"I feel like I won the show since I lost the show," Jennifer Hudson says.

You may have heard that Hudson was sent home on Wednesday (April 21) night's "American Idol." You may also have heard that the situation surrounding that departure was, let's just say "contentious."

Two days after Hudson left the "Idol" stage surrounded by her weeping fellow finalists, the 22-year-old Chicago native is facing her future with optimism, but while she denies disappointment, it's clear that a bitter taste remains in her mouth.

The official "American Idol" web site dismisses any kind of controversy, declaring, somewhat misleadingly, "In the round of seven, Jennifer wasn't able to handle the music of Barry Manilow." Hudson disagrees, joining her vocal legion of fans in maintaining that her exit was premature.

"I don't think it was based on talent," she declares. "If we're gonna base it on talent, I know I was robbed. I don't think ... I don't know exactly what it was based on, but I don't think it was talent at all."

Although she quickly skips over suggestions that race may have played a role ("Talent has no color," she explains) she knows for a fact that she lost votes because of storms that caused power outages in Chicago. It wasn't until after Wednesday night's show that Hudson's mother confessed that she had been unable to vote on Tuesday night and that several of her siblings had also experienced a lack of cell phone reception.

"That storm was a sign from God that it's time to remove you from this place," says the religious Hudson. "I feel like He spoke and when He's got something to say, I ain't got nothing to say about it."

One person she refuses to blame is 16-year-old John Stevens, the carrot-top crooner who has been at the center of debate for weeks due to the popularly held perception that he isn't good for this level of competition. Hudson confirms that the past few Wednesdays, Stevens has been heard saying that he should have been going home.

"We all feel he deserves to be there. We all deserve to be there," Hudson declares. "I don't think he should feel that way. He has fans, just like we do, and obviously they're voting."

Hudson's frustration isn't that John Stevens' fans flood the phone with their votes every Tuesday, but that other contestants' fans are slower to show their support. Then again, Hudson is of the opinion that she wasn't getting enough love throughout the competition.

"I never really received any of my props or accolades from any of the judges and they always gave me a hard time, so it wasn't really an easy role for me at all," she says, reasoning that perhaps it was just time for her to move on.

Calling herself "The Good Diva," Hudson insists that she doesn't have "a bad attitude and a lot of demands and all that crap." The problem may just be that Hudson is a singer for a different time. As much as she enjoyed receiving her smattering of compliments from the "Idol" judges, she puts more stock in raves from the likes of guest judges Elton John and Barry Manilow.

"They come from the real era of music, when it was real singing, back when music was music," Hudson say. "I felt like if I was born in the time of Aretha Franklin then... it would be 'Aretha Franklin and Jennifer Hudson.' I'd rather be praised by somebody like them versus the people of today, because the people of today have no clue what real music is."

Hudson says she'll be rooting for close friend George Huff for the rest of the competition and refuses to feel bad either about her performance on the show or the way her run ended.

"I'm just telling the truth because -- as far as the show goes -- I really don't have anything to lose, because it's over for me," she says. "I feel overall, I can't complain, because I experienced everything I wanted to experience."