Daryl Brunt says the first thing he will do when he goes back home to Sudbury is unpack. "We just bought a new home, I haven't even seen it," he says. But the act of unpacking hardly seems exciting, especially for a 16-year-old who just received the highest number of votes across the country, catapulting him into Canadian Idol's Top 10.

But that may just be Brunt's style. Despite being the youngest competitor to make the Top 10 and despite being within striking distance of Kalan Porter's crown, Brunt doesn't seem to let it all affect him.

"It'll probably hit me later," Brunt said after Wednesday night's results show. "It sucks. My friends are gone."

Those friends are the six other members of Group One who failed to rack up enough votes to join Brunt in the Top 10.

"Especially our group, there's just so much talent and they just worked so hard. You know how hard it is to work to get to this point. Even if I got voted off, it's heartbreaking. You just know how they're feeling. It's going to be really hard to say goodbye to them."

Brunt, however, might need to shoulder some of the blame. His powerful performance of When You Believe the previous evening got rave reviews from the judges, with Zack Werner claiming he had the most potential to become a star.

He admits their comments lifted his spirit. "I thought they were amazing and Zack is wicked," he says laughing.

"I've had really good comments all the way through. If I have bad comments I'd probably be crying everyday. I really take them seriously."

Though Brunt may appear shy and vulnerable on stage, his approach to singing proves just the opposite. While he seems to effortlessly hit the high notes, the teen works hard on his craft.

In anticipation of the Top 10 competition, the Voice and Drama high school student says he will probably "be crazy in preparing, like every hour for the rest of my life, for like one thing. That's about it."

Of course, that's after he's settled in and relaxed a little bit. "When I find out what I have to do, I'll be prepared for it."

Brunt says he'd love to sing Mariah Carey's "Open Arms", a song he wanted to perform during Top 32 competition but got denied.

"So I think I'll have to hunt down Mariah Carey or something."

Eye on Idol