'Idol' Constantine Keeps Rocking

There are just five contestants left on "American Idol" after another favorite was eliminated last week: Constantine Maroulis.

The 29-year-old heartthrob from New York, who was known for his long hair and sly smile, sang his final song of the competition.

"Anything can happen week to week. I had a great run, a great time," Maroulis tells The Early Show co-anchor Rene Syler.

His departure shocked even judge Paula Abdul, who said in disbelief, "This seems to happen every single season. I can't even speak, I'm so shocked."

But it didn't come as a surprise for Maroulis. He says, "In all honesty, I just prepared myself every week to go home. I never thought I'd even ever get this far."

As for Abdul's reaction and that of his fans, he says, "When you're given an opportunity like this, you're just thankful for the chance to get out there and do my thing. Paula has been amazing to all of us, really. She's an inspiration to all the young artists. She was such a huge rock star. And to have those nice things said about you from someone as prominent as her, it's awesome."

No stranger to the stage, Maroulis is quite the performer. He started singing at the young age of 5, knows how to play the trumpet, has been involved in plays and musicals, was an undergrad at the Boston Conservatory for three years; and has his own band. All contributing factors for allowing him to shine as a rock 'n' roller on "American Idol."

"I definitely have some experience and trying to do this for a long time," he says. "And just psyched to get out there and have such a huge audience to communicate to. I think that's every young artist's dream."

And even though he is out of the competition, he is pleased with the way he performed Tuesday night his rendition of Nickelback's "You Remind Me," and has no regrets.

He says, "I just kind of wanted to go out there and bring it back to my roots, to the rock 'n' roll a little bit. I think I had shown a decent range in the last few weeks and what I could do. And I was excited about the song. But you just never know what can happen in a competition."

Before "Idol," Maroulis says he was just focused on his band. In August of 2004, he was touring with the show "Rent" around the world and after that he decided to audition for the musical talent show.

After "Idol," he says, "I want to be one of those guys who does a little bit of everything. Hopefully, not too much, but you know, I'm a singer and an actor. I love my band, Pray For The Soul Of Betty. We're going to do some gigs, get back into the studio. Looking at some acting stuff now. It's been awesome."