EMLENTON — Isaac Cole is done with reality shows for a while, following his experience on “American Idol.”

The 15-year-old from Emlenton said he has no plans to pursue other vocal competitions such as NBC’s “The Voice” since he was dropped from “American Idol” on FOX TV.

“I just want to see how I’ll do on my own now,” he said.

Cole, who auditioned for “American Idol” in Philadelphia in August 2015, made it to the Top 51 contestants when the celebrity judges trim the contestants to the Top 24 who will perform for the live shows starting next week.

The announcement of the Top 24 was made Thursday.

Cole has known since December that he would not advance in the competition but, by contract, he could not disclose that information until the show aired.

Back in November while many people spent the week before Thanksgiving traveling home, Cole spent his time traveling to Hollywood, Calif.

That first round of Hollywood Week, known as the group round, took place the week before Thanksgiving. When that was over, Cole said the contestants had a week to go home and relax before the solo round of Hollywood Week.

“They said, ‘Congratulations, it’s only going to get harder from here,’” Cole said, when the performers were told they were in the Top 51.

After that, the contestants returned to Hollywood for two weeks after Thanksgiving, but there was no time for holiday celebration. Time was dedicated to rehearsing with the band and working with vocal coaches, Cole said.

“It was just all work, all music,” Cole said, saying that the one time he went swimming was basically the only free time he had during that two weeks.

While in Hollywood, Cole was with his mother, Cheryl McNany because underage contestants are allowed to bring one guardian.

The trip, including the hotel and food, was paid for by the show, unless Cole wanted to have more people join him. If that occurred, they would have to pay for their own travel and lodging, Cole said.

This is what his sister, Mikayla Lynn, did. Cole said that his sister, 19, also performs and the two often do concerts together.

In fact, he wants to be doing concerts for the rest of his life.

“(The experience) was exhausting, but it was fun,” Cole said. “It definitely let me know that this is what I want to do with my life.”

The most unusual part of the experience was being filmed constantly, he said.

Cole, who already has recorded two albums, has experience being in recording studios and working with vocal coaches. But having the film crews tell him that he have to be “at least half-camera ready at all times” was something new.

According to Cole, the only places there the cameras weren’t filming were in his hotel room and the bathrooms.

“They don’t want to miss a single thing,” he said, recalling a time that the film crews caught him falling asleep.

One night Cole was waiting to meet with a vocal coach, which was required before he went to sleep, he said. While waiting outside the room, he fell asleep with his guitar and case.

“It was pretty funny,” he said. “I woke up with a whole film crew surrounding me.”

That same guitar case also bears the autograph of celebrity judge Keith Urban. Cole, whose last name is McNany, also received a witty quip from Urban, who explained Cole’s last name as “an Irish baby sitter.”

Because of the number of contestants, Cole did not have much time with the judges except for a few minutes. But they were nice and genuine people, Cole said.

Cole did not receive much feedback from the judges since there wasn’t much time for criticism, he said. But he hopes to work on improving his stage presence.

With “American Idol” behind him, Cole will work on his third album and continuing his voice lessons in Clarion.

While it is difficult to start a music career in a small town, Cole said that bookings help support him and he hopes to continue to grow. Cole also mentioned the possibility of one day moving to Nashville, Tenn., where he records his albums.

And since Cole still keeps in touch with Top 24 contestants Tristan McIntosh and Amelia Eisenhauer, who both are from Nashville, there may be more collaboration in the future.