'American Idol' Castoff Beane Shares the Show Moment He Viewed as a 'Form of Protest'

Though his American Idoljourney ended this week, 23-year-old contestant Beane is proud of the impact he made on the show.

The Pennsylvania-based wedding singer appears on Thursday's The Ellen DeGeneres Show where he opens up about feeling comfortable expressing himself on the ABC competition show.

"I think the freedom that American Idol gave me to dress how I wanted and present as an artist was super, super lovely, to really feel like myself every time I was on stage," he shares of the experience.

One moment in particular from earlier this month stands out to him. Beane had the opportunity to sing a duet with Josh Groban to the Robbie Williams song "Angels."

"We did a little pronoun shift and he was so wonderful," Beane says of Groban. "He let me sing the word 'he' instead of 'she' and it's like those tiny little moments -- it kind of correlates to painting a hand or a little bit of eyeliner, whatever -- that I think kind of acts as almost a form of protest, in a way, just changing the norm a little bit. Maybe not screaming about who I am, but those little kind of tweaks I think let people have themselves be seen."

Beane opened up about having a boyfriend on the show, and opted to sing the word "he" instead of "she" during the love song.

He said that his small hometown background almost caused him to avoid auditioning for the show all together.

"I come from a small town in central P.A., Williamsport. I love my people from Williamsport, but I definitely don't walk around there in my getup," he says, referencing his on-stage attire. "So I think anytime you put yourself out there in such a way, you're leaving yourself open for judgement and exposure and comments, but people from back home have been nothing but sweet."

American Idol is now down to the Top Nine contestants. For more from the show, watch the clip below:

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