‘American Idol’: Ramiele Malubay says good-bye

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“I made it onto the tour, so I’m really excited,” said a surprisingly upbeat Ramiele Malubay in a conference call with the media this morning. No matter how much reporters encouraged her to whine, the recently eliminated songstress had nothing but good things to say about her time on ‘Idol.’ Ramiele was also quick to disagree when one reporter suggested that Simon never warmed up to her. “Oh, Simon likes me, I know he does,” Ramiele replied, adding, “Backstage, when I left the show, he came, and he’s like ‘Cry on my shoulder’ and I’m like, ‘OK.’”

Ramiele forged an even tighter bond with fallen Idol Danny Noriega, who she hopes to both record with and live with soon. “I still talk to him every single day,” Ramiele said. “He and I, we clicked and we want to be there for each other.” Ramiele was also delighted to discuss her love of long-lost Idol Kady Malloy, saying that Kady had it rough on the show, but “she stood through everything like a warrior. ... She’s so talented. She’s gonna get far.”

So, with the departure of Ramiele, the remaining Idols lose their collective little sister. According to Ramiele, even David Archuleta, who is younger than she, would pat her on the head when he walked by. And the 4’11” singer didn’t seem to mind being dubbed the little one of the group. “I just hate wearing heels. If I don’t need to, I really don’t,” explained Ramiele, who opted not to wear heels during last night’s elimination. “And standing next to Carly in that long line, you saw how tall I really was!” She laughed.

Over the course of the call, the diminutive Idol coped with her ouster with a style and grace to rival all that fell before her. And perhaps her concerted effort to stay humble was to thank for her gracious demeanor. “You see how fame kind of gets to certain people,’ mused Ramiele, ‘and you don’t want to be that person, like, ‘Eeew, she changed.’ ‘

-- Stephanie Lysaght