'They want their people to win,' says Paterson's Wé Ani after 'American Idol' loss

Voters gonna vote.

That, pretty much, is how Wé Ani is shrugging off the "American Idol" loss last Sunday that had many of her fans fuming. "Rigged," some of them said.

"You want to know what it is? I think it's not even that they wouldn't vote for me," said Ani, the Harlem-born, Paterson-raised singer who got all the way to the Top 5 — before devotees of Megan Danielle, Iam Tongi and a Stetson-hatted Colin Stough outvoted her own fans.

Wé partisans, who perceive a rural bias on the part of "Idol" voters that might have hurt her, have taken to calling the show "American Country Idol." But Wé sees it differently.

"It's like when people can acknowledge that this food is really good, it looks great, I'm sure it tastes great, but I want to go with something else — I want my favorite meal," she said.

"I think the reason I didn't get the votes is because people saw the people they wanted to win. There are a lot of people in middle America that are watching the show. They want their people to win," Wé said. "That's completely understandable. I completely get it."

Wé Ani wowed 'American Idol' judges

Even with her loss Sunday, "American Idol" has in a bigger sense been a win-win.

She wowed judges Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan and Katy Perry on Sunday with her renditions of "Into the Unknown" from "Frozen II" and Miley Cyrus' "The Climb." She's won millions of new fans since "American Idol" began its 21st season in February.

And to top it off, she hasn't actually left the show.

She'll be back this Sunday for a guest-star appearance on the three-hour season finale (8 p.m. ABC). She'll be singing a duet. What, and with whom, is a state — or at least network — secret.

"I can't tell you who it is," she said (signs point to Jazmine Sullivan). "But I can only say it's a very iconic singer and one of the most skilled vocalists I've ever seen in my life. It's extremely exciting."

Besides, winning isn't everything on "American Idol." Jennifer Hudson, Clay Aiken and Adam Lambert are among the future stars who did not come in first. Hudson finished in seventh place on Season 3, and look at her now.

"She immediately went into 'Dreamgirls' and has been hitting the ground running ever since," Wé said.

In any case, Wé had a career before "American Idol" — and she'll have one after.

She's been on a roll since 2016 — when she wowed TV audiences on "The Voice" as a 17-year-old, then billing herself as Wé McDonald (she placed third). Since then she's released singles ("Heads Up High," "White Chocolate"), written a children's book, "The Little Girl with the Big Voice," and performed at venues such as Joe's Pub in New York.

Wé Ani's new single

Her next local appearance will be July 4 in Overpeck County Park in Ridgefield Park. Meanwhile, on Friday, she's dropping a new song, available on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music.

It's called "175 LBS" — a collaboration with Grammy-winning producer Oak Felder, who has worked with Usher and Demi Lovato. "Pop producer royalty," Wé calls him.

"The first line is 'I lost 175 pounds, and I don't even look that different,'" she said.

Really? A song about weight loss? Not how you're thinking.

"Of course, people immediately think, 'She lost weight,'" Wé said. "Yes, but it's losing the weight of another person. So it's like you have somebody in your life, and then you put them out of your life, you set a proper boundary. Not just a lover. It could be 175 pounds of a friend. It could be 175 pounds of a family member. And it could be 175 pounds of yourself — self-doubt, emotional baggage. It's about just feeling free, feeling a lot lighter, and being able to prosper because of it.

"Setting up proper boundaries in all aspects of life, including with yourself, is actually what helps you to grow. I think we can all relate to a time when we feel like we lost 175 pounds of something."

Where is Wé Ani of 'American Idol' from?

One bit of weight she's not about to slough off is her connection to Paterson, where she grew up. Even though she's been branding herself, on TV, as more of a Harlemite.

Harlem is where she was born, she points out. But even though she grew up in Paterson, and still lives there part-time, she doesn't necessarily feel like the most appropriate spokesperson for the Passaic County seat. For one thing, she went to school elsewhere (including Harlem School of the Arts).

"The last time I was on 'The Voice' I mentioned Paterson heavily," she said. "I mentioned them every time, every which way. But I feel like I couldn't do a proper representation of Paterson, because my house is there — definitely — but I didn't go to school in Paterson, I didn't play in any of the parks. I was going to schools in different places in New Jersey and New York, like small private schools. I feel I'd be doing a disservice."

Origin story: Listen to 'The Wé McDonald Story' podcast on iTunes

What she'd really like, she says, is to make public appearances in Paterson when she's in a position to do some good.

"Every time there's an event I'm there, if you want me to represent Paterson," she said. "But I don't feel very deserving at this point in time. Because there's a lot going on in Paterson — and what people really need now is to feel safe, and feel heard. I don't feel like I'm the one who's going to fix that immediately because I'm getting the key to the city.

"I want to really be able to get in there. Open up different organizations that are going to help Paterson — nonprofits, after-school programs, things like that," she said. "I think that's what really matters in the community."

Watch the 'American Idol' finale

"American Idol" season finale, 8 p.m. Sunday, May 21, ABC.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: We Ani on 'American Idol' loss, voting and what's next