Kristy Lee Puts Out A CD

Kristy Lee Cook is the first Idol 7er out the gate with a new CD entitled "Why Wait". Her first single, "Fifteen Minutes of Shame" hit the air waves this week. Below, I am posting the link to a recent interview with KLC regarding her wedding and the release of her new CD. Click the link to check it out.

Kristy Lee Cook interview

Kristy Lee Cook Talks About Her "Fifteen Minutes of Shame"

Blog Critics Music has posted an interview with American Idol 7 finalist, Kristy Lee Cook. The Idols just performed in her home town of Portland, Oregon and the folks from BCM caught up with our country girl. She states that her new single, "Fifteen Minutes of Shame" will be released sometime in August, and her album will drop sometime in the fall. Click the link to read the whole story!

Kristi Lee Cook Signs A Recording Contract!

USA Today (via DJ Slim at Idol Blog Live) is reporting that Kristy Lee Cook has signed with Arista Records Nashville division. Her first single is due August 15th with an album to drop in the fall.

Good for Kristy Lee Cook. She needs to call Martina Mcbride and thank her for the song "Anyway" . . . That performance got her a record deal!

Click the link to read the story.

And click the play button below to view the video that helped this girl achieve a recording contract.

4000, yo!

In all of the hubub going on in all of our respective lives, we have neglected to note the 4000th hit on our little blog. So, in response to this milestone, I thought I would post two different youtube clips.

First, I thought I would post the one single performance on American Idol this season which represented "The Turn Around". This performance was the only one of the season, IMO, that was a Holy Shizz moment. A moment where you were like, wow, I was wrong, maybe you can sing . . .

May I present, Kristy Lee Cook singing "Anyway"



Next, I will post one of the better performances on Nashville Star this past week.

Let me present, Pearl Heart with "Wide Open Spaces"



Thanks for reading . . . .

Pre-Idol Albums

USA Today has reported a story which reviews pre-idol recordings of six of this year's top 12 Idols. Included is a brief summary of the work on the CD, and a review of the recordings. Included in the review are the recordings of the following: David Cook, Jason Castro, Brooke White, Carly Smithson, Michael Johns, and Kristy Lee Cook. Click the link to check out the story.

sweet news for kristy lee!

Hey Y'all - Kristy Lee's getting hitched! I saw the article above and thought I'd share it with the blog. (I think you can click on it to make it big enough to read.) At least there's a silver lining to Kristy's departure from Idol - and doesn't she look great here?
- K

Top 7 Results: One Bittersweet Day!

Ok, so, I had an entire post that LiveBlogged the Results show . . . but it disappeared . . . most of you are probably cool with that because my posts tend to be a wee bit . . . er, um . . . wordy . . .

Anyhoo, THIS is AMERican Idol! And, the Top 7 did a little mix of "One Sweet Day" . . . The Cuteness was a bit nervous . . . The Comeback Kid looked HOT . . . and, er. . . what was Syesha wearing? And why was her hair so Scary Spice circa 1996 . . . "Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want"

Let's start the eliminations . . .

The Cuteness comes out first, and might I say, that chrnoic was PRIMO tonight . . . and, La Seacrest and his shiny sportscoat, sends him to the far side of the stage

Yay . . .we're doing a three on three with one safe block . . .

Rocker David comes out next and is sent to the other side of the stage . . . um, wait . . . a surprise for this evening?

Carly up next and she goes over towards the cuteness . . . Simon says some very nice, and deserving, things about Carly

Next up, The Comeback Kid . . . she heads over towards her Cook brother . . .

Cue the one Idol performer who inspired my favorite Idol sign of all times "Vote Like YAMIN It! . . . Elliot Yamin RULZ! Go dental work!

Next up is is Syesha who joins The Cuteness and The Tattoo . . . what is going on here . . .

Finally, Ms. Brooke (y'all, I am alone on the BW bandwagon . . . it is so lonely here . . . don't think that I won't send out "Let it Be", "Love is a Battlefield", and "You're So Vain" youtube clips out to Rubbertoe, TtownIdolfan, and Allison this week . . .I'm lonely here and L&K have never been here with me . . .so lonely, so cold . . . Ms. Brooke, of course, goes with The Cooks!

Lil David is alllll alone . . . massive suspense would ensue had I not viewed six prior seasons of the Idol . . .

Lil David is, of course, SAFE and is FORCED to go to the group he thinks is safe . . . A LA MD circa AI 6, Lil David sits down and will not choose . . .Ryan switches Syesha and Rocker David and the brings The Rocker, The Tattoo, and The Cuteness to Nigel Lythgoe's Winner, er, um, I mean Lil David and declares them all safe. That leaves Brooke, Syesha, and The Comeback Kid as the Bottom 3. Y'ALL, I honestly think all 7 are awesome . . . but, I need Syesha to relieve me of her presence.


Ugh. Not so much. Syesha is not vanishing . . . she lives on for ALW . . . My Brooke and The Comeback Kid are on the block . . . Suddenly, everyone in the studio thinks this is a foregone conclusion . . . and, it is. KLC is history, yo. I hate that . . .for a performer that I didn't want in the Top 12, she really won me over. She is so cute with Simon at the end. LOVE HER!

Ok, if I'm being BRUTALLY HONEST, KLC was the weakest vocalist of the remaining seven . . . I just HEARTED her for her hutzpah! This is the most talented top 7 in my history of Idol . . . and, I think we have the most vocally talented top 6 EVER! I'm a touch (read A TON) more worried about ALW week than I ever was about Mimi . . .

See y'all in a while!

K's Take On Top 7 Mariah Madness

(Sorry this is so long - it was a strange show last night, and like you guys have said, other than the top 2-3, it's hard to pick the order. L is teaching a class right now, so she will post her thoughts in a little while.)

I have to say this, especially this week: For best 2nd/3rd analysis of the Idol performances, I suggest listening to the sound through high-fidelity speakers, and take YouTube with a grain of salt - the digital compression algorithm YouTube uses distorts the sound terribly. You might not catch how TERRIBLE Brooke sounded in the 2nd half of her song, for instance.
Also, I am by no means a Mariah fan, though anyone would have to admit she really could really, really sing, back in the day. Now, I imagine there are some "fresher" singers out there (Kelly C?) who could blow her off the stage.

Let's all have a drink from Paula's cup, AND:

David Cook - he's at the top for me because he does what no one else seems willing to do - try something different. There's a lot of bitching on the internet that Cookie "steals" his arrangements - which I say is bullshit. Not that he doesn't lift inspiration from various sources, but who else on Idol is subject to this kind of scrutiny? Do any of the others catch hell for adbdicating the arranging to Ricky, or just going with the same, tired version as the originals? I say, give Cookie props for making the songs sound like something a modern listener would respond to.

David A - maybe the best he's sounded since the Top 12. His voice was strong, he put on a confident show - the only reason he wasn't # 1 was he gave us exactly what we expected. It was very good, a "wow" on the singing, not a "wow" on the star power. Maybe I'm just getting tired of the whole "Up With People" vibe to his performances every week.

Jason C. - the Idol download king, and heir apparent to the Jack Johnson stoner-hippie singer-songwriter empire. Jason did a great job, I would download it off iTunes, but did it really sound any different than last week, or the week before that? (See 1 & 2 above.) Still, love this kid.

Then, after a several-story drop, the ladies.

Syesha - come on, she didn't try to blow out a lung (see Carly), she didn't take us into Bizarro land (see Kristy), and she delivered it with confidence (see Brooke). Still, it was blah. After the cardinal mistake on the Whitney song, and then another on "I Believe", she again commits an Idol faux pas: singing a forgettable song. She knew she was in trouble, going into this week, because did you notice she was working the cleavage? Still, you have to give her cred for taking the $ Idol doles out for clothing and making it seem like more.

Carly - tough week. She looked great, the first part of her song was surprisingly tender - and then she tried to blow the roof off the studio. Not that she doesn't have power - but as Spiderman says, "with great power comes great responsibility". She has to learn to apply the power with a deft touch. She cranked up to 11, however, and kept it there, even through the completely gratuitous end note. We may see another shocker exit a la MJ last week - and her #7 tattoo on her finger might turn out to be prophetic.

Brooke - the only reason I didn't place her at the bottom was the beautiful 1st half of her song. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting much from her: I am coming to expect less from Brooke every week, I know, them's fightin' words. But Brooke out-Jasons Jason in the week-in, week-out clone of her last performance. But this week, I was amazed to find myself drawn in - until after the bridge, not quite when Randy said, but close. Listen to it again: at approximately the mid-point, Brooke either misses a pedal-push or gets caught up in the chord change, but she VISIBLY and AUDIBLY freezes up. L & I were cringing. The entire rest of the song was flat, too fast, and warbly. Her last note, and the tearful look in her left eye, were almost like a surrender, not a glory finish. I don't think she's gone, but she'll be sweating it out in the B3.

Kristy - the Kountry twang was just weird, and it made the song seem twice as long to me. You can't say she wasn't confident, and she didn't really sing badly, it was just odd. Maybe you guys aren't aware of this, but she's the voting pick for a certain subversive Idol group, however - VFTW - so she has made it further than perhaps she should. We are heading into the second half of the 12, and blondes Kristy and Brooke might start looking alike to middle America, so she may soon be in trouble, as well.

America's B3: Syesha, Carly, Brooke - Man, it's competely a toss-up, but I'd say Brooke goes home, if only because Syesha is the last African American left, and the producers might want to keep her in.

- K

The Comeback Kid Continues to Prove That She Could Be "Forever"

The Comeback Kid is up next. . . She is singing "Forever" . . . I am unfamiliar with this song, but Ms. Carey got chills from her performance. . . . Here comes KLC . . . She looks beautiful and has finally lost that sparkly shirt . . . Ok, so, The Comeback Kid has got to be the smartest contestant to ever grace the idol stage. She picked the most simple song with the best high notes at the end. I kind of think she looked like she was waiting for the middle part of the song to hit before she got going. . . but that is my only complaint . . . pitch perfect!

Randy thought that she was a little pitchy but good. Paula thought she did a great job and that she was very, very clever in her song choice AND that she just gets better every week . . . strangely Paula is the most accurate judge . . . Simon thought that she was just ok.

Revisiting the Inspiration!

On the eve of the Top 8 elimination show, I thought I would refresh y'all's memory on my Top 3 picks from Tuesday! Thank goodness for the wonder that is youtube!

1. David Archuletta "Angels"



2. Kristy Lee Cook "Anyway" (Still feels weird to have her in this position)



3. The Cuteness "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"



Here's hoping that these three are safe! Good Luck to all our Idols this evening . . . except maybe Syesha . . . I don't dislike her, but STOP BREAKING THE IDOL COMMANDMENTS . . . someone give this girl a copy of the rules . . . STAT!

P.S. Couldn't post youtube clips without paying homage to . . . .

The Hotness!



Holla, y'all!

Kristy Lee Cook and her Coat of Many Colors!

Here comes the comeback kid, Ms. Liberty herself, KLC! She has chosen to sing "Coat of Many Colors". THE DOLLY thinks that she has made the song her own. Here she comes . . . not again like Carly . . . but she is beginning. Might I say, she looks stunning and sounds pretty good. Very, very pleasant. I'm impressed. . . she gets a little better each week.

Randy thinks that this is her genre. Paula thinks she has found her niche and this is her best performance. Simon thinks that last week was her best week, and that she was just kind of pleasant tonight.

I think KLC is in trouble. I think she was good, but I think she is in trouble.

Kristy Lee Cook's evil masterplan - WAHAHAHAHAHA!

I stumbled across this video from Entertainment Weekly . It includes some conversation about the previous David Cook post, but the other headline is the one that caught my eye. Kristy Lee Cook and her evil master plan. Pretty funny stuff. Remember, y'all, we're a scant day and a half away from one Ms. Dolly Parton spreading her country lovin all over the idol stage. LOVE IT!