Passed over by Idol voters, Ashthon Jones got a second chance to make the Idol finals when the judges picked her as a wild card candidate.
She won’t get another chance to woo those voters.
Her Idol run ended Thursday night, two days after her pre-taped rendition of Diana Ross’ “When You Tell Me that You Love Me” drew a generally lukewarm response from those judges.
Friday, Ashthon talked to the media about her time on Idol.
* Ashthon says she has no intention of returning to her job working at a store in Nashville. She intends to pursue a career in music.
* Does she think her true personality came across on the show? “I don’t want the world to think I’m all diva like.” She says the confidence she displays on stage and on the show comes from her faith in God, not because she thinks she’s “all that.” She wishes her personality had come across more to viewers.
* About her choice to sing a lesser known Diana Ross song in round one of the finals: “The lyrics are what spoke to me.” Now that the song is on iTunes, and now that Idol producers have turned it into a current R&B song, she hopes others gain more appreciation of the song as well.
* She said she constantly reminded herself that a contestant didn’t have to win Idol to have a successful career after the show. She said she’s confident there will be an opportunity for her. “I just want to have an amazing career in music. I don’t want to go back to working jobs I don’t want to work anymore. I don’t want to struggle anymore … I believe something great is going to come from this.”
* What will she tell her children and grandchildren about Idol? First off, she says it will be great to be able to reflect back on the experience, Ashthon said. “They’re gonna look back and say, ‘My grandmother made this accomplishment.’ But this is not the end. Some people end right here. There’s not way I can end right here. … It’s only the beginning of something great. You have to go on. You can’t live off I was American Idol top 13 the rest of your life. You have to go farther. You have to be driven.”
* She said she wasn’t surprised to land in the bottom three. “There’s so many talented people in the show … I’m just honored to have been on the show with superstars.”
* She was considering singing Whitney Houston, Diana Ross or Janet Jackson next week for the “Songs from the Year You Were Born” theme. “I would have, of course, chosen the absolute hit. I think that would have won the crowd over and kept me there. But it’s OK. I don’t want to look at the past and be depressed and say, ‘I should have done this or I should have done that.’ Now it’s time to take everything I’ve learned and grow as an artist.”
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