Michelle James

I want to go ahead and let you know that all of my opinions that I have on American Idol are coming from someone who has actually been in the music business..Michelle James was my stage name..I had VERY MINOR success in Country Music about 7 years ago..I had a CD out and 2 songs off of it went to number 60..I played at City Stages 2000..Talk about FUN!! I also opened for George Jones at Looney's Amphitheater that year as well.. It is quite costly to make and promote a CD..I was an Independant Female artist so it wasnt long before we were out of money and I was a single mother to 3 boys at the time..Also, the thought of staying out late in a local bar to "pay my dues" and become a better performer was not very appealing to me..I guess I just didnt have the hunger for it..I was also 30 years old and thats a little old to be STARTING a singing career..I dont regret the decision to not persue it any harder than I did..I wish that American Idol was out when I was younger..I think that American Idol has been such a great tool to help people that would have NEVER been given a chance to make a career out of something they love..From my experience in the business, Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood would have NEVER made it if it wasnt for this show..We saw all the interviews that they did with Taylor Hicks and Bo Bice..They had been struggling with their music career locally..Im not saying they werent making a great living doing it locally but they definately wouldnt have made it as far as they have and become a household name if it wasnt for American Idol..Plain and simple :) So anyway, if you find me a little overly critical of something or someone pertaining to the show, I want you to know that I view the show a little differently than alot of people do..Maybe a part of me thinks of how I would have done it if I would have been on American Idol? I may not be an expert per se, BUT I have an ear for it and I go crazy when someone doesnt use the best of what they got to do well in the competition...JMHO :)