Karen’s claim to fame on American Idol this year was that she was the only MySpace auditioner to make it to the Top 24. From the very beginning the half-Peruvian, half-Dominican singer has shown fierce pride in her Latin heritage, often singing in Spanish or “Spanglish.”
Ms. Rodriquez made it clear from the start that she is a big fan of Jennifer Lopez and the late Selena. She often sang Jen and Selena songs during the competition. However, it was a Taylor Dayne song that ended her run on the show this year. Karen is pleased with the support that Jen has shown her this season and has enjoyed learning from the producers.
From Karen’s exit interviews, we learn more about the “Latin-American crossover artist.” Karen and Pia attended the NY School of Performing Arts together, and Karen has also been in music classes in Italy and L.A. Jacob was her “rock” during the competition; they would often go to each other for advice.
She will continue a career in music but would also like to do commercials and movies, especially voice-over work. She wants to be known as “the next Latin Sensation, crossover English-American-Hispanic artist.”
Karen has been called the “twitter queen” because she has been very responsive to fans. She is proud of fans tweeting her that they love her version of Selena’s “I Could Fall in Love,” and that they are buying it on iTunes.
“Every song I chose was a song I wanted to sing. I’m very proud of making it this far,” Karen says and has no regrets for any of the choices she made on the show. She doesn’t feel that she lost votes by singing in Spanish. She adds, “I went up there, and I always sang from my heart… I’m just very happy I got a chance to be as free as I was.”
To learn more about Karen, visit her official American Idol page.
