrutiny you faced while you were on the show, and how did you deal with it all?

Benami: No, actually I wasn’t prepared for that. I was not an avid American Idol watcher, so I didn’t really know what to expect. Honestly, I was just being myself, and I did stuff that meant something to me, and I also had a good time. So, I wasn’t expecting that, no, but I am okay. I dealt with it, and it’s actually interesting because it was a lot like my Los Angeles experience. You get kicked down; you got to get back up again and start over. It’s not anything I haven’t dealt with before. So, no big deal.

Q: So how do all the contestants get along with one another this season?

Benami: Everyone seems to get along pretty well. I think everyone’s doing their own thing and everybody respects that and it’s kind of like separate little families in all of our apartments and everything. It was really nice. Actually, I really enjoyed spending time with some of them. I think that they are really, really great people, so I am really happy and really enjoyed meeting all of them. And yes, it was really nice.

Q: Tell us first of all, what is your day job when you’re there? And, have you made some kind of inroads in either music or modeling or acting? Describe the experience in general.

Benami: Oh boy!  It’s crazy. I moved out here when I was 19, and I’ve had crazy roommates and all sorts of ridiculous experiences where I moved around a lot. There were points where I didn’t even have a place to live, and I was living out of my car, and it’s been rough. I wanted to do some entertainment, and I wanted to sing and do Rebecca’s songs, and I somehow managed to find my way along the way because I didn’t really know what I was doing, other than I moved out to LA and was trying to pursue what I loved.

And, I just faced a lot of ridiculous hardships. I was waiting tables and it’s never predictable. I switched jobs many times. It’s never really been a stable environment for me, ever, living out here until just recently, and then my life got uplifted again. And, it’s a crazy experience in L.A., and you get kicked down a lot.  I taught myself how to play guitar and write out everything that was bothering me or anything that I had on my mind and couldn’t say in reality to somebody because I wanted to be nice. And, I was able to start writing songs and meet people that wanted to co-write and from there, just really started honing (I can’t find the words I am so tired) and just started working on my skills and trained myself to write and took voice lessons. I worked really, really hard to get where I am, so I am just really grateful that I had the opportunity to be on American Idol in the first place because it’s a great platform for me to be able to get my music out there and to continue my song writing and my love and my passion and what I was put here to do. So, it’s really amazing.

Q: Can you speak about any relief and acceptance you felt by making the Top 10 and anything else you felt about it?

Benami: Yes. I am relieved. I get to go on tour. I don’t have to work as a waitress anymore, which is nice. I get to do what I love more than anything, and it’s just amazing, like the fans that are already reaching out and supporting. It’s amazing. It’s a blessing and yes, it is a relief. It’s a relief to know that I will be able to make a living at what I love to do over the summer, and hopefully, for the rest of my life. So, yes, it’s been a really, really awesome experience, and I am relieved, yes.

Q: It’s been a real emotional time for you during the last several weeks. You’ve cried a lot. You’ve cried during your singing. People have been talking a lot about that … Is this emotion, has this been a release for you emotionally, or is this just the way you are ordinarily?

Benami:  Music is definitely therapy for me. It’s therapeutic and I do it as a release, and it’s who I am.  And it’s funny because the cameras always catch me whenever I am emotional, which sucks because I am not always emotional. I’ve actually been pretty strong through this whole thing. It’s just whenever something happens or I break down, it’s unfortunately right when there’s a camera in my face. But, it’s been an amazing ride, and of course, it’s been emotional because this is something that I’ve always wanted to do and reaching that place that I got to on the show was a really amazing thing for me, and it was a really big accomplishment. That was emotional for me because you work so hard, and you just try to believe and keep the faith and imagine and just know that good things will come, and when they finally do, it’s like almost in disbelief, and it’s a really amazing opportunity, and it brought me to tears, so ….

Q: And just quickly, how long ago was it that you were living in your car?

Benami: Oh God! Well there are several different occasions.  Probably within the first year that I was here I would say, it was, let’s see, because I moved five or six different times when I first moved out here in 2006, so it was between 2006 and 2007. 

Q: I wanted to ask you about something Kara said to you during the judging.  She said that she felt like you had lost your way.  What was your reaction to her saying that?  Did you understand what she was saying?  Did you agree?  What was your opinion on that?

Benami: I don’t feel like I lost my way.  I feel like they wanted me to do something specific every week and I kind of went out on a limb several different weeks and I did different things and they weren’t expecting it, and it was kind of a surprise.  Just to show that I can do other things.  I am a singer/songwriter and I have that, but I also tap into every single emotion that I have and that I do very well.  That’s something that is artistry.  Through these songs I was just showing a different side to myself.  It probably wasn’t necessarily the side that they wanted to see, but I have them and I think everybody does.  So, I was just being me and that’s really all I can say.

I appreciate Kara, though.  I think she was trying to, I think that they were all trying to be really helpful and I was just doing my thing and it wasn’t exactly what they had kind of planned out for me, I guess.  But I just wanted to show a different side of myself. It’s not every day you get to sing in front of 30 million people and I just wanted to do different things and not do the same thing every week, to show that I can do other things and I am diverse. 

Q: I was just wondering what kind of music do you hope to be making in the future?  What sort of an artist do you see yourself being?

Benami: Didi music.  I’m going to do my thing.  I’m going to do singer/songwriter type of, like acoustic, low key, chill, relaxing music.  I’m going to put my heart into what I do, like I do every time.  It’s me and I can, it’s like acoustic, I guess, all acoustic kind of fusion stuff.  A little jazz, a hint of bluegrass, a little bit of everything that I’ve experienced in my life.

Q: Last night (the judges) had a lot of hesitation and it seemed like they were seriously considering (saving you).  What was it like waiting to hear whether you were going to be saved?

Benami: It was tough.  You know, the whole crowd was chanting and that was pretty cool, but ultimately, regardless, I kind of felt like I was going home.  I thought it would be cool if they exercised the option to let me stay and I wanted to come back next week in Beatles week and be great.  But regardless of what happened, I was kind of in the head space like I was okay either way.  I’m not really worried, I’ve had amazing support from everybody and it’s just been a really crazy, cool ride.  I’m happy because I’m going on tour and I have a lot to look forward to, so I’m not at all distraught about anything.  I want to put a record together and I want to get my music out there, too.  I’m okay with it.