Feature: Ray LaMontagne

Feature: Ray LaMontagne

Idol of the Idols: Aidin Vaziri | Even though he has a beard and always sings as if he's half asleep, Ray LaMontagne has become a hero to "American Idol" contestants. And not just any old contestants, mind you -- only the winners. Taylor Hicks named his pet goldfish Ray and Lamont in honor of the soft-spoken songwriter, and he covered the title track from LaMontagne's 2004 debut, "Trouble," on the latest season of the show. And Kelly Clarkson took on LaMontagne's song "Shelter" for a Hurricane Katrina benefit concert last year. LaMontagne might be more impressed by all of this if, at any point in the past 20 years, he had actually owned a television set. "I don't really know anything about the show," he says. "But it's nice that people want to sing the songs. That means that they work." He's an intensely private person, leaving gaps in conversation. But those wanting to learn more about LaMontagne merely have to examine the lyrics of "Till the Sun Turns Black" tracks such as "Empty" and "Lesson Learned," in which the singer bluntly details all kinds of juicy tidbits about his life, from his heavy drinking to his apparent tour-bus infidelity. Naturally, he refuses to explain further. "I have my crutches, like everybody," he says. "Sometimes you lean on them too much, but that's just human." But to go onstage and spill his guts every night? That can't be easy. "No, it's not," he says. "But you really have to put yourself into the songs. If I didn't, they wouldn't really be effective, which can be emotionally exhausting sometimes. I'm trying to get through that."