Not to question anyone's memory to badly, because I could totally be wrong, but I thought that they didn't even show Kelly's audition into either late in the season or after she won. They didn't think she was really a contender. That season they just showed the really bad auditions and then the people who they thought had a chance at winning: Tamyra, Justin, etc. She was totally overlooked. But man once she was in the Top 10 she totally proved them wrong and proved she was a force to be reckoned with.
I became a Kelly fan since season one of American Idol. I liked her and Tamyra Gray. The finale aired the beginning of my senior year of high school. I'm pretty sure I voted for Kelly like 250 times those last few weeks. There was just something about her. Well, one being that she's from the wonderful state that is Texas, and always talks about it. Second that she's always been her dorky self. And third, man can she sing.
For homecoming week we had a dress like a celebrity day, and I chose her. Most distinguishable outfit I could find from her on American Idol was when she sang "Natural Woman." Fedora, black pants, red belt, black tie, and a white dress shirt. It was funny. A lot of people, both students and teachers, knew who I was because American Idol had been such a craze that summer. I bought her Moment Like This Single, The American Idol Top 12 cd, and Thankful all on the days they came out. Sadly I've only been able to see her in concert twice and they were both forever ago. American Idol Tour and Earth Day concert. I've always been out of town or had some type of scheduling conflict that I couldn't get out of. But that will be changed this year. I'm making it a priority to try and see her at least twice this next tour. I'm also pretty sad I miss her touring with Reba. She's another person I absolutely love. I grew up listening to her music. Okay wow this ended up way longer than was initially planned.
