Sir Howard offers flowers but still doesn't say 'sorry'

Rosita Vai releases All I Ask as her first single. Picture / supplied

New Zealand Idol winner Rosita Vai and Sir Howard Morrison have made up in true reality TV tradition - appearing together on live national television.

Sir Howard and Vai appeared on TVOne's Close Up programme last night, where he gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek and presented her with flowers - but never said "sorry".

But he did speak briefly on his comments that Vai was too overweight to have a career in music.

"Frankly I made a professional assessment based on my experience in show business, but when I look back, I broke a golden rule of practice. When you slam dunk one person, you actually affect a family, an iwi and a people."

Sir Howard also congratulated her and praised her, somewhat.

"I think she's got a recordable voice. And the personality to boot."

Vai graciously accepted his apology. Giving Sir Howard's arm a chummy squeeze, she said it was time to "move on".

The Aucklander, voted by the public over Masterton singer Nik Carlson during Monday night's performance, said the entertainers' criticisms of her weight had upset her family and friends but not her. The "old-school" comments had only made her stronger.

Vai said she was "definitely" comfortable with her body and attributed her weight loss throughout the show to the work involved and the fact she had taken up a healthy diet to keep up with the busy schedule.

"I'm eating my greens," she said. "It's not like I'm doing it on purpose or trying to lose the weight, it's just happening naturally."

Vai acknowledged Sir Howard had brought up an issue that deserved attention but said he didn't need to bring her into it.

"We're naturally big-boned, beautiful people. But he is right in a way. I just feel that if he wanted to raise the issue about Maori and Polynesian obesity, raise it. He didn't have to go, 'Rosita, blah blah blah'."

Vai celebrated after the 90-minute final on Monday with her family and boyfriend, whom she had seen only occasionally in the past several weeks. Then it was up at 5am yesterday for media interviews from 6.30am to 9pm.

After heeding the Idol judges' advice to be herself, Vai went from feeling "plastic" during her time in the Top 24 to increasingly confident. Throughout the show she was praised for choosing songs that suited her powerful soul voice - Beyonce, Alicia Keys and Whitney Houston numbers among them - and for pulling off riskier songs by the Eagles, Sheryl Crow and non-mainstream artist Jill Scott.

Asked how she felt about her new single, All I Ask, a standard pop ballad, Vai screwed her nose up.

"It would have been cool for it to have been funky, but it's gonna be great anyway. People will buy it."

Vai begins recording her debut album today as part of her prize recording contract and hopes to include some of the songs she had performed during the competition as well as songs she wrote herself.

Sony BMG are yet to decide whether to offer Carlson a contract.

- additional reporting by Errol Kiong