STILLWATER -- Kyle Ensley gained national attention when he appeared on the most-watched show on American television.
But the Oklahoma State University senior says there is a lot more to him than his ability to sing, which landed him a Top 50 spot on American Idol.
The Valliant native is majoring in political science and international business. At 22, Ensley still has six years to try out for the show again, but he is unsure if he will do so.
"I have this (Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs) fellowship through the Department of State," Ensley said. "It pays for grad school and it also guarantees a four-year job in the Department of State working as a foreign service officer. After grad school I will be working in an embassy somewhere as a diplomat."
The show would interfere with his academic pursuits, so it likely will wait.
If Ensley never gets back in front of judges Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson, he still has lofty goals.
For starters, he said he had never considered a career in music.
He has stated he would like to become governor. His 15 minutes of fame may give him a leg up with name recognition.
"Some people know who I am already," Ensley said. "I guess they know to watch out for me later. I hope it helps more than it hurts."
For now he is building a resume. He is the chair of the Student Government Association's Speaker's Board, external vice president of the Interfraternity Council, a member of FarmHouse Fraternity, Business Student Council, Student Alumni Board, Freshman Follies Steering Committee and Varsity Revue Steering Committee.
"They keep me pretty busy," Ensley said. I have a normal life going on. It's not like I'm always singing. I have other interests too. I don't want people to think all I can do is just sing. There's more to me than that."
Still, he had an American Idol experience he will never forget.
"I made it farther than I ever thought I would," Ensley said. "I really just tried out for fun. I wasn't like just set on pursuing a career as a singer. That really wasn't anything I ever thought about. I just really liked to sing and I loved the show so I thought I'd try out to see what it was like. I wasn't ever disappointed. I was just happy I made it that far."
He nearly made the Top 24. The way it was portrayed on television, it seemed he was the last cut. That is also his understanding.
Ensley's biggest fan on the show was Cowell, who is notorious for being the no-nonsense judge that will put politeness aside and tell the contestants the truth.
He lobbied for Ensley to advance but couldn't convince the other judges. Ensley said Cowell later told him off-camera he had meant what he said and thought he did well.
"That kind of made it worth it," Ensley said. "Even though I knew I was leaving, I left on a good note with him. At least I was never really that embarrassed by him or he never really said anything that mean. As long as I had his approval, that meant a lot to me. I knew I still could make it."
He made the Top 50 but had to wait about two months to learn if he survived the next cut. He was contractually obligated not to talk about how he had done.
During his time competing, he got to know the rest of the Top 50. He said his best friend in the group was David Cook, a Tulsan who went on to win the competition.
"We flew out of Tulsa together, like every time we were on the same flight," Ensley said. "When they did the Top 10 concert in Tulsa a few weeks ago I got free tickets. I just called David and he got me tickets. I still talk to him."
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