Phillip Phillips On His Health, Girlfriend, Music & The Lesson He Learned Winning Idol

Phillip Philips won “American Idol’s” Season 11, but he admitted to Access Hollywood on Thursday that there were times during the competition that he thought of leaving the show.

“Yeah, there was a time or two,” he told AccessHollywood.com’s Laura Saltman of his thoughts about quitting due to his kidney situation. “But, I had great doctors and loving family and friends and just people who also help out with the show, just help you out, so it was good to have those people around to keep you in and keep you going.”

The 21-year-old revealed he’s been having trouble with kidney stones for about a year, and a stent was put in around the time the live performances started on Season 11 of “Idol.”

“I have to get all that fixed and what not,” Phillip told Laura, who was exclusive with the star as he travelled to Access Hollywood on Thursday.

The young man admitted he was in a little bit of pain from kidney stones during the two-night finale on FOX, but the night of his win, “was actually, a really good day,” he said.

Phillip had additional help from his girlfriend, who is involved in the medical field.

“She’s actually going to school for nursing, so that’s exactly the perfect job for her,” he smiled.

It was “Idol” host Ryan Seacrest who first revealed on national television that Phillip has a lady in his life, but the singer told Laura that his girlfriend isn’t worried about the female fans smitten with her beau.

“She knows I’m not really about all that stuff,” Phillip said. “If girls like me ‘cause I’m cute, and they find out I have a girlfriend or something and they don’t like me then, it wasn’t about the music. So I’d rather be all about the music. I’d rather not be successful being that way, than being cute and being successful.”

The “American Idol” was surrounded by his family after his win on Wednesday’s broadcast, and although his parents went to great lengths to fly out to Los Angeles and support him, they aren’t expecting a financial windfall following his win. Instead, Phillip said his parents want to make sure their son sets himself up.

“I’m gonna help my family out when I can, but they also want me to take care of myself first and get my own life together, and get my feet on the ground. [I’ll] help them out whenever they need it, but they also told me they want me to take care of my business first,” he said.

Phillip said he is truly thankful for all the support from his hometown and fans across the globe, and he felt his “Idol” journey came with a lesson worth sharing.

“Watching all these people say, ‘It’s unreal,’ and everything, and ‘Never give up on your dream,’ — it’s true,” he said. “You can’t give up, no matter what it is. Whether it’s singing, whether it’s soccer… [or] anything else, you just gotta chase after it.”

Catch more with Phillip Phillips Thursday night on Access Hollywood.

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