The battle for the American Idol judging job continues as season two finalist Kimberley Locke is the latest name publicly lobbying for the position. "I would love to sit in that chair and, you know, give some advice from the contestants' standpoint because I've been on that stage and I know what it's like," the former second runner-up told the Associated Press on Monday.
Locke said her experience on the show will be beneficial to future hopefuls, but said she won't back away from telling them the cold, hard truth in her critiques, adding she will "give it with no fluff.""I'm not quite as nice as Paula (Abdul). Paula's super, super nice but I don't think I'm quite as mean as Simon (Cowell) either," she said.
Locke, who finished third behind Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken, joins a growing list of celebrities more than interested in joining the show, including the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin and season eight favorite, Adam Lambert who said he was more than willing to have a conversation with show producers about his availability for the gig. Locke, who recently started her own label, IAM Entertainment, released a single, "Finally Free," Tuesday. She plans to release another single this year and a full album early next year.