Kristy Lee Cook (born January 18, 1984) is an American country music artist. She released an album, Devoted, under the name Kristy Lee in 2005. In addition, she was also the seventh place finalist on the seventh season of the television series American Idol. She signed in June 2008 to Arista Nashville and released her debut album in September 2008. This album has produced her first chart single in "15 Minutes of Shame", a Top 30 hit on the Billboard country charts. 

Personal life

Kristy Lee Cook was born in Seattle, Washington, to Larry and Carlene Cook. Her brother-in-law is quarterback John Dutton of the Arena Football League. She currently resides in a log cabin in Selma, Oregon. On March 15, 2008, Kristy Lee Cook's boyfriend of 1 1/2 years, Andy Dobner, a landscape company owner, proposed marriage to her. Hoping to maintain her focus on American Idol, she decided to keep the proposal a secret. When Cook was eliminated from American Idol on April 16, 2008, Dobner asked for her hand in marriage once more. According to Cook, the marriage may take place in June 2009. Brooke White, a fellow American Idol finalist, will be one of her bridesmaids for the wedding.

Early career

Kristy Lee played piano and sang for the band "Sixshooter". In 2001, at the age of seventeen, Kristy Lee signed her first contract with BMI. According to her RMG page, Kristy Lee signed with RCA Records/Arista Nashville in 1999, and was the first artist signed to Britney Spears' production company. Spears agreed to make a cameo appearance in her first music video.However, RCA placed Kristy Lee and other younger artists on hold and then dropped her.[4]
It was then that Kristy Lee moved to Dallas, Texas, in an attempt to pursue her career and gain more experience. She began modeling and was featured in commercials. In 2005, Ren-Hen Records released her debut album Devoted. During this time, Kristy Lee performed for two years at Cowboy's nightclub in Arlington, TX, singing 8 songs per night.
Kristy Lee returned to Selma, Oregon, in 2007 to prepare for the "American Idol" audition. To raise funds for her audition and travel expenses, she sold her "really good" barrel horse. She had hoped to earn enough money to repurchase her horse upon her return. However, the night she was eliminated, she commented that the person to whom she sold her horse was unwilling to sell it back.

American Idol

Overview
Kristy Lee auditioned for American Idol in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by singing "Amazing Grace". All three judges liked her voice and sent her straight through to Hollywood. While in Hollywood, her first song did not impress the judges. For her second and final chance, she sang "Amazing Grace" again; she was then selected as one of the top 24 contestants in the semi-finals. She was the first female performer of the season and sang "Rescue Me". The judges did not care for her performance but gave her props since she was the first of the night and she had bronchitis. On March 12th, Cook was placed in the bottom 3 alongside Syesha Mercado and David Hernandez. She was declared safe. On March 19, she was placed in the bottom three again with Carly Smithson and Amanda Overmyer, but she survived again, ensuring herself a spot in the American Idol Top 10 Concert Tour for the upcoming summer. Once again, on April 2nd, she was placed in the bottom 3 alongside her 2 roommates, Ramiele Malubay and Brooke White. Malubay was eliminated.