Lindsey Cardinale

One of American Idols most talented, classy finalists, there is no doubt that Lindsey walked away a solid winner back in 2005. At every step along the way, the young singer impressed judges and millions of fans with her perfect poise, unwavering professionalism and the kind of pure-country voice that gets to the emotional core of a song to reveal every drop of emotion therein.

This beauty is co...untry to the core and you will not attend a show without hearing her blow you away with at least one Merle Haggard tune. She has made an exceptional young woman of herself and gained so much respect from many musicians with her amazing songs, lyrics, and unforgettable vocals.

"The whole 'American Idol' experience absolutely made me stronger," Cardinale says. "I knew something great was going to come out of it, and now, 4 years later, I'm traveling all over, writing songs from my soul and loving every minute."

Cardinale grew up just north of New Orleans in the small town of Ponchatoula with her older sister and two loving, but not particularly musical, parents. According to the singer, that talent skipped a generation and descended from her gifted grandmother. (Lindsey laughs)

Wherever it came from, Cardinale's talent is both rare and exceptional and totally homegrown and natural. Back in elementary school, friends were constantly asking her to sing, but her parents paid little notice until a special film took things up a couple of notches.

"My favorite movie when I was little was 'The Little Mermaid,' and 'Part of Your World' was the first song I sang that made people say, 'She's not your average kid, she can really sing,'" Cardinale recalls. "Then, when I was 7 or 8, I got a Singalodeon, a little karaoke machine which I still have. It's just a little bitty thing but it got me a long way. When you're little you think you can do anything, and I thought I was Dolly Parton. I began singing harmony before I knew the true meaning or really even knew what I was doing… it was really neat.

Along with singing all the time, she grew up working as a waitress/singer at a Gospel Music Restaurant, The Country Village where she sang with the house band. Although she can still hold her own sitting behind a drum kit, Cardinale found her main instrument shortly after those drum lessons, and she was off and running.

"I do not leave my house with my guitar" she states. "I picked it up when I was 10. My parents would tell me, 'But we just bought you a piano,' and I’d say, 'I know, but I can't carry that around!'"

She was soon lugging that guitar to regular gigs at schools, fairs, weddings and to Ponchatoula's biggest event, the annual Strawberry Festival.

"I started doing lots of things locally," she says. "I did the big Strawberry Festival every year, and talent show after talent show. Singing began to be my label at an early age.”

The wide-ranging material she performed on "Idol" – from big ballads like Karla Bonoff's "Standing Right Next to Me," and Motown classic "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" to soul workouts like Wilson Pickett's "Knock On Wood" – were proof enough that Cardinale can indeed do it, but word of her talent was spreading throughout the industry even before her nationwide "Idol" exposure. A Nashville-based cousin of Cardinale's played some of her songs for country music's Carl Jackson, and the veteran songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist – who's worked with everyone from Dolly Parton to Merle Haggard to Emmylou Harris – was so impressed by the singer and her encyclopedic knowledge of classic country songs that he invited her to his home in Nashville.

"I can remember just a few years ago I sat in Mr. Carl's living room and we played the guitar and sang for hours... Never would I have dreamed to receive such great feedback from someone like himself... I sang harmony as he sang 'Mama Tried'. I am still in close touch with him today and have a lot of respect for him."

Cardinale has won over millions of fans and made some lifelong friends over the course of her amazing creative journey of the past few years. One of those friends, country star Carrie Underwood, went on to win that 'Idol' competition back in 2005, and the two small-town southern girls have remained close as their respective careers have developed.

"Carrie and I talked a lot about what we would do if we made it," Cardinale says of her good friend and former rival. "She's done everything she said she would do and I truly could not be more proud of her. She has worked incredibly hard for where she is today and deserves every bit of her success. I remember the long days and nights we spent learning lyrics and just simply not getting enough sleep; she’s right where God wants her to be."

Where Underwood has a pop-singer's tendency to soar vocally, Cardinale smolders, with a smoky, deep-southern-soulful style that is distinctly her own. It's a voice that millions of country music fans have already embraced, and with her debut album just around the corner, Cardinale can hardly wait to give them more.

"It's really unbelievable, because this is something I've wanted since I was a little girl," she says. I never dreamed of getting the opportunities that I come face-to-face with now. God has a plan, and I’m not ashamed to say that I love God, am proud of my faith, and walking the path He paved for me.”See More