American Idol 7 third runner-up Syesha Mercado accompanied silk-voiced crooner Seal for a performance of “Waiting for You” on the A.I Finale.

American Idol 7 Top Three finalist Syesha Mercado said goodbye to her Idol dreams on Wednesday night, but the twenty-one year old from Sarasota, Florida still has lots of hope left for the future.

“I am like a black Christina Aguilera/Alicia Keys. I can see myself putting together a Christina-type of album, like the one she recently did, and an Alicia Keys album, like the Diary of Alicia Keys. I like pop, I like R&B and I like the old school/new school thing. I am growing as an artist and evolving. I am glad I did ‘American Idol,’ because people were able to see that transition I went through. That is the beauty of doing this competition — you just learn so much.”

“I never packed my bags,” Syesha says. “They told us, ‘Pack your bags.’ I was, ‘I am not packing my bags because I don’t want to go home yet.’ If you want something, it is going to happen for you. If you want to be Top 3, you’ll be Top 3. I didn’t pack my bags because I wasn’t ready. I just talked to my family a lot. They helped me stay strong.”

Check out the petite powerhouse’s Thursday morning interview on Ryan Seacrest’s morning radio show.

Syesha Mercado “On-Air with Ryan Seacrest” Interview

Stellar performances of “Fever” and “If I Ain’t Got You” failed to sail Syesha Mercado to the American Idol 7 Season Finale. The soft-spoken singer from South Florida was eliminated on the May 14th Idol Results Show.

David Archuleta and David Cook will take the stage at Hollywood’s Kodak Theater next Wednesday night for a shot at the most coveated title in the music industry-American Idol.