He’s been compared to Justin Timberlake but going the pop route isn’t his way. Matt Giraud recently shared that he hopes to go on and do a “soulful rock” album, putting “a twist of blues” on it. The American Idol finalist also mentioned the Fray and Gavin DeGraw as artists he’d like to emulate. Matt Giraud also shared that his best moment was when he received the save from the judges. He said,

“I never felt so much love in a room before. It was a really cool feeling. It was probably one of the coolest moments in my life. It made me feel real special, and I hope people think that it was worth it. I didn’t know people felt that passionately about me. One of the security guards told me he’d never heard the room get so loud, and it means a lot to hear something like that from someone behind the scenes, because they’ve heard it all.”

Another American Idol highlight for Matt Giraud was working with Smokey Robinson during this season’s Motown-themed week. He shared, “To sit there and sing a song for (Robinson) on the piano, have him tell me Marvin Gaye would have been proud to hear that version (of “Let’s Get It On”), you don’t get told that every day as a musician. I’ll never forget that.” As for bowing out of American Idol, he says: “It was a great way to go out, because going out with Simon calling you brilliant and comparing you to Nat ‘King’ Cole is pretty much the best way to go.”

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