Idol Chatter & Voice Views

So did it seem to anyone that the American Idol judges were a little cranky during the first round of the season nine semifinals?

Well, it apparently seemed that way to Ashley Rodriguez and some of the other Idol contestants.

“We’ve all kind of agreed that Simon and the rest of the judges were a little harsh with both the girls and the guys this year. There was definitely no leniency with it being our first live show, which is unfortunate because there are a lot of jitters and nerves that go into our first live performance,” the 22-year-old from Boston said, the day after being eliminated.

Instead of leniency, “it turns out that they were coming in throwing punches,” she added.

“I wouldn’t say that they were too hard, but we definitely could have used a little bit of love from them. That’s for sure.”

Ashley sang second in Tuesday’s show, opting for a Leona Lewis song, “Happy.”

And while Kara DioGuardi congratulated her on some good moments and Ellen DeGeneres complimented the dark-haired beauty on her appearance, she didn’t hear anything positive from Mr. Cranky himself, Simon Cowell.

He called her performance “clumsy,” criticized the arrangement of the song and proclaimed that she “could be in trouble.”

On that note, he turned out to be right.

“I think they were very quick to give a lot of criticism and not back it up with anything positive, which is unfortunate, because you can always find something good from a performance even if it falls apart,” Ashley said Friday, talking about the critiques in general.

“There’s always something positive you can take from that. And they didn’t really highlight on that too much, which is unfortunate.”

Where is Paula Abdul when you need her? Not on the Idol judging panel, that’s for sure.

But in the end, Ashley said she appreciates the Idol experience.

A graduate of the Berklee School of Music with a degree in music business management, Ashley says she has wanted to perform since doing a 30-second solo on a tiny stage in first grade.

Nothing that happened on the Idol stage has discouraged her from pursuing her dream.

“Idol has really shown me that, now more than ever, I have to fight for what I want,” said Ashley, who attended Berklee on a full scholarship and has toured internationally with a gospel group called Overjoyed.

“It (the show) has given me a little taste of the dream, and I’m willing to work hard for it, especially now that I’ve got a little glimpse of what this life is like.”

Highlights included the top 24 photo shoot, which she called “super glamorous and exciting” and getting to work with the “incredible” Rickey Minor and his band.

And Ashley said she realizes the judges were doing what they’re supposed to do — judge. And that includes criticism.

“At the end of the day, I love them all,” she said. “They’ve all played a huge role in this experience for me. And, you know, hopefully we’ll be crossing paths again.

“America will get to see me again. That’s for sure.”