"American Idol" Rejects Speak

Despite her dismissal, Krabill says the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive: Hundreds of fans on the show's online message boards have demanded her reinstatement. One record producer contacted Krabill's parents, although no opportunities have yet developed. She also ran into her lieutenant colonel after the Idol audition -- in Iraq, where Krabill and the Airborne band entertained the troops for two weeks before Christmas. At that point the show hadn't yet aired, but Krabill told him what happened. "He thought it was awesome," she says.

Life After Idol: The Losers Speak:

Tyrus Bush
Ewing, New Jersey
Student at Mercer County Community College
Brush with "American Idol": Bush lost the judges when he cradled a small gold star while singing Eric Clapton's "Change the World." Bush dubbed it "showmanship." Simon Cowell's response: "So is pulling a rabbit out of a hat."
Dream: A gospel veteran, Bush hopes to launch a career singing R&B.
Reaction: "Last year it was all about me trying to make it, but this year it was about exposure," says Bush, who was also cut from Idol last season. "People have seen it, and they're like, 'You're the guy from American Idol. I've been looking for a guy to do a track with.' The radio stations have been calling."

Nicole Crook
Oxnard, California
Single mother; student at Ventura College
Brush with "American Idol": After Crook's sexy, bare-shouldered version of "Fever," judge Randy Jackson declared that she should never sing again. Post-audition Idol cameras caught Crook sobbing with her mother and infant son Jeffrey as she swore and mumbled "insulting" and "stupid."
Dream: To work in the entertainment industry, singing or doing makeup.
Reaction: "It wasn't like, 'Oh, no, I've lost my big shot at stardom.' Because, honestly, I've gotten more attention -- calls from people I don't even know -- saying, 'I'm sorry I'm imposing, but we loved you.' I'm going tomorrow to a Santa Barbara radio station to sing for them."