Idol Chatter & Voice Views

An awful lot of Idol watchers thought Crystal Bowersox outperformed Lee DeWyze in the final American Idol performance show.

But anyone expecting her to be resentful of his coronation as the season nine will be disappointed.

“I love Lee. He’s super talented. I’d buy his album in a heartbeat,” the 24-year-old from Elliston, Ohio, said in a conference call with the media Friday afternoon. “Whatever happened happened for a reason.”

In fact, Crystal said she woke up Wednesday morning with “an overwhelming sense of peace and acceptance” … and the feeling that Lee would win.

Of course, that didn’t make it any more bearable when she was standing center stage with Lee on Wednesday night, waiting while Ryan Seacrest took his good ol’ time, letting the suspense build, before announcing the winner.

“If you watch the video back, I had mouthed the words, ‘Come on, Ryan,’ several times. It’s frustrating when he does it, but he’s a very smart man and he knows what’s good for TV and making out hearts beat out of our chests.

“I just wanted to know for sure,” she added. “I wanted to know if my feeling was right. And I wanted to celebrate for Lee. When I saw Lee’s face, and he was about ready to pass out (she laughs), I just felt everything he was feeling. We’ve been together through this whole process and understand each other completely.”

Of course, next for Crystal will be the Idol summer tour, which begins July 1 and includes visits to 49 cities (including Hershey on July 15 and Baltimore on July 24; more info here).

She’s thrilled that Idol has given her approval to sing her original, “Holy Toledo,” when the tour stops in her hometown on Sept. 2. Just as she was thrilled to hear Idol play the same song when showing highlights of her trip home a week ago; playing an original on the show was an Idol first.

She said the song is “dear to my heart.”

“I wrote it just before I moved to Chicago. I was 17, sitting on my porch. I loved my town, but I knew there was something bigger out there. I just feel so blessed and honored that they played it on the show.”

Also coming up for Crystal, a first album she hopes to fill with simple songs about her experiences people can learn from and enjoy.