" American Idol [ tickets ]" contestant Anoop Desai may have given props to his hometown of Chapel Hill, NC, upon his Wednesday (4/22) elimination, but he has no immediate plans to return to grad school there.

"I'm definitely going to pursue a music career," Desai said during a Thursday (4/23) teleconference with reporters. "If I learned nothing else from this experience, it is that singing is what I am the happiest doing. I think it’s what I do the best. So, I'm definitely looking forward to releasing that pop/R&B album. I really like the things, for instance, that Ne-Yo is doing right now. I think that's the direction--obviously not a copycat, but I'm really interested in pursuing that direction in music.

"One of the best comments I got from the judges was Kara [DioGuardi]'s for this last performance when she said that she could hear that song on the radio. That's really what I was striving for with the fast section of "Dim All The Lights." We put it to a very modern, almost electronic beat. That's the type of music that I feel most comfortable with and I look forward to making in the future."

Desai was eliminated along with Memphis-bred Lil Rounds. She was considered one of the favorites at the beginning of this season's "American Idol," but in recent weeks, before her Wednesday elimination, the judges were turning harsh on her. Still, she took it all in stride.

"I felt like they were giving me constructive criticism to improve me," Rounds said. "There were times I felt like they would go back and forth a bit, but it was OK because, in the end, I'm going to take everything that they gave me and push forward with it because I will definitely have some albums to come out. The things they gave me is going to help me to make that a great success."