SR: What do we have to look forward to in your career?   

SM: You're definitely going to see me as the performer. Once you're on American Idol, you really can't escape the performance aspect of the industry, so I'm excited about that. Secondly, I'll definitely be writing for myself, and down the line, I'll be writing for other people. ... I feel like whether I'm writing about relationships, or about life, or about trials, or about my faith or whatever it is, I have a certain depth that I can bring to my lyrics and a certain honesty I bring to my lyrics that not a lot of people can.