VIDEO: Was American Idol's Angie Miller as Surprised as Viewers Were By Her Elimination?

Many American Idolviewers had Angie Miller penciled in for the finale, if not the win. But after competing against Candice Glover and Kree Harrison, Angie was shockingly eliminated in third place. And she was just as surprised as the audience. 

"I felt confident in my songs Top 3 week. I thought I was going to make it," she tells TVGuide.com. "When they said that Kree was safe, it was just kind of like, 'Oh, wow, that really just happened. Oh, wow, that's what it feels like.'"

American Idol runner-up Kree Harrison: "I don't really regret anything"

But she's seeing the silver lining: Miller was able to spend more time prepping her first single, "You Set Me Free," since she didn't have to rehearse for the finale, and is able to have more control over her career now. "I get more freedom now to do what I want instead of doing what I have to do for American Idol," she points out. "So it was good and bad that night."

When we spoke to Miller earlier this week, she had a suggestion for the judges' panel that may turn out to be prescient.

VIDEO: Idol winner Candice Glover reflects on Season 12, her winning moment and "Lovesong"

"I never knew the amount of work that went into a two-hour show on Wednesday and Thursday," she admits. "I'd like to see a past American Idol contestant [on the panel], so that they really understand what this process is really like and what we do during the week — someone who gets it." 

Watch our interview with Miller below to get her thoughts on her finale performances with Adam Lambert and Jessie J, as well as why the judges' praise of her playing the piano made things difficult week to week.

 

Angie Miller's first single, "You Set Me Free," is available on iTunes. Check out all the American Idol summer tour dates here.