THE LAST GIRL ON ?AMERICAN IDOL? Season 8, 17-year-old Allison Iraheta, was booted last week during ?Rock Night? results, leaving three guys in the battle for one of the world?s most hotly contested talent tilt titles.

Ironically, her strongest suit was rock music and, voice-wise, she was one of the judges? obvious favorites, but Allison was sent packing after she earned mixed reviews for her version of Janis Joplin?s ?Cry Baby.? Paula Abdul called her ?downright fearless? but the other three judges faulted the red-haired singer for poor song choice.

?I don?t regret anything I did in the show. It definitely had to be about me feeling the song,? Allison said in an interview arranged by Star World, which airs the program in the Philippines.

Simon often said you lacked personality. In your final week, you answered back. What prompted that?
I was like, ?Okay Simon, I?m really not the kind that talks back because I respect you.? But throughout the show he was like, ?Start begging.? I just thought, ?You know what, that?s it!? It was the perfect time to stand up for myself. I was like, ?I?m not who you say I am. I?m not boring. And if you say I don?t talk, then I might as well just talk.?

After Danny Gokey?s ?Dream On? debacle, and the lukewarm review that Kris Allen received, did you expect you?d be safe?
I?d been in the bottom three so many times, I was prepared for anything. But I?m happy that I made it this far.

You got a lot of flak about things that had nothing to do with your singing, like fashion choices and hairstyles. Was that annoying?
Sort of. I was like, ?Come on, I?m singing here!? I know I took a lot of risks in the way I dressed, but I had fun with that, too.

Like you, Chris Daughtry finished fourth in the competition. Does his success inspire you?
Totally. He?s done so well, even though he didn?t make it all the way to the top. It gives me a chance, hopefully. I hope I do as well as he does.

After the tour, will you head back to high school?
I was home-schooled, so I was doing a lot of things ahead of time. I?m almost done with school. Right now I really want to continue with the ?Idol? school. It?s so much fun and I have a great teacher.

With only three singers remaining, who are you going to tell people to vote for?
They?ve got to vote for whoever they think is awesome. This competition is so crazy because everybody is so different. If you find someone you totally connect to, vote for him.

?American Idol? Season 8 airs live Wednesday and Thursday, 6 p.m., on Star World (and QTV) with same-night replays at 8 and 11 p.m.