Trent Harmon appeared shocked when he was crowned American Idol's winner Thursday night, but he apparently always saw victory in his grasp.

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Trent talked to Reality TV World on Friday about whether he was surprised to win considering many fans -- and even the judges Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick Jr. and Keith Urban -- viewed La'Porsha Renae, a 22-year-old call representative from McComb, MS, as the frontrunner all season long.

"No, ma'am, I didn't consider myself the underdog. When I auditioned in July, I didn't expect to win, but I prepared to win at every facet of this competition," Trent said.

The soulful crooner then revealed what he whispered into La'Porsha's ear at the time Idol host Ryan Seacrest made his victory announcement.

"I said to La'Porsha, 'Whatever comes out of Ryan's mouth, we're going to hug until they separate us. I don't care whose name gets called, La'Porsha, we just won a car! And you don't win cars every day. So we're going to be okay, La'Porsha.'"

Trent repeated a couple times in his final words during Season 15's finale broadcast that he "worked so hard." Scott Borchetta even told multiple news outlets recently Trent was the hardest working contestant on the show.

So when Reality TV World asked Trent what he did to go above and beyond Idol's normal requirements and rehearsal schedule, he explained, "I'd wake up, go to bed, wake up in the middle of the night -- if I am awake, I am rehearsing."

The 25-year-old waiter from Amory, MS, continued: "If I had two minutes to myself to do anything, I'm in rehearsal-mode. And, you know, I didn't even know what I was doing, but that's what it took. I was too dumb to know that I was in go-mode all the time. But it paid off!"
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.