Crystal Bowersox

I did grow up poor. My mom managed to get a job as a custodian at our church, and it was really just a favor for her, and my dad's an electrician - just a blue-collar family, and the house was usually falling apart. ”

I hope that country music embraces me because I grew up on it and have a love for the music. ”

Acting was my first love before music. ”

I have a lot of love and respect for Melissa Etheridge. I love Joe Cocker, Ray LaMontagne, Feist. ”

For me, marriage is about love, not paperwork. I've never been the kid who dreamed of the big white dress, the long veil, the fancy diamond ring. ”

This sounds really cheesy and weird, but the pitbull is a sweet animal that just wants love until it's provoked - that's kind of how I've lived my life, too. ”

When I found out I was pregnant, I was 22. It was really scary because I was working the music thing, and with a kid coming, you just can't live that life with a child. ”

I went into the 'Idol' audition with no expectations; that's just the kind of person I am. If it doesn't happen, it doesn't hurt so badly, you know? But once I made it past the first round, and the second, and third - I started to realize, 'Maybe my goals and dreams really are attainable.' ”

I went to a public school in Oak Harbor, Ohio, and it's a very rural community. I was an artist kid, and I just didn't fit in very well. ”

I did pretty well busking. I would play two to eight hours a day, and I could make two or three hundred an hour. ”