Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The new American Idol judges’ save took an almost cruel turn Wednesday night.

Alexis Grace had been told she was the night’s low vote-getter, that only the judges could rescue her from elimination, from becoming a part of Idol history.

Then Simon Cowell told Alexis the judges were considering doing just that.

But, first, she would have to prove she deserved the save.

So Alexis, the 4-foot-11, 90-some-pound mom from Memphis, launched into Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” a second time. It was the song that got her into such a mess in the first place.

Yes, Dolly Parton is an inspiration to her, Alexis said in a conference call with the media Thursday afternoon.

But she surely wishes she could have performed something else with her Idol future hanging in the balance.

“I think if I sang ‘Never Loved a Man’ again, maybe I’d still be there,” Alexis said, referring to the song that got her into the finals. “I kind of really didn’t get a chance to remind them (the judges) why America picked me.”

In hindsight, Alexis says she’s glad to know the judges considered using the save on her.

In hindsight, she’s also not surprised that they didn’t.

After all, the judges can only save one contestant this season. And it was only the second show of the finals.

“It wouldn’t be good for TV if they did it so early so, in the back of my mind, I’m like, ‘Oh, maybe not’,” Alexis said.

“Jolene,” hardly a song calling for bombastic vocals, turned out to be a poor fit for the little gal with a big voice.

But Alexis wasn’t doing too much second-guessing on Thursday, though she admitted feeling a little like she’d let her hometown down.

“I’m from the South. We’re supposed to do country well. And I think I actually sing country pretty good, so it was a big disappointment,” she said. “But I think I’ll be able to redeem myself.”

That’s because, if Alexis has her way, she’ll be singing for years to come.

She sees herself making music that incorporates soul, blues and country. “Maybe some Joss Stone mixed with, like, Carrie Underwood with Sheryl Crow, or something like that.”

But first there willl be a reunion with her fiance, their daughter and the rest of her family back in Memphis.

One thing Alexis will take away from Idol — her dirtied-up look.

The judges encouraged Alexis to dirty it up at her first audition. By Hollywood Week, Alexis’ blonde hair sported pink highlights. And she was looking much more like a gal who would belt out Michael Jackson’s “Dirty Diana.”

“I think they saw something in me in the beginning that was a little edgy, but that I hadn’t quite touched on yet,” Alexis said. “I think that’s what the dirty-it-up was all about.

“I might change the pink highlights a little bit, though, and turn them into something else … but I’ll definitely keep the edgy look. I think that’s what got me here, besides the singing.”