Former American Idol Kristy Lee Cook has the County Blues
April 17, 2008

Although former American Idol Kristy Lee Cook cracked the group of this season’s round of Idol wannabes, the lovely young singer was considered a long shot by judge Simon Cowell. After battling her way into the elite group of Idols, Cook found herself on the outside looking in after being voted off the show on Wednesday, April 16.

However, as Zap2It reports after speaking with Kristy Lee Cook during the weekly American Idol exit interview, Cook thinks Simon Cowell was leary of her abilities because of a lackluster start, "I believe that he was just being skeptical because I started out kind of weak... I was struggling the first three weeks being sick and recovering took a while. I think I outlasted what he thought because I started getting stronger towards the end and... I was starting to come out of the shell and sing the songs that I'm comfortable with and the ones that I knew I could sing well and he saw that a couple times. Unfortunate[ly] it ended when I had to leave, but I thought my performance was pretty strong this past week, so I'm happy I went out on that note."

Despite her improvements in recent weeks, Lee Cook was consistently among the bottom three contestants, which can often spell trouble and send a message to both the viewers at home and the Idols themselves. Still, as Lee Cook revealed to Zap2It, the singer feels she wasn’t completely in her element and wishes she could have done more country music, which she is at home with as a performer. Country is obviously Kristy Lee Cook’s first love since it was reported earlier that the former American Idol recorded tracks in Nashville for a country album but wasn’t completed. Looking back, Lee Cook obviously wishes she could have done more to alter her fate, “ "I know in the bottom of my heart that I haven't shown America and Simon what I have and it's basically because I haven't been able to do the kind of music, you know the country."

Last week American Idol judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson appeared on Larry King Live where they gave their thoughts on how the top Idols stacked up as the competition heads to a finale next month. What was interesting about Simon’s thoughts on how American Idol has changed over the years is how he believes (in general) many of the contestants seem to be gunning for the Top 12 to be considered stars instead of focusing on the ultimate prize of becoming THE American Idol.

Will Kristy Lee Cook become a star like Daughtry and Clay Aiken? It’s hard to say.

For the full exit interview with former American Idol, Kristy Lee Cook, as David Bowie once said, “put on your soft shoes and dance” this way to Zap2It.