Idol's ''Violent'' Singer Speaks

American Idol fans know Matt Rogers as the big dude who crooned "What You Won't Do for Love" very loudly. America voted him into the finals, but he didn't win much favor from the unimpressed judges. Here, the cheery 25-year-old mortgage banker from L.A. tells TV Guide Online whassup with his singing shortcomings — and his ugly words against Simon!

TV Guide Online: Did you expect to make it as a finalist?
Rogers: Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised, as you saw on my face. I thought Lisa [Leuschner] did a good job, and I knew it was gonna be close. You can't imagine them calling your name, but at the same time, you can't imagine being voted off.

TVGO: America voted for you, but the judges weren't so nice.
Rogers: It's definitely discouraging. You know that nine times out of 10, if Randy and Paula are giving you something bad, then Simon's gonna be that much worse. As soon as Simon was done with me, I felt like a little peon. He said, "That performance was a 3 out of 10." It's in my head every night.

TVGO: Yikes! Is that why you told Ryan Seacrest you wanted to "make Simon's head bleed"?
Rogers: Yeah, I was joking, though. A lot of people got offended by that. They're like, "Why is he so violent? He's just a dumb, violent jock and that's all he knows." That wasn't the case at all. I knew the whole Simpsons spoof was coming, so it was a segue leading in to that.

TVGO: The AI producers told you to plug Simon's Simpsons guest spot? We knew reality TV was rigged.
Rogers: They don't tell you what to say, but they definitely say, "Hey, let's make some jokes about Simon right here." So I say I want to make his head bleed — and that other girl says he's sexy, which really made me look stupid.

TVGO: Well, we wouldn't think you fancied Simon that way. Not that there's anything wrong with that!
Rogers: Actually, I do find him sexy.

TVGO: So can we trust that, in the future, you will not harm Simon?
Rogers: People shouldn't take my comments so seriously. I might hug him, like I did Ryan.

TVGO: How could you do more to win the judges' approval in upcoming performances?
Rogers: I have to find a song that's non-stop powerful. Big notes throughout the whole song. You only get a minute and a half to sing, so you don't want part of it to be low key and boring.

TVGO: Some of your non-fans accuse you of being tone deaf. How do you respond to that?
Rogers: There's definitely things I have to improve on. I'm not tone deaf. I have heard myself go off key. I have heard myself be flat or too sharp. Our singing coach Deborah Byrd said my biggest problem is my breathing. As soon as I conquer my breathing, I'll be just fine. That's what I'll focus on in my downtime from the show.