‘American Idol’: Fallen Idol Brooke White says goodbye

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“I never thought I had a nice voice,” admitted fallen Idol Brooke White in a conference call with the media this morning. “It wasn’t pretty. It was just this low, raspy thing.” On “American Idol,” and during the call this morning, Brooke was open about her ongoing struggle with self-confidence. “This show brings everything to the surface that’s been an issue for you,” mused Brooke, adding that she was forced to work through her insecurities “in a very public way.”

But despite her admitted “comparison issues,” Brooke is set on making it as a singer songwriter, in the proud tradition of her American idols, Carole King and Carly Simon.

Brooke actually got a chance to talk to Carly Simon this morning and couldn’t stop gushing about their conversation. “She was incredibly supportive, really generous in her comments,” Brooke emoted.

And since Brooke was eliminated on the week of the gaffe heard round the world, the questions inevitably turned to Paula Abdul. Not surprisingly, Brooke didn’t dish much dirt on the subject. She did, however, actually break out laughing when asked whether the contestants comforted Jason Castro backstage before he returned to sing his second song. “Jason’s a very laid-back guy,” chuckled Brooke. “He was OK.”

And speaking of laid-back guys, Brooke couldn’t say enough great things about her “very laid-back” husband. “I’ve been really lucky to find a guy who could hang with me through this,” explained Brooke, who also confirmed that her hubby had opted not to cut his hair until Brooke got the boot. Brooke asked her husband, who was in the room at the time of the call, when he would be cutting his hair. “Whenever you get around to it,” he replied, in typical laid-back fashion.

And as for her tearful farewell last night, Brooke sounded regretful but certainly not surprised. “I hoped so much that I could have been stronger,” she said with a sigh, “but I’m an emotional girl,and I’m passionate.” But even though she was emotional about her ouster, Brooke was far from shocked. “I woke up Wednesday morning and I knew,” she declared. “ ‘Brooke, you’re going home.’ ”

-- Stephanie Lysaght