By John Powell – GlobalTV.com

What’s poppin’? That’s what we wanted to know as we spoke to Big Brother’s Drew Campbell…especially after that brutal final two cut by Devens. Who would he have cut if he was in Devens’ shoes and are there any romantic sparks with Melody?

Drew Campbell: What’s poppin’?

John Powell: Thanks for taking the time to talk to us. I remember a few months ago when I had to take my dog to the vet. He woke up out of anaesthesia and all the nurses were like, “Man, he was like the saddest puppy in the world.”

Last night, dude, you looked like the saddest Big Brother player ever. How are you feeling this morning, dude?

Drew Campbell: It was tough to go out third as the fallen angel but what a dream it has been to play Big Brother this early in my life and make it that far. You know, since I was eight years old I wanted to play this game. I got to do it and I had a super fun time doing it! I kind of hit everything on my Big Brother bucket list besides the win. So, I should probably come back and do that one, right? (laughs)

John Powell: You guys kidded, you joked about being father and son with Devens but it really did look like that on the feeds. You turned to him a lot when you needed guidance.

Drew Campbell: Yeah, he was. I’m so glad he was in there. I definitely felt like I needed him in there. He was my Big Brother dad. I’m so glad that he brought home the win. He deserved it, and, you know, he taught me how to tie a tie. I still don’t know how to do it, as you can tell I don’t have one.(laughs)

I had a lot of fun with him this summer playing pool, hanging by the pool, just chit-chatting all the time. He’s a really great dude. Really glad that he won this whole thing, and I had to throw in a little dad joke at the end. You know what I mean? “I’m not mad, just disappointed.” I’ve heard that from my real dad multiple times.

John Powell: Well, us dads are like that. Trust me. You learned first-hand the emotional toll the game takes on people. We saw that with Melody when you voted out Mallory and she had that reaction. Things quickly turned from a game to very real. Did that surprise you?

Drew Campbell: It did, and it didn’t. I mean, in this game, when you’re in that house, all you have are those people that are in there. It is do or die. It is someone leaves the door and it’s like they’ve died. You’re like, “Yeah, I’m never seeing them ever again.” That’s how it feels sometimes.

So do I blame her for being emotional in that aspect? No. I was so emotional in there. I did not anticipate how many times I would cry. I feel so bad for everyone who watched. (laughs) I felt like a little baby sometimes crying but I wear my emotions on my sleeve. I’m Latino. What am I supposed to do? You know what I mean? That’s what we do best. And no, I love it. You know, you get to go play a game and you get to feel those real emotions and that’s why we all signed up.

John Powell: I just spoke to Devens about this, and the great thing about this season, one of the interesting things is, you may make a move against someone and then two minutes later, you’re out in the backyard having a beer, playing pool.

Drew Campbell: I got to give credit to everybody on the cast. I don’t think anyone took anything personal. Everyone knew it was a game. Every single person knew what they were getting into. I think every single person on this cast is a great person. Genuinely, I loved everybody, so it made it hard to vote people out but also it made it easy to put people up because everyone knew what they signed up for and everybody was really cool about it.

John Powell: One of my favorite players of all time is Dr. Will, and he had this ability to lie to people, make a dastardly move, and then they just forgive him because he’s such a charming guy. Was that part of what you felt in there? Because, again, you know, you’d make these promises to people, maybe not follow through, but then they forgave you.

Drew Campbell: Yeah, Dr. Will, one of my favorite players of all time. I don’t think I have the charm as good as he did, but, you know, if I had any sort of that of what at all, 10%, it would be an honor to be compared to him. It seemed like it was working for me. I was doing people dirty and they were hugging me, calling me their best friend the next day. So I had a lot of fun with that and it made me feel like I was a Big Brother player.

John Powell: I spoke to Melody a couple weeks ago and I’d asked her if there was any kind of romantic feeling going on? She kind of closed the door on that. Have you been able to speak to her and were you looking for anything beyond the house, besides being close friends?

Drew Campbell: I wasn’t looking for anything. Melody’s a great girl. She’s gorgeous, super funny. So glad she was in that house. I don’t know what I would have done without her. Only time will tell. We do live in different states, but, you know, expect the unexpected, right?

John Powell: There was a point to the game where you faced a crossroads, and it was either, “I’m gonna go with these people,” or, “I’m gonna stick with the icons.” What were you thinking at the time and what made you make the choice that you made?

Drew Campbell: I decided to stick with the icons because I knew they were more likely to win competitions because of their experience of playing in other games and playing Big Brother before Survivor and they were always going to be bigger targets than me.

I felt like if I went the other route, I was the biggest target out of the other side. You know what I mean? So I felt like I hid more. I was the icon baby. You know, they were like, “The last one we get out.” But if I was over there, I was always going to be number one on the hit list.

John Powell: What was really surprising to me as we saw the final HOH play out and you basically had to leave your destiny in the hands of other people. That must have been a really heartbreaking thing, especially having to put forth all the effort.

Drew Campbell: Man, first time this whole game that my hands—or my destiny—was in the hands of somebody else. Tough because they took the opportunity and got me out. I can’t be mad at Devens because if I did win that part three, hoping that he’d be on the other side of that jury vote and he’d be voting for me. Devens was the best player this season. I would have loved to be the one to take him out but he got there before I did, and we’re gonna laugh about it.

John Powell: The modern Survivor fluid gameplay kind of bled into Big Brother a bit this season but Barrett at one point went to Melody and Mallory and told them basically everything you guys had been doing. Did that surprise you when you kind of learned a bit about that? Did you expect that from him?

Drew Campbell: Kind of a weird move, you know. But I also feel like in this game, you go in yourself, by yourself, and you got to look out for number one, which is yourself. And I think he may have saw me as a sinking ship and kind of blew my game up to save himself. And do I fault him for it? No. Do I think it was in his best interest to do that? I don’t think so. I think we could have kept doing our own thing, but, you know, Barrett did what he did, and I did what I did, and, you know, the results speak for themselves.\

John Powell: Everybody has their detractors and their fans. Some compared you a little bit to winner Andy Heren because you were going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Do you wear that crown proudly? Are you surprised that you were going back and forth disseminating information, people kind of knew what was going on, but they didn’t do anything about it.

Drew Campbell: I utilized my age as like a get-out-of-jail-free card. I just talk a lot. I think Andy is of the greatest players to play this game. One of the best winners, super underrated. Being even compared to him is an honor. Season 15 winner. Killer, yeah, super! That’s a great comparison! I feel honored! I feel bad that my name’s next to his. You know what I mean? I feel like I’m bringing him down.

John Powell: Has there been any thought about if you went on something like Amazing Race, who would you pick? Devens picked his wife. Sorry.

Drew Campbell: Yeah, I would love to play with Devens. There’s two people that I would love to play with for the same reason. We would fight a lot. I think I would love to play with Melody. I think it’d be super fun and I think me and Yash could take the whole thing. I love that kid so much! I think he’s the East Coast version of me and I’m the West Coast version of him. I have nothing but respect for him and dude, if we got to play together, what a time that’d be! A lot of bickering!

John Powell: That was one of the interesting relationships this season. You and Yash were on opposite sides of the house. You were competing head-to-head against against each other, especially in the endurance challenge. You guys walked away, and there’s the respect there. There was no hard feelings.

Drew Campbell: Oh, yeah. I think that comes from us both being, you know, athletes in the past. Enemies on the court, friends off the court. That kid drove me to push myself in every competition. I hope he says the same. Dude’s a big competition threat. Not only is he really physically fit, dude is super smart. He made me work extra hard this season. That’s why I would love to work with him. If I played this game again and the Icons weren’t there, Yash would have been my number one dude. I love him. I think our families are so similar. I think our personalities are so similar. It’s weird that we mirrored each other’s games because I do think he also played the middle, which is really fun. I think we were two peas in a pod and cut from the same cloth.

John Powell: Nobody plays alone or wins alone. You need other people to either make moves on your behalf, people you trust. There’s Devens but who else couldn’t you have not made it through the game without?

Drew Campbell: I don’t think I could have made it as far without Melody. Melody was vouching for me the whole season to the other side of the house. She kept working for me, she kept vouching for me. I’m so glad she was there in that house. She was my spokesperson, and I don’t think I would have survived that double eviction if it wasn’t for her. She came in clutch with that win. I think if Taylor won, I would have been the one walking out that door, and Yash would have been the one voting me out. I see that happening, and, you know, it’s all respect if he did do that, and so glad Melody was there.

John Powell: Would you have taken Devens to the end if it was you at the end?

Drew Campbell: I would have to take Taylor just to give myself the best shot of winning. I think I probably would have won. That’s why I can’t be mad at Devens for taking me out. I think he would have beat me. I think it would have been close. And when you get close twice on Survivor, you’re not going to take a chance. Third time’s the charm. I can’t blame the dude for making the right decision.