AceShowbiz -

Casey Abrams' journey on "American Idol" came to an end on Thursday night, April 28. The day after on Friday morning, April 29, the aspiring singer from Idyllwild, California answered post-elimination questions during a conference call with reporters, and admitted that he might have growled too much.

Asked about mentor Jimmy Iovine's "the family dog does not vote on this show" comment, the 20-year-old responded, "Honestly, it's hilarious, and it is good advice." He continued, "I listen back, and I think I was growling a little bit too much. I was having more fun than paying attention to what was going on musically. You've got to have that good balance, and I don't think I had that balance that time."

Having dialed back his growling following his Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," performance back in March, Casey fell back into his old ways in recent weeks. Of it, he said, "It is kind of how I sing when I don't think about. I think that's a good place to be, when you don't think about how you sing. Maybe the Maroon 5 and 'Hi-De-Ho' needed it, but I think maybe I gave it a little bit too much. It's a gray area, so it's hard to define what's a good growl and what's a bad growl."

Seemingly in high spirit, the contestant who was saved from elimination by the judges back in March said he was actually "feeling really good" a day after his elimination. He insisted that he didn't get upset about the result. "I felt really good even afterwards," he claimed. "Maybe I'll break down crying some other time. But right now, I feel really good about what happened last night."

During the conference call, Casey also made time to clarify rumors suggesting he is likely to be in a relationship with fellow contestant Haley Reinhart. Asked about his shout-out to Haley at the end of his final performance, he stated, "I was saying goodbye to my very special musical friend. That's all it was." He went on to deny they are a couple, before adding they "were never dating."

As for his final performance, he explained, "What was going through my mind was just, 'Make this good.' I was completely on random mode. I didn't plan on ending up on Haley, it just happened. Nothing was planned, and that's what I think sometimes in the best performance. Like, in jazz, when you improvise and play a different solo each time, it's the best feeling in the world."