Idol Finalist & Hoosier Native Rocks Out

Amanda Overmyer is a downright rocker.

"My dad had a record collection and I just recall always digging in that when I was a kid” Overmyer tells FOX Fort Wayne.

She’s a small-town Mulberry, Indiana girl who got big-time recognition on American Idol.

"I figured if there was ever going to be a shot, if there was ever going to be a shot, that was going to be it” she says.

Overmyer auditioned three years ago for Season 7 of Idol. She traveled 500 miles from Indiana to Atlanta. She went in hoping for the best, and ended up with more than she bargained for.

"They made it look like you stand in line all day to go in front of Randy, Paula and Simon. That's now how it is” she says.

Overmyer says she stood in line for an hour. The after the doors open, she got a ticket. But she had to wait until the next day to audition. That next morning she entered the stadium, found her assigned seat and did a lot of waiting. Finally she was put into a group with three other singers.

“They were like ‘ok you sing. You're done. You sing’” she recalls.

Overmyer made it through the first round, only to go through several more that day. She then had to wait several more weeks before auditioning in front of the judges.

"So I made another trip to Atlanta” she says.

But the wait was well worth it. "I got three 'yeses.' there was no debate.”

So it was goodbye Indiana, hello Hollywood. It wasn’t the easiest transition, she admits.

When asked if she felt the pressure to change her image, she immediately responded ‘yes.’ “They didn't like my hair, they didn't like my makeup.”

Regardless of her rebel-rocker look, Overmyer made it to the top eleven before getting the boot.

"I knew my time to go was getting there” she says.

Since Idol, Overmyer's toured all over the country, started her own record label, and released her first album titled 'Solidify.'

"Having that television show allowed me to book nationally. I didn't have to start in Indiana and work out” Overmyer says.

She says Idol gave her a much needed jump start, but now it's up to her to continue on.

"Take that step to do it. Pray on it. If it's something you really want to do, you're never going to know unless you do it.”

If you're thinking to yourself "I want to be like Amanda. I want to be on American Idol,” there is still time to audition for Season 10. You can do so online, which is new this year. The deadline is Wednesday, so head to http://www.myspace.com/americanidol

for information on how you can become the next American Idol!