Lindsey Michelle Cardinale (; born February 5, 1985) is an American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

singer and

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

student who was the twelfth-place finalist on the fourth season of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' in 2005. Cardinale was born in Hammond,

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, to Agnes and Anthony Cardinale. In 1991, when she was six years old, she and her family moved to

Ponchatoula Ponchatoula is the second-largest city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana. The population was 6,559 at the 2010 census and 7,545 at the time of the 2020 population estimates program. Etymology It is speculated that the name is derived from the Ch ...

. 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 on ''American Idol'', she was a university student majoring in radiology. In addition to

singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or with ...

, she also plays

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

, drums, and the fiddle.

''American Idol''

The 19-year-old Cardinale auditioned in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

with

Karla Bonoff Karla may refer to: People * Karla (name), a feminine given name * Petras Karla (1937–1969), Soviet Olympic rower Places * Karla, Kose Parish, a village in Harju County, Estonia * Karla, Rae Parish, a village in Harju County, Estonia * K ...

's " Standing Right Next to Me". In the Hollywood rounds, she sang "

Ain't No Mountain High Enough "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is a song written by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson in 1966 for the Tamla label, a division of Motown. The composition was first successful as a 1967 hit single recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and ...

," "

I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" is a 1965 hit song recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "I Can't Help Myself" is one of the most well-know ...

," (along with semi-finalist Melinda Lira and fellow finalist

Jessica Sierra Jessica Ann Sierra (born November 11, 1985) is an American former singer and was the tenth-place finalist on the fourth season of ''American Idol''. She was the third finalist eliminated, on March 30, 2005. Sierra released her single '' Enough'' ...

) and "

The Woman in Me (Needs the Man in You) "The Woman in Me (Needs the Man in You)" is a song co-written and recorded by Canadian country music singer Shania Twain. It was released in August 1995 as the third single and title track from her second studio album ''The Woman in Me (album), Th ...

." 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 "I Try to Think About Elvis" is a song written by Gary Burr, and recorded by American country music artist Patty Loveless. It was released in July 1994 as the first single from her album ''When Fallen Angels Fly''. American Aquarium American Aq ...

," and "

I Don't Want to Miss a Thing "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" is a song performed by American hard rock band Aerosmith as the official theme song for the 1998 sci-fi disaster film ''Armageddon'', in which lead singer Steven Tyler's daughter Liv starred. It is one of four ...

." She made it to the top 12 alongside 11 others. On March 16, 2005, she was 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 to benefit the Red Cross Tsunami Relief Fund, "

When You Tell Me That You Love Me "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" is a song by American singer Diana Ross, released on August 20, 1991 as the lead single from her nineteenth studio album, ''The Force Behind the Power'' (1991). The song was released on the Motown label in th ...

," along with the other 11 finalists.

''American Idol'' performances

Post-''Idol'' career

Cardinale appeared at Ponchatoula's Strawberry Festival shortly after her elimination; 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 19 Entertainment is a producer of entertainment properties for television with a focus on music. Founded by Simon Fuller in London in 1985, the company co-produced ''Pop Idol'' in the United Kingdom with Thames Television in 2001. The ''Idol serie ...

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 original songs. Cardinale became the

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

and spokesperson for the Bill Hood Automotive Family in Southern Louisiana. In 2006, she released a

maxi single A maxi single or maxi-single (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. The first maxi singles Mungo Jerry's first single, " In the Summertime" was t ...

featuring the songs "Drive" and "Nothin' Like a Dream" in

Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest Germany has officially participated in every Eurovision Song Contest since its inaugural edition in , except in when its entry did not qualify past the audio-only pre-selection round, and consequently was not seen in the broadcast final and doe ...

. In late 2007, it was announced that Cardinale had signed with Aria Records Nashville; she began work on her debut album with record producer Paul Jackson. The 2007 self-titled album by Stephen Cochran features a duet with Cardinale. She returned to her college studies, but switched to double majors in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

, with a minor in songwriting, at

Belmont University Belmont University is a private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee. Descended from Belmont Women's College, founded in 1890 by schoolteachers Ida Hood and Susan Heron, the institution was incorporated in 1951 as Belmont College. It be ...

; graduation was anticipated for 2011. She continues with occasional ''Idol''-related performances, such as the ''American Christmas'' show at Lincoln Theatre in Napa County, California in 2009. In early 2015, Cardinale signed with Silvercreek Records in Nashville.(February 5, 2015).
Former American Idol Finalist Lindsey Cardinale Signs with Nashville's Silvercreek Records
", Music News Nashville. Retrieved February 5, 2015. Cardinale was a part of the "American Christmas" album and 2005 RCA album, "The Showstoppers". She is a member of Musicians On Call and St. Jude Partners of Hope.

Discography

Albums *'' American Idol Season 4: The Showstoppers'' (May 2005) Singles *"Nothin' Like a Dream" *"Drive" *"Let It Rain" (featuring Stephen Cochran) *"Always on My Mind"

References

External links

Lindsey Cardinale
on Myspace *
Lindsey Cardinale
on Instagram
Lindsey Cardinale
on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cardinale, Lindsey 1985 births American child singers American women country singers American country singer-songwriters American Idol participants Living people American fiddlers American multi-instrumentalists Belmont University alumni Singer-songwriters from Louisiana People from Hammond, Louisiana 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century American guitarists Guitarists from Louisiana People from Ponchatoula, Louisiana 21st-century American drummers 21st-century American women singers Country musicians from Louisiana 21st-century American violinists American women violinists 21st-century American singers