Season 22 runner-up Will Moseley has nothing but love for the American Idol judges.
“Everyone always wants to know, ‘Who was the coolest judge? Who was this? Who was that?’ They’re all so great in their own unique way,” Moseley, 23, exclusively told Us Weekly at CMA Fest on Saturday, June 8. “Me and Luke [Bryan] have a fishing trip planned out that we haven’t cashed in on yet.”
Moseley noted that Lionel Richie was “super cool,” adding, “He made sure that I knew that if I ever needed anything, he was a phone call away. If there was any advice or anything in general, that he would be there.”
Katy Perry “was the same way,” according to Moseley. Even with Perry’s career ramping up after her exit from the reality singing competition, Moseley planned to keep in touch with her.
“She’s going on tour. She’s gonna start playing more shows,” he said. “And I said, ‘Katy, I would love to come to one of your shows.’ And she said, ‘Anytime you see that we’re gonna be close by, let us know. We’ll get you in.’”
Moseley said he’s looking forward to future endeavors with the judges. “Each one of them had their own thing, and they’re so supportive in their own unique ways,” he said. “And I’m excited to see kind of how we work with all three of them in the future.”
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While on American Idol, he had the opportunity to meet Jelly Roll — and Moseley is still starstruck from the pinch-me moment.
“On the show when I first met Jelly Roll, when I told him who I was, he was like, ‘Oh man, I’ve heard your name,’” he said. “And that to me was huge. I was like, ‘Nah, man, you don’t have to lie to me.’ And he’s like, ‘No, I’m serious. Like, I’ve heard your name.’”
He continued, “That was a super cool moment to just think that someone as big as Jelly Roll had already been introduced to what I had going on.”
While interacting with stars has been a plus, Moseley added that he’s been enjoying meeting his fans, too.
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“People pick me out of crowds,” he said. “It’s been a really cool experience just to get people recognizing me and all of the attention that comes with that. And it’s been so cool to just get to meet all of these people who have voted all this time.”
Moseley noted that there would be 15-20 million votes sent in, which he associated with “a wave of people.” But to “shake the hands of each one of those people who were like, ‘Hey, every week I sent in my 30 votes for you,’” meant “so much” to him.
Back home in Georgia, Moseley said the people he’s been sitting next to at restaurants his “whole life” are now wanting autographs, pictures and asking about his upcoming plans.
“It’s the people I grew up around and spent my whole life with, and now they look at me as [if] I’m something special,” he said. “It’s cool and it’s a little bit weird at the same time. I’m like, ‘Look, I’m still Will, I’m the same guy you’ve known this whole time.’”
Following his stint on American Idol, Moseley opened up for Zac Brown Band — and he’s ready to keep the good vibes going.
“I wanna keep releasing music and just keep the ball rolling,” he said.
Reporting by Jeremy Parsons