Canadian Idol's reluctant heartthrob, Rex Goudie, says he never wants to hear his TV nickname again. All summerlong, the 19-year-old was affectionately called "sexy Rexy" by thousands of screaming fans. He now hopes to put that moniker to rest.

"I'm a pretty deep person and I hope people realized that and never just said, 'Oh, he got voted through because little girls voted for him' or something like that," Goudie tells Eye on Idol.

"I want people to take me seriously and given everything that went on, I hope that they do take me seriously."

Now that he's landed a record deal, the Burlington, N.L. native can prove he's got more than just charm and sex appeal. The runner-up joins winner Melissa O'Neil as part of the Sony BMG family and plans to release a CD by mid-December.

The double signing seems the perfect outcome for the two competitors who acted more like high-school sweethearts than bitter rivals. Their duet of "Against All Odds" at the finale may have even left some fans wondering about the nature of their relationship.

"That was a good experience because Melissa and me are really good friends," Goudie explains. "To be able to get on stage and kind of show emotion like that, it was pretty good. It wasn't entirely rehearsed, you know. You could actually feel it. It was awesome."

Moreover, his ear-to-ear grin at O'Neil's moment of victory showed their underlying mutual respect.

"I'm so proud of her and she's going to be amazing at this. I can't wait for her record to come out. She's going to be awesome," he says. "I knew it was going to be her. I mean how do you compete with someone so good as Melissa?"

Despite his laid-back and humble demeanour, Goudie is full of the fighting spirit. He recalls being fed up with Zack Werner's jabs at his singing ability.

"'Now listen, I am sick and tired of hearing that,' I said to [Debra] Byrd. That's when I started getting crazy," he says.

"I am sick of hearing him say it and I came out and said this: 'I want to win this thing and I want to shut them judges up,' and she said, 'Well, we're going to work.' We did."

He eventually gained the upper hand at the Top 2 show when Werner offered to help him land a record deal. "My friend, you give me a call anytime, any day," he told the singer.

Now back on the Rock, Goudie hopes to get his hands a little dirty before returning to Toronto to record his debut album. Tinkering with trucks and heavy machinery has always been an important part of his life.

"It gives me exercise for one, it's a bit of a workout, and I get to see what I've done at the end of each day," says the part-time mechanic who uses physical labour as a stress outlet.

However, with his new career about to take off, he'll most likely leave behind his greasy tools and coveralls. Perhaps, Goudie knew this would happen all along.

He says one of his favourite songs he performed on Canadian Idol was Michael Buble's "Feeling Good."

So, it's probably no coincidence that he's now living up to its words: "It's a new dawn. It's a new day. It's a new life for me and I'm feeling good."

Eye on Idol