AUGUSTA (WJBF) – It’s that sultry Southern rock sound that landed Warren Peay in the Top 8 of American Idol.  Tuesday on ‘Good Morning Augusta‘, the Bamberg, South Carolina native sang one of his original songs and shared a glimpse in to what life has been like these last few months.

“Well, it’s certainly been crazy. I remember Sarah, my fiancé and I, having a conversation before my audition aired and we said, ‘you know this might be our last normal weekend,” said Warren Peay, American Idol Top 8 contestant.

And it was. From Nashville to the big stage in Hollywood. Warren says it was a whirlwind.

“I still look at it sometimes and get like ‘Imposter Syndrome’ and you’re like, ‘you know, none of this happened. That wasn’t me.’ You know? And then I go back and watch it,” said Peay. 

From the very beginning, celebrity judge Lionel Ritchie pegged Warren as one of their Top 10.

“It was so cool to hear that, it was like ‘No way Lionel Ritchie said I was Top 10 material.’ And then it kind of hit me, I was like ‘okay, I can’t make him a liar, I have to live up to that,’ ” said Peay. 

He’s had a lot of incredible moments on the show, but he says one stands out even more for him.

“With Alanis, and I know we didn’t have Ed as a mentor, but Ed Sheeran was there as a guest judge at the same time. And that was just an incredible moment to be able to go out and play their songs for them,” said Peay

Warren became a celebrity to millions of American Idol fans. But through it all, he says he never lost sight of where he came from.

Warren Peay Timeline:

“It really does feel good to be able to come back to the people that love me in this little town that have supported me so much through this entire journey. And not even just Idol, but my whole musical journey you know starting years ago,” said Peay.

So where does Warren go from here?

“From here, I’d like to think we’re only going up. I’ve got some music in the works that we’re getting ready to record. We’ve got a few things going, we’ve got a few shows coming up. So we’re going to make a go at this thing and see what happens,” said Peay.