Arkansas teen to focus on music career after 'American Idol'

LITTLE ROCK (AP) — The teen from Arkansas whose "wig" moment with Katy Perry on ABC's American Idol went viral says he is moving to California to focus on his music career.

In an interview with Arkansas Online , Noah Davis of Royal said his time on the competition show helped him gain confidence and gave him the push he needed to continue pursuing a career in music.

"The show lit a fire inside of me," said Davis, who turned 19 May 5.

Davis, who took a break from studying nursing at Arkansas Tech University while he was a part of the show, was cut when the contestants were whittled down to the top 24.

When asked about how his life has changed after Idol, Davis said he has received a big amount of support through social media, family, friends and his community.

"The first week after my audition aired, I went to Walmart to buy an item and ended up staying there for more than an hour. It was really fun that people recognized me and wanted to share their support," he said.

He said that he fell in love with Los Angeles while out there for the show and plans to make the cross-country move with his best friend in the next few months.

"We are going to go be dreamers together," Davis said. "I'm ready to go make music with local producers and put great stuff out. I'm excited to have people do this journey with me," he added.

Before his move, Davis has a few events lined up in his home state, including a performance at Lake Hamilton Elementary School in Hot Springs this month.

He credits his family and church for helping him discover his talent.

"They helped grow the musician in me. I grew up singing in church with my dad, who was the worship leader, and my brother is a very talented country singer-songwriter. He has written songs that belong on radio."

When asked about who would be his dream collaboration on a song, Davis said: "My favorite artist is Beyoncé. If for some weird reason Beyoncé would want to collab with a kid from Arkansas, then I would fall out because that is amazing."