When Robbie Carrico was eliminated Thursday on American Idol, host Ryan Seacrest asked judge Simon Cowell to give the rocker some advice. “It’s authenticity,” Cowell said. “The public saw what we saw and that was the problem. It just never ever felt real.”
He was, of course, referring to Carrico’s image and rock sound, but he could have been referring to something else — his hair. Earlier in the week, Internet sites reported that Carrico may wear a wig. In fact, a source told PEOPLE the 26-year-old’s hairline has definitely receded. “It could be some sort of weave,” the source said. “I don’t know.” One thing the source believes: “His long hair is impossible. There’s no way he could grow that hair.”
But in a conference call Friday with reporters, the ousted contestants denied the allegations.
“I’ve been growing this hair for a very long time,” Carrico said. “It’s ridiculous that [the media] have to come up with something like that.”
Carrico also answered questions about his authenticity as a rocker. “I’ve spent the past six years working my tail off in grungy bars and pulling our own trailer with our own equipment loading it in and out and living from a van sometimes, doing all the grunt work,” said Carrico, who feels his previous work with pop music is the reason the judges had a hard time believing he was a true rocker. “Like I said before, this is me. You get what you see.” Carrico added that rock music is all he listens to while on the road.
While being a part of pop group Boyz N Girlz United was simply another job for Carrico, it was one that brought him the opportunity to date Britney Spears back in 1999 when the band opened for her tour.
“It wasn’t really that big of a deal,” say Carrico of his relationship with Spears. “We went on a couple of dates but that’s pretty much it.” Asked if he ever noticed any bizarre behavior from Spears, who’s was recently a patient at the UCLA Medical Center’s psych ward, Carrico responded, “Not at all. She was always real down to earth. She’s a really good girl.”
Though Carrico’s time on Idol was short-lived, he hopes to be able to record a new album soon and shop it around to record companies. So far, things look promising. According to Carrico, he’s already had a couple of offers. –Alondra Hernandez
F. Micelotta/American Idol 2008/Getty
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