[on his good luck charm] Someone who's been married, they have their ring. I have my beanie.

[on his biggest weakness] Time. There is never enough.

At age 9, I pulled on my dad's coattail and said, 'Dad, I think I can do that. I think I can sing.' I was already playing baseball, basketball, soccer and track! He said, 'Well, why don't you go learn a song and come back and sing it for me and we'll see if you're any good.' He thought I'd just forget about it with all the stuff I was doing. Within a week, I had the whole family together and I sang Michael Jackson's, "ABC." And my dad jaw's dropped! He said, 'Damn, Ace. Do you have anything else you want to say?' And I said, 'Yep!' And I sang "Ben." My dad said, 'Well, we'll get you with that producer and it'll just be another thing that you do.'

When I was little, my biggest fear was the dark. I was so scared of the dark! My brothers and I would run around and play video games in the late afternoon - they were good times! But if I won at a video game that would definitely not be good! I couldn't beat 'em! They would put me in the bathroom and shut the lights and lock the door! They'd tap on it going, 'Aaaaaaace.' That's what brothers are for! That dark always got me because I loved scary movies, too. And, every time I would turn off the lights, I would think Michael Meyers or Freddy Krueger was coming after me! I always thought they'd get me through my shower drain!

I'm really not afraid of anything. I guess the biggest fear I have now is lack of communication. Being so busy I really want to make sure I am able to communicate with my family, my friends, and with my fans. That's the biggest thing with everything going on. There's just so much time in a day. There's so much to do now. So, if you didn't hear it from me, I'm still trying to get you the information. And, if you heard something that wasn't from me and you think it's true, let me respond first before you believe it.

If you just remember my name, I guess I came out on top.

I've always wanted to be an escape for people, I would love to be able to be that one thing that gets you out of your 9-5, and if it's for a minutes and a half on American Idol, I'm satisfied with that.

This is my beginning point. I'm a musician through and through. I have a lot of songs up my sleeve, and I'm going to write many more. So just keep your ears open, and I'll be around.

I would step in his [Chris Daughtry] place any day of the week. Chris and I, we have a lot in common and he's a very good man. He's what you want in a marriage as far as a very direct and loyal guy. And [his wife] Deena is very lucky to have him and she knows that and she's adorable. And he and I really clicked. We clicked from the beginning just because we kind of have the same upbringing. We're big on family; we're big on people. And he, just like me, can't wait to get to the fan base. I mean, I can't wait to shake hands with my fans and give them hugs and say thank you for getting me to number seven. But any day of the week I'd step in front of a moving train for that guy.