Phillip Phillips, the winner of this year’s “American Idol”, gave fans quite a scare when word got out during the competition that he had a serious medical condition, and even more so when he announced he was postponing much-needed surgery in order to finish his time on the show.

But Phillips has gone through the procedure–which affected his kidneys–and come out on the other side as good as new, offering up his vocal and guitar talents in a little performance with his brother-in-law, Ben.

The singer says it’s hard for him to accept that he won the talent competition because he’s been cut off from the world since the finale.

“It’s still weird for me [that I won],” he said. “It hasn’t all kicked in, because I have been recovering and I’m still in my little bubble. I never took anything in until the finale, and that’s where it all hit me, like, wow.”

He also says that while he feels much better than he did, he will still have to closely monitor his health during the upcoming tour. And as far as the controversy regarding his win over “Idol” favorite Jessica Sanchez, Phillips says he can’t let it get to him.

Life’s too short to be mad because someone won something, or didn’t win something! It’s just kind of silly to me,” he said.