The gray-haired pop-star says he won’t watch the FOX show anymore -- and just wanted to use the exposure he got from winning "Idol" to further his career.

"‘American Idol’ for me is fizzling out," he tells the latest edition of Relix magazine, a publication formerly devoted to following the Grateful Dead.

"I want to take that opportunity and exposure: you either come see me, buy my album or you don’t. I’m not trying to meet expectations. If you can say you’re a working musician, then you’re doing something good.

"I’m just glad to be a working musician because that’s what I've always been."

Hicks won "Idol" last season over Katharine McPhee.