FARGO - Nick Fink's run on "American Idol" ended Thursday night, and not in the most flattering of situations.
The 2009 Fargo South graduate who moved to Scottsdale, Ariz., pleaded with the judges after being told he wouldn't advance during "Idol's" Hollywood round; even though his, then, girlfriend Jacqueline Dunford did move on.
Considering "Idol" just featured the Fink-Dunford pairing as an "Idol" couple, it was the kind of manufactured drama reality TV is built around.
But Fink gave the show a little more drama as he grabbed a microphone and asked for another chance.
"If you guys would just, let me, I just want to sing some more," he said. "I just want to continue with my baby."
ADVERTISEMENT
Randy Jackson responded with "You just had one shot. You have to leave it all on the stage."
Fink left the stage, and then was shown walking out of the theater, singing more of his audition song, "New Shoes" by Paolo Nutini.
Randy's response: "No."
Today, Fink said it was tough to watch, mostly because he wasn't sure how they were going to portray him.
"I did some pretty bold things and I wasn't sure if it was going to come off as a crazy, hopeless idiot or a kid with a huge heart and a lot of passion," Fink says. "Just watching it is not the funnest thing at all. When it happened it wasn't fun either."
And though Fink and Dunford were featured as a loving couple on the most popular TV show in America, the "Idol" experience wasn't all fun for Fink.
To some, Thursday night's episode cast him as a desperate contestant. And last week some Internet chatter suggested his relationship with Dunford was contrived.
Still, despite the negative effects, Fink says he doesn't regret the "Idol" experience.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I could never regret doing it," he said rather cheerfully. "I wouldn't regret a single minute of it."
The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead and the Herald are both Forum Communications Co. newspapers.
