Singing SC teen Caleb Kennedy has one word for ‘American Idol’ experience: ‘Cool.’

Everyone who knows South Carolina teen Caleb Kennedy or has watched him on “American Idol” is aware of just how much he loves his mom.

He’s talked about her on the show, and Anita Guy has been shown a couple of times from their home in Roebuck. She wasn’t able to make the trip to Los Angeles due to work duties, but last week mother and son were reunited after a month and a half in the happiest of all places, Disney World.

“I miss her so much,” Kennedy said Thursday in an interview from Los Angeles. “It was an emotional moment. You’ll see it.”

Guy was there for two days recording, Kennedy said.

Videos of the top 10 contestants at Disney will air on the “Idol” episode that begins at 8 p.m. Sunday. The two-hour episode also will feature the performers singing live from Los Angeles. Three of them will be voted off by viewers.

“Cool” is the way Kennedy describes the whole experience of being on “Idol.” Cool to meet his longtime music hero, Jason Aldean, who is one of the “Idol” judges.

He said both Aldean and this week’s mentor, actor John Stamos, talked to him about stage presence. Aldean recommended putting down his guitar and just singing. Also, he told Kennedy not to worry about looking awkward.

“We all look awkward. Just have fun,” Kennedy remembers Aldean saying.

Kennedy told Stamos that it’s uncomfortable for him to look at audience members in the eye while performing. Stamos’ remedy? Look at the spotlight, people’s chins or foreheads. They’ll think you’re looking at them.

“Cool,” too, to perform live on the “Idol” stage. Kennedy went from a stage at the Fr8yard bar in Spartanburg to “Idol,” so you could say it was a whole lot bigger than a big step.

But what’s easier on “Idol”, Kennedy said, is there are no surprises to the performances, unlike playing in a small-town venue where anything can happen.

Kennedy said he is grateful for all the support from Roebuck. Care packages have been sent from Dorman High and other schools, as well as letters. One came from a second-grader who said Kennedy was like a “super cowboy,” and someone he wants to be like when he grows up.

“I almost cried,” Kennedy said. “I have big shows to fill.”

The experience has taught him many things, he said, but he knows one thing for sure.

“I could do this the rest of my life and be a happy man,” he said.