How are you feeling?
I feel good. I'm absolutely grateful and so stoked I made the top four of Australian Idol.

What do you make of the all-boys final four?
I loved it! Those three boys, I got along with so well, and I wouldn't have had in any other way. I felt like I was with flatmates. We've all got very similar personalities and all get each other's jokes. We've just got that brotherly connection.

Why do you think the public voted for an all-male final this year?
The other guys are very sort of rock guys, and maybe they're digging that this year. I'm not quite a rock guy, but I'm doing my thing and I think people enjoyed that.

Did you have an inkling it was your time to go?
Oh yeah, for sure. Probably because I'm the hot favourite to go every single week and there's only so many lives I can have in the bottom three.

Was there any sense of competition between the final four?
No, there was no sense of competition anymore. We all made it to the top four so we thought, 'We're all winners now, lets kick some butts and catch up after the show!'

What was your biggest challenge?
The hardest thing for me was being away from my girlfriend, Shanenne. Also, trying to get it right on show night when we have such limited time with the band to rehearse. We only got to practice with the band on show day; there was no jamming during the week to get it right.

Tell us about your girlfriend. How did you meet?
Her older sister used to date my older brother when we were kids. The way it happened was she knew where I lived from years ago and was going to a party in my area and stopped by. I was having a party myself, and she ended up not going to the other party! No-one really asked each other out, after a couple of weeks we told each other our mutual feelings and it went from there. We've been together nearly four years.

You're both so young [Teale is 22, Shanenne is 21], but have you discussed marriage?
I suppose we do, like every other couple, but we're happy with our lives at the moment. I know we are young but I can easily spend the rest of my life with this girl.

Do you live together?
Not at the moment but hopefully we can do that this year.

After the ARIAs there was speculation about a romance between you and Ricki-Lee. Was there any truth to the rumour?
No, it's definitely not true. I just had a bit of a laugh about it actually. It's so weird it came about. I still barely even know Ricki-Lee. Everyone in the show only gets to see her on the Sunday and Monday, we're so busy during the week. We all get along with her really well. I think the fact we're both from the Gold Coast triggered it.

How did Shanenne take it?
Obviously at the start she was sort of confused, but I explained it to her and she had a laugh and we were like, 'What people do for a bit of a chat', and we're all sweet.

Of all the celebrities you got to meet during the show, who was your favourite?
I got along with Chris Issaak and Darren Hayes really well. I felt like one of the boys, just having a chat. Chris told me he was a big fan and actually asked me if I'd done any acting before. I said, 'Mate, where did you get that?' and he said it was the way I talk and hold myself. I said I'd have to play an Aussie bogan! Acting has never been my forte. But if some pretty cool role came up that I could still be myself in than I would think about it!

What's next?
Over the next couple of weeks I'll be rehearsing for the finale, then I'd love to spend a bit of time with my girlfriend, and then get out there and do some gigs. Hopefully I'll get the call to sit around the table and talk about some future plans with some important people! Releasing an album would be a dream come true.

Who would you like to see win?
Before last night I would've put my house on Wes, but now it's really tough because they're all great. Whoever wins I'm going to be happy because they'll all deserve it.