The morning after Janell Wheeler, Ashley Rodriguez, Joe Muñoz and Tyler Grady were eliminated from Season 9 of American Idol, they opened up about their American Idol experience on a press call.

Janell Wheeler was eliminated on the Top 24 results show, but has a positive outlook on the Idol experience and her future. Many of the semifinalists experience problems with song choice their first week out, and that’s what Janell struggled with too. “I think I knew exactly what [the judges] wanted from me,” Janell said. “I just was choosing to do it the second week. The first rehearsal with me and that song was a little more country; however, it lost a lot of its rugged sound and energy, so I did switch it back to the rocker version and I felt like it definitely pumped me up and helped me perform better. But I think that in order for me to really have secured a place to the next round, I should have gone ahead and brought the guitar out and performed a top 40 hit like ‘American Boy,’ which I was definitely planning on doing next week. But I will definitely, as I progress in my future, I will be sticking with a style that I do best, which is so close to my Hollywood audition, the most memorable one, which was ‘American Boy.’”

Janell’s most memorable moment was “elimination night for sure,” she mentioned. “But in a great way. If there was any way to go out, I’m so proud of myself in the way that I did. Several of the girls have even texted me and just said, Janell, you had so much poise, you were a class act and we look up to you and we really admire the way that you went out, and I felt like I kept it together, I sang my song better than I sang it the first time and I’m really happy with how it went. If I had to go out, I’m glad I went out that way.”

What’s next for Janell? She’s going to her parents’ in Orlando for a big family BBQ. Then she’ll head to south Tampa without plans of returning to her wine sales job. “I’ll probably just be working on my music, writing and just getting ready for the future. I’m really, really excited to work on some music coming up. I have some tricks under my sleeve.” These tricks include giving country music a refreshing take. Janell explains it as, “Nothing too over the top, I love my country music and I’m so inspired by it, but it’s a growing genre right now. I think it’s such an awesome genre to be a part of, and I would love to use a couple different styles to make it my own and really put my stamp on it.”

Ashley Rodriguez was the other girl eliminated during the Top 24 results show. Being on American Idol has helped Ashley learn what she really wants. “Idol has really shown me that now more than ever I have to fight for what I want,” said Ashley. “It was giving me a little taste of the dream and I’m willing to work hard for it, especially now that I’ve got a little glimpse of what this life is like.”

The Chelsea, MA resident is thankful for her fans. “The fans that I’ve gained in doing this show have been so wonderful from the very beginning and so supportive. I’ve seen a few of the messages since being eliminated from the show, and they’re holding on, man, and still so supportive and so loving, and I’m hoping that in the near future I’m going to have an awesome album for them and a great record and they’ll stay fans for a long time.”

Ashley has no regrets about her Idol experience because she gave 100% at all times. She is optimistic about her future. “It’s unfortunate that I’m leaving the competition so soon, but I have to believe that everything happens for a reason, the good and the bad, because that’s the glimpse of hope…and I’m taking Idol for what it is and for what it was for me, which was a great platform and an awesome opportunity and an incredible moment to sing in front of such a huge audience – 30 million people got to hear me sing and I got to share with them, so what a better way to jumpstart your career than such a huge audience on such a big platform.”

To all of Ashley’s fans she’d like to say, “Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who’s supported me, and really just made this journey so incredible for me, my friends and my family and to my city, Boston. You guys have really just banded together and stuck by me, and that’s huge for me. This will not be the last that you see of me. I’m definitely going to work hard and America will get to see me again.”

Joe Muñoz found success during his second year trying out for American Idol, and got to sing live for America. He was motivated to audition because, “I’ve just been passionate about music since I’ve been a little kid. It’s always something I feel I’ve been good at, and I just love music. The love that I have for music is what basically drew me into American Idol.”

The California kid sang Jason Mraz’s “You And I Both” and gave some reasons on why he chose to sing that song. “I just love the song. I think it’s a wonderful story to tell and it’s just a beautiful story, and I love the song personally also. And I really look up to Jason Mraz as a performer, so – it was the perfect song for me.”

What kind of artist does Joe want to be? “I really love pop music, so I’m just a pop guy, and I see myself doing a pop record,” he said. “Also, there’s a lot of artists doing a lot of things right now, so I really want to be that kind of artist, just being in musical theater, on TV, and make records for people.”

Joe formed many friendships while on Season 9. “It’s just that everybody is so cool. I mean, they’re all really good friends and – everybody’s so different, but they’re all really, really nice.”

This isn’t the last you’ll hear of Joe – “I just wanted to tell everybody that I will keep on trying and that you will definitely hear more about me in the future.”

Tyler Grady was the final contestant sent home during the Top 24 results show. After Tyler’s first performance, the judges recommended that he changes up his style. The 1970s aficionado said, “If I would have made it through to another week, it would have been due to a fan base that appreciated what I was doing, so I probably would have just stuck to my guns and performed in the same style I’ve been performing in. I may have chosen a more recent rock song, but you wouldn’t have seen me coming out in baggy jeans and wearing a headset microphone. I wouldn’t have been changing my performance style at all.”

The Pennsylvania native had never been to California before the show, and he shared what it was like to perform on TV saying “it’s certainly stressful. As a contestant on the show, you really do begin to realize just how difficult it is to be in a situation like that. It really made me appreciate performers that do television, because I’ve never been in that situation until Idol, and it’s really a different ballgame.”

Tyler has no hard feelings about leaving the show and appreciates what American Idol has provided him with. “One thing the show has done is educate me. I mean, American Idol is one of the best education programs you can possibly get into, and you can’t buy into it, you have to audition for it, and it’s very difficult to get into. But there’s no better school for the entertainment industry than American Idol. I mean, we literally had the best of the best as far as the band. Rickey Minor and the band are incredible, the backup singers, the production crew, the producers – everyone is top of the line and you get a phenomenal crash course on the entertainment business.”

From this point on, Tyler plans on going back to his band. “I would just like to say to all my fans and the viewers of the show that I’m going to be working with my band, Wailing Waters, and hopefully if all goes well we’ll be releasing a record and performing, so keep an eye out for us.”

View photos of Janell, Ashley, Joe, and Tyler during the Top 24 results show, here.