Tami Gosnell
Gossip

You remember this crooner, right? She had a lip ring, tried out for American Idol, was surprisingly booted off before the final 24 ...

But don't waste too many tears crying over Tami Gosnell. The alternative artist is doing just fine for herself, thanks very much.

As Jennifer Hudson has proven, you needn't win - or even make it to the final six of - American Idol in order to make it big. As over 300,000 people have visited her website since her audition on FOX, Gosnell now feels the same way.

''I thought [Simon Cowell] was going to give me hell for the way I looked. I've got a lip ring, and I'm not a fingernail-painting kind of girl,'' she said. ''I had no idea they would be so nice to me.''

Tami does joke about the nearly nude Antonella Barba pics and says that maybe she should've kept a few naked shots of herself around. But, in the end, she's satisfied with the outcome of the show - and she's not shocked that Melinda Doolittle is the favorite.

''We spent 12 hours singing in a group, and she melted me a couple times. She's got the personality. I text-messaged her after her performance [of 'My Funny Valentine'] last week, and she texted me back! I figured she had 700 messages!''