Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Karen Rodriguez became the second contestant ousted from the Season 10 American Idol finals Thursday night.

On Friday, Karen talked to American about her Idol experience and her plans for the future.

* Karen said both of her parents were Hispanic and came to the U.S. from other countries. Neither of her parents can work, so they rely on government assistance.  Karen said whatever money her mother could spare, she spent helping Karen “look beautiful on stage.” American Idol was one step toward helping her pay back her mother someday, Karen said.

* Karen said Jennifer Lopez would have saved her if she had the total say Thursday night. “I know,” Karen said. “She told me that.”

* Karen plans to go back home to regroup for a while. She wants to focus on writing music and bettering herself as a performer so that when the show ends, she’s ready should an opportunity arise.

* In addition to music, Karen said she would love to do work in movies or commercials. She said she has auditioned for shows on Broadway, including The Heights. She already did voice-over for one film. When she was a freshman, she recalls winning the lead role in a play at LaGuardia High School, an accomplishment she says hoped boost her confidence.

* She says her dream isn’t to be known as a top 12 finalist on American Idol, but to become the next big Latin-American cross-over artist. She says Idol helped get her name out there so she can accomplish that.

* She said her mom also wanted to be a singer. And her mom insisted her children learn Spanish. She thinks that helped her connect as an artist who hopes to sing in English and Spanish.

* The other contestants knew her as Ms. Twitter Queen because of the time she spent staying in touch with her fans. She applauds the show for giving contestants that opportunity to show the public the contestants are “real.”

* Karen says she’s really an R&B artist and was looking forward to Motown Week. Which happens to be next week.

* She says Selena is the reason she began singing. To be able to perform one of her songs on live TV and to be able to go on iTunes and have her version of Selena song there was among the highlights of her Idol experience.

* Karen says she’s happy to have stayed true to herself while on such an “Americanized” show by singing portions of her songs in Spanish. She says she listened to judges too much when competing on a Puerto Rican singing competition a few years ago, changed up as a result and was determined not to make that mistake again.

* Karen says she and Pia Toscano used to write music together. In one case, she says she finished a song Pia was struggling to finish, and then they performed it together. “I support her and toughen her up a little bit when she doubts herself,” Karen said of Pia. They attended the LaGuardia School of Music together. That said, Karen hedges on picking a favorite to take the Idol crown.