Kristy Lee Cook eliminated from American Idol

"Rope it, ride it, wrestle it, cowgirl it!" That is Kristy's favorite quote and she did a pretty good job of roping judge Simon Cowell in his seat, when she became the 7th place finisher of Season 7 on Wednesday night! She sidled right up to Simon, climbed up on the judge's table and serenaded him, giving him no choice but to hear her sing! Changing the lyrics to "Forever" she sang a playful adlib - it would take forever to get a good comment from him!
 
She had a tough row to hoe, starting out the top 24 on shaky ground. She was sick, made a couple of poor song choices and ended up in the bottom 3 more times than she would like to remember. Her breakthrough songs were "God Bless the USA"
"Coat of Many Colors", "Anyway" and gave a solid rendition of "Forever" Tuesday night, in what most people thought would have kept her safe for at least another week.
 
She had been improving steadily, gaining confidence and winning over fans who had written her off. It made it more bittersweet going out on "Forever" in her eyes (and mine), her best performance. She also thought she had at least another week in her.
 
In her interview Thursday, she described her progression during the show. She said she had been sick the first three weeks, starting out weak and her recovery took awhile. I imagine the toll of the intense schedule on a healthy person would be great but adding illness to it helps to understand her earlier performances. She said when she sang "God Bless the USA, she had gotten back into her comfort zone, she knew that she could sing well and wanted to be able to show it.  People thought it a strategic song choice, singing a patriotic song but choosing that song was more a family affair than strategic planning! Her dad had served in Viet Nam, he absolutely loved the song, she had sung it before, and it was one of her favorites to sing. Her sister called her and told her she should sing it - Kristy Lee had already been thinking it would be a good song, with her sister concurring, it was chosen!
 
"Eight Days a Week", the song that was panned by the judges - she had mixed feelings about because the band members and stage people really liked it. She felt it deserved more praise, she had made it her own but felt the judges had a lot of influence over America and if the judges would have given any praise, it would have had a different reaction from the public.
 
When asked about her experiences with Dolly Parton and Mariah Carey, she answered that they are huge stars, very sweet and cared about everything the contestants were doing. She hopes to be able to help other singers in the same way if she makes it big. She was very appreciative that they had wonderful things to say about her.
 
The most exciting news she mentioned was about her personal life. Her boyfriend Andy proposed to her last night on the show! The lack of privacy a contestant has on the show with everyone around especially with the bodyguards that watch over them, led her boyfriend to originally propose in the sauna of the apartment where the contestants stay. He first proposed on March 15 but they didn't want to have the engagement become the focal point, since she needed to concentrate on her singing. Last night, he did it right, getting down on bended knee. Of course Kristy said yes; they have not set a date yet but the wedding will probably be next summer!
 
The burning question on everyone's mind was about her barrel horse she sold to raise money to fly to the audition. She said she had spoken a couple of times to the guy who bought the horse and he won't sell it back.
 
What about her prior music experience when she was 17? She never got to release an album; she felt doing American Idol would jumpstart her career and is glad to have a second chance. She felt this experience has made her a much stronger person
 
Kristy let us know we haven't seen the best of her yet. Now that she is off the show and is not having to sing in theme based songs, she is looking forward to singing what she does best - country
music! To her fans: she would like to thank you for voting for her and keeping her on the show as long as you did, hopes to see
everyone on tour - she will put on a show!