Bice Says He's Glad He Lost 'Idol' Final

Three weeks after being defeated by Carrie Underwood in the finals of "American Idol," Bo Bice says he's happy he lost.

"People ask me, 'What were you thinking while you stood there waiting for them to announce the winner?'" Bice says in the issue of Rolling Stone magazine on newsstands Friday.

The answer?

"Please, God, don't let me win this thing."

Bice claims he never wanted the Idol crown to tarnish his Southern rock rep.

"The label 'American Idol' was not for me. I'm not a pop person. It would have been harder to play my kind of music if I had won," says the 29-year-old Alabama native.

In the May 25 finale, the long-haired rocker failed to bring in as many votes as Underwood, who won over audiences with her country charm. But runners-up on the Fox show have done well in the past most notably Clay Aiken.

This fall, Bice will record an album with producer Clive Davis, due out by year's end. He hopes to persuade Davis to include a few of his own tunes.

"I would rather put out an album of my own songs, and if it flops, it flops."

After all, Bice feels like he's playing with house money at this point.

"I just came in (to 'American Idol') being myself," he says. "And for some crazy reason, that's what people were wanting. Which is why I am truly the guy who's the most freaked out about everything that's happened."

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