Season 8's Matt Giraud put his stamp on last season. The dueling piano player received one of the wild cards to enter the finals. After several successful weeks in the competition, Matt surprisingly received the fewest votes during Songs from the Cinema week. When Matt had the opportunity to sing for his life post-elimination, the judges were so moved that they used the first ever "save" on him. Since his time on American Idol, Matt has been busy working on his music. Matt took the time out of the busy holiday week to open up exclusively to AmericanIdol.com.

Matt is spending the holidays back in the Detroit area, and taking a break from working for a short while. What was on Matt Giraud's Christmas wish list? "For the first time I have the simple things," Matt said. As for his 2010 resolutions, he plans on working out again, buckling down, getting his music out there, and touring.

Last week, Matt tweeted a video of his brand new original song "4 AM." He said he's working on releasing a record, and shared, "I'm writing tons with some of the best people in the country and I hope to put out an EP to send out to labels. I have no definite plans, but I'd like to include my top four or five songs."

On January 29, 2010, Matt will perform his first solo concert at the Forest Hills Fine Arts Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a location that's just an hour away from where Matt lives. Performing a concert there means Matt's career has come full circle, as he explains, "I auditioned for West Michigan Idol in that auditorium. I didn't make it and now to have this opportunity is my full circle moment. This will be the first time I have a band instead of it just being me and a piano. I'll get to showcase a lot more of my original music, including four or five new songs. I talked to Paula Abdul and she might come out to the show."

As Matt and I were talking about life in Michigan, he was standing at baggage claim on his trip from Nashville to Michigan, and had to excuse himself from our interview for a moment to take a picture with a fan. After that one eager fan broke the ice, many people began to approach Matt for pictures and autographs, and he took the time to greet each fan that came up to him. Matt explained that he just flew back from a little show he played in Nashville. "Last night, I got to sing 'Bless The Broken Road' with the guy who wrote the song." He also said that a few fans drove 1.5 hours to see the show and got there late and missed the whole thing, so he gave them a private show because he appreciated the fact that they tried so hard to come to the concert.

Matt has also been tapped to host the online reality singing competition, Make the Cut. "It's a pretty different experience to be on the other side of a competition. It's fun and nerve wracking to tell people how they sing. I've been working with vocal coaches for so long, it was different to become one."

Does Matt still keep in touch with his Season 8 pals? "Yes, I keep in touch with Anoop, I saw Danny this week in Nashville, Adam texts me, I talk to Megan, I just talked to Scott the other day…almost all of them. Kris just texted me too. It's nice because no one has really changed since Idol."

With a new season of American Idol just two weeks away, Matt recommends the following to the Season 9 hopefuls: "People should just be themselves. Don't try and fit a box. Talk about what is special about you. Think about what makes you different from everyone else, but don't be someone you're not."

Matt's fans have campaigned very hard in the social media world to get Matt Giraud a record deal. To his fans, Matt declares, "You guys really blow my mind. You inspire me more than you'll ever know. I appreciate and respect them. I care about them. I hope I can get a record deal and share my music with my fans." His supporters won't have to wait too long to hear more from Matt – "Look out for my single with jazz singer Anna Wilson this February or March. We recorded a duet to the song 'You Don't Know Me.'"

Matt Giraud had one of the most memorable American Idol journeys in the show's history. View photos from his time on Season 8.