Other than Country Music, what do Josh Gracin and Miranda Lambert have in common? Give up?Lambert was a finalist on Nashville Star, while Gracin competed on American Idol. Reality TV has cranked out some high quality Country Music singers, and you don’t have to look further than Carrie Underwood for proof.Joining the list of post-reality television Country Music singers is Kristy Lee Cook. The 24-year-old Oregon-native just landed a contract with 19 Recordings/Arista Nashville, whose parent is Sony BMG Nashville.Cook is currently on tour with American Idols Live! tour but took the time to comment on her record deal.“I’ve wanted this for so many years,” she said after the deal was announced. “To have the chance to be a country singer – to make the music I love – and to have enjoyed the support of so many American Idol fans this past season, it all means more than I can put into words”Her love of Country Music spilled into many of her performances on American Idol, much like it did for Gracin and Underwood before her. Cook performed songs by Dolly Parton, Lee Greenwood and Martina McBride on the show, where evidently, her voice and style caught the attention of a few big names in the music industry.Simon Cowell told Kristy Lee Cook on American Idol that she is a country singer,” said Sony BMG Nashville chairman Joe Galante. “We definitely agreed and followed her very closely during the season. We have been anxious to get her into the studio.”Cook’s single “15 Minutes of Shame” will hit Country airwaves August 11.
