Season 7’s Kristy Lee Cook is back in Oregon after being dropped from Arista. She was living in Nashville while she promoted the album she recorded with Arista, Why Wait.
In an interview with the Grants Pass Daily Courier, she talks about her charity work, getting dropped from Arista, and her future plans.
Kirsty Lee makes no bones about why she thinks she was dropped, “It’s because I was on the same label as Carrie Underwood.”
And she claims to be fine with the split from Arista–she says they promoted her a little bit, but she didn’t get the attention she needed. “They spent so much more money on Carrie,” she says.
Kristy Lee has signed on with new management, Morey Management, out of Los Angeles, and says she’s currently in talks with Universal Records (labelmates with Chikezie? Maybe they will do a bluegrass duet. Kidding!).
To further emphasize Arista’s mismanagement of her career, Kristy Lee confides, “I have a song that they didn’t want me to put on the album that’s going to be a hit…I’m going to take it to another label.â€
Take that Arista!
In the meantime, Kristy Lee is immersing herself in charity work, starting a rescue foundation for horses. Very cool. Plus, she continues to groom and race her horses.
She plans on gigging a bit around her home in Oregon. In June she and her fiance Andy Dobner will tie the knot.
I do think that Arista screwed her over, but I think she should back off blaming her failure on Carrie. I’m sure it was more complicated than that, and it comes off like sour grapes.
After the jump, check out a video put together by the Daily Courier:
Video after the JUMP…
I have so many issue’s with this I don’t even know where to start.
If Arista dropped her because “she was on the same label as Carrie”, then why on earth would they give her a contract in the first place. That statement makes no sense.
And she claims to be fine with the split from Arista–she says they promoted her a little bit, but she didn’t get the attention she needed. “They spent so much more money on Carrie,†she says.
Well KLC, Carrie has sold millions upon millions of albums, has won numerous awards etc etc yada yada. Yet you feel you should get the same attention as Carrie? Don’t you think Carrie warrants the attention that label gives Carrie?? The fact here is your cd tanked, it did not go over gangbuster’s as Carrie’s did.
KLC is a beautiful girl, really beautiful, but Carrie Underwood she is not nor will ever be.
Good Luck tho KLC, sour grapes indeed.
This, I totally agree with. Amusingly, this just highlights the differences between her and Carrie. While Carrie comes off as this humble, level-headed girl, KLC comes off as full-of-herself and bitter.
I kind of warmed up to KLC on the show, and she had my sympathies when her album failed to get promoted, but her attitude of entitlement and comments like these don’t help her at all.
Spending more money on Carrie than Kristy was the smartest thing Arista did; the dumbest would be signing on KLC in the first place.
Carrie and Kristy are incomparable. Yeah, she might want to leave that alone. She’s nowhere near Carrie as far as talent is concerned, and that’s because I think Carrie is a big ol’ singing head.
As an average singer, maybe she should have started smaller.
So….hopefully, that song she has really is a hit.
If Arista screwed her over (I personally think she was already screwed once she was signed), then she should thank her lucky stars that she got out in enough time.
Truly, the only interesting thing about KLC to me is: Why did they think she was worth signing at all?
Universal sure sounds like the go-to place for also-runs this season. Somehow I don’t see anything major coming out of it. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think this season will only have two major contributions to the music world, and both their names are David.
Is that too harsh? I hope I’m wrong and Michael, Jason, Carly, Chikezie and KLC all make a splash.
KLC reportedly acquired the rights to Eight Days a Week and will be releasing an acapella version of the song as her next hit single.
Why didn’t you just refuse the offer and just wait it out then, Kristy Lee?
At least the air has pretty much been cleared for where the season 7 Idols are at year’s end:
David C - comfortable at 19E/RCA, 1 album and 2 singles out and doing very well
David A - comfortable at 19E/Jive, 1 album and 2 singles out and doing very well
Syesha - no word of any offers, is she even looking?
Jason - has management, label search promising, 1 single out
Brooke - seems to be sticking to live recording for now, although she may surprise us IMO
Carly - seems to be looking but nothing final yet
Kristy Lee - quickly signed and dumped by 19E/Arista Nashville after 1 album and 1 single, now in negotiations with Universal
Michael - seems to have his team in place and needs a distributor, 1 single out
Ramiele - doesn’t appear to be interested in a label at this point, but several singles out on her own
Chikezie - seems to be in negotiations with Universal
Amanda - quite comfortable on her own, 1 album out that she did herself
David H - not sure what his recording plan is now, but 1 single out
Yeah for Kristy!
Hope the negotiation goes well.
edit: state your opinion, please leave the personal insults out of it.
lmaoooooo i’m home alone and feelin a bit down and that had me snortin my coffee allover the place
ty for the laugh hehe
Good luck to KLC. Why did they sign her in the first place? I thought Carley or Brooke nibble first?
itsalleternal - I really hoped a label probably an indie would show interest in Brooke white her style is not that off base ..here is her blog she is writing songs…
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=8985501&blogID=460230224
Hopefully Brooke will get signed by someone soon…
Brooke actually has management too: http://www.sanctuarygroup.com/artist_brookewhite.html =)
re: KLC, I agree it really sounds like sourgraping. Arista did screw her over but leave Carrie out of it.
That’s news to me! I didn’t know about that…and I agree Carrie should be left out of the equation. There is, after all, only one Carrie Underwood.
Wow. It does amaze how some people love to throw the Carrie card around for their own professional failures. Yup, blame Carrie for your decision to sign with the same label and not doing your due diligence in terms of the type of promotion they would garner. Yup, blame Carrie for your public admission and disclosure that your album took a whopping and grueliing FOUR days to record. Great product and artistic endeavor right there. Yup, blame Carrie for your foot in mouth syndrome or inability to ingratiate yourself to Nasheville and Country radio. Yup, blame Carrie for the quality of generic songs. Yup, blame Carrie when all else fails. I guess it will get you press. Seems to work for Jessica Simpson sometimes when her Country career stalls, she just mentions Carrie.
Hm, Kellie Pickler seems to have avoided the blame Carrie game. Oh, wait, that’s because she’s actually working like the dickens to build her own career without casting aspersions or whining as to why Carrie gets all the Nasheville love. Kellie seems to be doing quite well, too.
I do feel that Arista Nasheville did a terrible job and screwed her over. But that ^^ just sounds like more of the same foot in mouth problem that she’s had before. Way to promote yourself. Carrie has legions of fans. Nasheville and country radio love her. Why do you want to throw stones at Country’s Golden Girl?
I did not like Kristy on the show. I was aggravated that she performed so badly during the semi finals but managed to make it through over more talented girls which I believe stemmed from her looks and sympathy from being sick. I tried to like her later on because I felt sorry for the way Arista treated her but for her to come back and speak like this cements my first impressions of her.
Kristy, if you had a voice like Carrie, you would have been treated more like Carrie.
Did Kristy not know she was going to be on the same label as Carrie in the first place? What did she expect? This should have been her first warning not to sign with them.
I really wish I could feel sorry for her. I’ll admitt, she was the only one who made it into the top twelve who I didn’t think deserved to be there, and I was shocked that she got signed in the first place over others. I do however really like this new charity foundation she has put together. I really hope at least that works well for her.
Michael is with Three Ring Projects, the same company Elliott is with. They distributed his Christmas single.
http://threeringprojects.com/?
And Carly’s new manager is Arthur Spivak, who also managed Vanessa Carlton. Just thought I’d give you an update.
Yeah right, Kristy Lee, Arista just couldnt STAND to have TWO blonde country-rock superstars!
No class, no class.
Awww, keep saying that to yourself, sweetie.
She makes it look like Carrie was not with the label, and that they signed Carrie after they signed her and decided to support Carrie and not her.
I dunno, but what she’s saying just doesn’t make sense. I get the girl is upset, but it’s not Carrie’s fault.
Good luck with that hit.
Totally agree. Why did Arista sign her in the first place; or was that a “mistake”, like the first time? When she signed, everybody wondered “why her” and why not Carly? or Michael? or Chikezie….and it goes on and on. So she may have had a “friend” at Arista that helped with that signing. She needed management, management makes the difference….
Truth is, KLC is an average country singer, you can find her in any southern town….and she’s blond….people get confused with all those blonds on one label.
Ditto to what everyone else said.
I was surprised she made it to the final 12 anyway. I liked Alexandra and Kady better. She was very lucky and she must learn how to talk to the press without sounding ungrateful.
KLC isn’t doing herself any favors by bringing up Carrie Underwood because nobody likes whiners and also, as even Jessica Simpson found out, your public image will take a hit if you’re against Carrie, for people just love her. But, KLC is 100% correct that her label’s efforts at promoting her were pitiful.
Looking at this list, I find it sad that most likely only the top two will have well-known careers. The Davids would have made the finale anyway, but the show’s decision to push them and them alone at the expense of other very talented performers from the season was both unfortunate and wrong.
The top four singers from the season– David, David, Carly, and MJ– together made up a phenomenally talented quartet. But, the last two were glossed over because AI evidently decided that setting Jason and Brooke up to fall apart live on the air made for better TV.
But, when you add the artistry of Jason and Brooke to the fantastic four listed above, what S7 really boasted was a sensational six. And this top-half dozen is easily talented enough to be out there making public names for themselves.
The season began to go off track, in my opinion, when Simon declared DA the definitive frontrunner and one to beat as expressly as he stated that after “Imagine”. Yes, it was the best performance of the seson to that point. But, the “nineteen other miserable contestants” line was completely unwarranted. Castro topped Imagine the very next week with “Hallelujah”, in my view, but that performance was thoroughly underplayed, as was every other exceptional performance until “Billie Jean”.
The storyline of the season then stopped being “the most talented group ever” and became “who can challenge Archuleta?” Then Cook stepped up, and the storyline shifted to “David vs. David”. But, once again “the best group ever” stuff was completely abandoned. And that’s a shame because, the class of ‘08 really did have the most collective talent from what I see. I would even argue that beyond the fantastic four and sensational six that Syesha and, yes, KLC rounded out what was an “excellent eight”. And each of them have the talent to be out there having a publically visible music career, not just David C and David A.
Arista doesn’t promote many of their artists well, I’ll give her that. But some of her other comments were a bit odd.
Blake was with Arista also, right?
Anyway, as far as KLC is concerned, she’s a pretty girl with a decent voice. I sing with people in my church choir that could definitely outsing her. She’s nothing special imo… just another blond country singer. I don’t care for country music but I’ll concede that Carrie can sang! Kellie P is not a great singer but dang that girl is funny! Her long term career is not going to be recording - again, jmo. KLC did nothing to distinguish herself at all. I didn’t see the AI7 tour but to those of you who did… was she as boring live as she was on the show?
In talks with Universal doesn’t seem to bode well. Have we heard anything from anyone signed with Universal??? I’m stilll waiting for that Sundance/Sabrina cd. I was actually kinda looking forward to it.
Well A.I. likes to toot their own horn and promoted last season as “the best contestants ever” mantra. There was in fact a lot of talent this year. As far as Michael Johns, I felt his best performance was “Bohemian Rhapsody” during Hollywood Week and then for me, though he was a initial favorite, he never quite awed me after that–though I thought he was good. Carly, another front-runner initially also didn’t quite get there for me, though I also think she’s very good and I am looking forward to a more mellow pop rock record from her.
It was ironic that she was eliminated after a very good performance. As far as KLC goes, I really think Randy liked her and I think that he may have been instrumental in her getting signed by Arista. Let’s face it, she was in the bottom three so many times that I was shocked to hear she even got signed. She bought some time with her “patriotic” song God Bless America and even Simon thought she was “clever.” I thought KLC’s final swan song & performance after being eliminated was good & she played the “sexy” card all over the place so maybe that was a reason they thought they might be able to promote her and give her a shot.
Bottom line is that KLC can’t possibly imagine that Arista would spend all their efforts on her with Carrie as their Hot Star. Carrie won A.I. for one thing and is one of Arista’s biggest & proven money-making stars. I think KLC was lucky to even get picked up by anyone after the show. Heck #3, Syesha, didn’t get picked up.
As far as setting up “Jason and Brooke” to fall apart. Sorry, Jason and Brooke did that all by themselves. I think both of them had some amazing performances but in the end I think the viewers didn’t think they were ready for prime-time. You never, ever forget your lyrics!!!
Kristy, you were the contestant nearly everyone hated. Of course you’re not going to sell millions of records!
A couple years after she appeared, Jennifer Hudson was still not really anywhere yet…it took her a while to make it back but she has with a vengeance. If anyone ends up like that, I would guess it would be Syesha.
As for Kristy Lee, I doubt she will ever be big. In fact, I think other season 7 contestants will pass her on the albums and notability chart in a hurry. Slamming Carrie will never help you. After all, she has sold nearly 10 million albums and is still selling at a decent pace - of course she is going to get all the attention! Look at your own peers - none of them envision being nearly as big as Carrie is.
And that is definitely a good comparison with Jessica Simpson. She has always been a second-tier act who thinks she is in the frontlines, regardless of where she turns.
Yeah. Kristy was with Arista Nashville, a branch of Artista. I’m just not sure if Arista and AN operate under the same people or not.
Thats pretty darn sad if you ask me. For her to be so sour about it, she sure had NO problem singing a song Carrie wrote for her album, now did she?
Dont’ blame your problems on someone else…pathetic
I was never a fan of KLC on AI and continue not to be a fan of hers. How she got that far on AI is beyond me. How she first got signed by Arista is beyond me. She cannot for the life of me carry a tune. It was more evident in her first single. Now she blames Carrie Underwood for her dismissal from Arista, HA!!! KLC it’s because Arista realized they made a mistake in signing a no talent artist like you, and now you’re coming off as being a whiner!!!! Stop blaming Carrie for your label dropping you and realize you can’t sing……OBTW, sorry if I offended any KLC fans out there, but truth be told, KLC should of been grateful for Arista to resign her (sure less promotion on their part) and see where it would take her…..but she’d been let go…..stop using the press to blame others for your failures!!!
“Yeah. Kristy was with Arista Nashville, a branch of Artista. I’m just not sure if Arista and AN operate under the same people or not.”
They don’t operate with the same people, it’s a coincidence that they have the same name. The Sony Nashville labels (Arista Nashville, RCA Nashville, BNA) have totally separate everything from RCA and J/Arista. Carrie is actually signed to both Arista and Arista Nashville because the original 19R deal was only with RCA/J/Arista, not the Nashville labels. They had to negotiate a new deal so that she could sign with a Nashville label where she belongs.
Well, I kinda like the girl’s never give up, never feel sorry for yourself attitude, both on the show and once again now after being cruelly dropped so quickly. (This, despite my belief that she’s not particularly talented or deserving of a major label contract over much more talented S7 contestants.) So when I read mj’s blog write-up, I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt with that Carrie Underwood comment.
After watching the video, I’m still not convinced that she said what that guy said she said. I note that while she was interviewed for most of the video, the comment about Carrie Underwood and her having a song that would be a hit was just mentioned by the guy and we never really heard any of that coming from KLC’s mouth. There may be a lot of nuance to what she said relating to Carrie that the guy misstated or oversimplified. Yeah, she’s very pretty and she played the sexy aspect of her persona on AI and during the tour, and she shamelessly pandered on God Bless the USA, and all this is reason to not root for her, but I also never got the sour grapes vibe from her before, so I’m not going to jump to that conclusion until I hear the words from her own mouth, instead of hearing it from some reporter who paraphrased the meaty part of the interview.
Ugh. WTF is she thinking? I never took her for being naive, I guess I was wrong. I understand about having full confidence in your abilities but this chick just doesn’t get that she isn’t very good, or in much demand.
I don’t get her because she doesn’t even seem to be working toward her craft in any way. Take Michael Johns. He was one of the front runners. Like KLC he was supposed to be one of the ringers. He (although I am a fan) pretty much underperformed on the show, but since then he has worked his ass off and has never truly been out of the public eye in some way. He is working his connections and is trying to maintain his foothold as he puts together the blocks he needs to build some kind of a career. Carly, basically the same story. Imagine what would have happened if either of them had been signed. To me the story is not the promotion she didn’t get, but what they could have done with the same deal. I bet they would have fared better, simply because I think they have a larger following.
The only screw up in this entire saga is that the chick was signed before any of the other top 10 imho, besides the Davids of course. I would buy a cd from Rami before KLC and it’s not that I am not a country fan, cause I have Pickler and Phil Stacey on my ipod. This chick just doesn’t have it, and it doesn’t bode well that she is placing blame. Maybe some of it could be because instead of pushing out some crap, you should have taken it more seriously. For the record KLC, Carrie has a voice you will never possess, and Pickler has a personality and she is a pretty good songwriter too. They are more than just blondes.
I totally hated her on the show and would have given her slot to at least three other girls, notably Asiah I believe her name was. That KLC lasted as long as she did baffled me, that she was dropped in a nanosecond, does not.
She was really ballsy on the show. She never felt sorry for herself (Carly) blubbered when things didn’t go her way (Brooke) or make it all about herself (Syesha) and I appreciated that about her. No matter how tough things got, she just dug her heels in and kept playing. I came to respect her, even if she didn’t get my vote.
Maybe these remarks were taken out of context. I hope so. If she’s smart–and I think she is–she’ll not compare herself to any of the other Idols when talking about her career from now on.
Imo, KLC ranged from atrocious to just okay during the show and the only reason she went as far as she did was pandering with the patriotic song and trying to get sympathy for being sick and the horse. She completely turned me off when I saw her at the AI concert when she tried to guilt people into cheering/standing up for her. I don’t have a clue why she was signed but doubt the lack of support and her being dropped had anything to do with Carrie.
I just don’t understand what Kristy Lee could possibly mean. Is she talking about the money Arista Nashville spends on Carrie now? Well even if you put aside Carrie’s talent the investment is more than justified by her sales and awards. Plus Arista Nashville seems to have plenty of money to spend on superstars like Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, and Brooks & Dunn so why single out Carrie? Did Kristy Lee expect Brad Paisley-level promotion on her debut record?
Is Kristy Lee talking about Arista Nashville spending more money promoting Carrie’s debut? If so then there were good reasons for that too. Carrie won her season and it was obvious from the votes she got and her sales after that she had a big fanbase from the show. Arista Nashville probably saw what Kristy Lee was selling on i-Tunes and must have known it didn’t compare. Also during Carrie’s season Nashville was all abuzz about her singing country and making a country record. Contrast that with Kristy Lee, where the writers for the Tennessean and other outlets didn’t have much good to say about her abilities. You can chalk that up to the AI novelty being gone for Nashville but there was a big enthusiasm gap that I’d guess also reflected songwriters’ excitement about the two. The label probably saw a bigger opportunity with Carrie’s debut and rightfully so. If Kristy Lee’s comparing promotion of their debuts I don’t understand why she’d expect the same treatment as Carrie got.
Besides, Kristy Lee clearly didn’t see the JTTW video, which was low budget and even had to be resubmitted because the synch was off in the original version. Carrie earned more promotion by having great sales.
I hope that the comments were taken out of context.
I know for myself, I was surprised when she got a record deal—if you had said one non-David Season 7 person would get a record deal from 19, I’d have guessed, at a minimum, Jason, Brooke, MJ, and Carly ahead of her. Probably Syesha, too. If you’d have asked me to identify the non-David whose record I’d most like to hear, I’d probably have said Jason, Brooke, MJ, Carly, and Chikezie. (Not saying that I’d buy all of those, but I’d at least be interested enough to give their records a listen.) I appreciated her spunk on the show and the fact that she improved over the show. I also liked the fact that she inspired the robotic Godzilla on Idolatry. But zero interest in her record.
But then I felt bad for her when the record got so little promo and went nowhere, and when she got bounced so quickly by the label.
If she actually said what this seems to indicate, though, the sympathy that I was feeling would go away completely.