Lindsey Cardinale

Lindsey Michelle Cardinale (born February 5, 1985 in Hammond, Louisiana), is an American country singer and university student who was the twelfth-place finalist on the fourth season of American Idol in 2005. She was the first finalist eliminated.

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Cardinale was born in Hammond, Louisiana on February 5, 1985 to Agnes and Anthony Cardinale. In 1991, when she was six years old, she and her family moved to Ponchatoula, Louisiana. She has an older sister, Lori. She is a 2003 graduate of Ponchatoula High School, where she was a member of the advanced choir. During her run of American Idol, she was a radiology-major university student. In addition to singing, she also plays guitar, piano, drums, and the fiddle.

The 19-year-old Cardinale auditioned in New Orleans, Louisiana with Karla Bonoff's "Standing Right Next to Me". In the Hollywood rounds, she sang "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)," (along with semi-finalist Melinda Lira and fellow finalist Jessica Sierra) and "The Woman in Me (Needs the Man in You)." She went on to the three-round semi-finals composed of the top 12 women and top 12 men. There she sang "Standing Right Next to Me," "I Try to Think About Elvis," and "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing." She made it to the top 12 alongside 11 others. On March 16, 2005, she was the first of the final 12 contestants from AI season four to be voted off, after her performance of "Knock on Wood" during the 1960s-theme music week. Cardinale later freely admitted that she did not enjoy singing "Knock on Wood" and tried everything she could to get out of recording it for the subsequent American Idol compilation album, but ultimately had to accept it and record it. Cardinale was also included on the AI season four's charity single, "When You Tell Me That You Love Me," with the other 11 finalists to benefit the Red Cross Tsunami Relief Fund.

During the Idol run, Cardinale was friends with fourth season winner Carrie Underwood, who is also a small town country singer from the Southern United States, a friendship of which they maintain.

Cardinale appeared at Ponchatoula's Strawberry Festival shortly after her elimination where she thanked her hometown for their contributions that helped her place twelfth out of hundreds of thousands of auditions. However, her contract with 19 Entertainment prevented her from singing at the fair, so she played the drums instead. A year later at the festival, on April 8, 2006, Cardinale put on an hour-long show of cover tunes and two original songs. Though, she was visibly disturbed after spotting two women at the festival who sported signs with derogatory statements. However, the experience toughened her up to criticism and helped rally her fans to her support. Cardinale was quoted as saying, "I did deal with Simon Cowell for six weeks, and if I can deal with him, I can deal with anybody."

Cardinale is the model and spokesperson for the Bill Hood Automotive Family in Southern Louisiana. She is preparing to start work in Nashville with Grammy Award-winning record producer Paul Jackson on her debut album. She currently has a maxi single out featuring the songs "Drive" and "Nothin' Like a Dream."

American Idol Performances

Discography

Albums

• American Idol Season 4: The Showstoppers (May 2005)

Singles

• Nothin' Like a Dream
• Drive
• Let It Rain Feat. Stephen cochran
• Always On My Mind