Former Mouseketeer Tony Lucca was in fellow "Mickey Mouse Club" alum Christina Aguilera's crosshairs from the second he set foot on "The Voice" stage as a contestant.
After much back and forth, and conversation-provoking/controversial song choices by Tony's coach, Adam Levine, the 36-year-old performer - who had been highly favored to win going into the finals -- placed third on Tuesday night's finale, prompting many to wonder if the bickering backfired when it came to viewer votes.
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"I don't know. I mean, maybe the takeaway here is that America doesn't want to applaud that kind of, you know, drama or that sort of petty back and forth," he told Access Hollywood of a possible voter backlash due to his and Christina's apparent feud, following "The Voice" finale in Los Angeles on Tuesday. "[Maybe] they'd rather steer clear of that. I think maybe everybody involved has learned a lesson here -- but not at the expense of taking anything away from Jermaine Paul winning."
Does he think he and Christina could ever bury the hatchet long enough to collaborate musically?
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"I'm not going to say never, but I'll be curious if our paths cross in a collaborative fashion," he said. "She's the voice of a generation and she is an old co-worker, so I'm not going to be that guy who says no... It's water under the bridge, but I don't see a creative future there."
Despite the loss of the title, Tony said he feels his exposure on the NBC hit will help propel his career to the next level.
"It almost can't not," he told Access, when asked if he thinks his time on "The Voice" will open new doors for his musical aspirations. "I also know [that] I've been in the spotlight before and I know not to take anything for granted.
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"More importantly, you know, I came in here hoping for more exposure and a boost to my career... what I get out of it is, is an incredible like, new life creatively for me," he continued. "It just tapped into something here that I didn't see coming and I've never been more excited about getting back to the creative work space and getting out there and getting reacquainted with my fans and meeting the new fans and just building on every last opportunity this has ushered in."
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