Lil started out as a judges' favorite, but by disco week, the judges were having problems with what they perceived as her lack of originality and her failure to take a song and make it her own.
"I thought I did make it my own, especially vocally," Lil says in her own defense. "I guess they wanted me to do more of a change as far as music-wise. I felt vocally I did some changes because I always wanted it to fit who I am as an artist. Of course, me being an R&B soulful type of singer, I wanted to make sure I got that vibe in there, because that is truly me."
Lil says she selected "I'm Every Woman," because she remembers hearing it as a young girl and she always wanted to sing it because she thought it was a woman's anthem. So she went for it.
Unfortunately, the judges didn't think she had the personality of Chaka Khan, who first sang the song in the '70s, and they heaped on the criticism. Especially Kara DioGuardi, who commented, "You've been every woman but yourself."
"Whenever they gave me their comments, I always took them in stride, because I felt they were giving me constructive criticism to improve me," Lil says. "There were times I felt they went back and forth a bit. It was okay. In the end, I am going to take everything they gave me and push forward with it. I will definitely have an album come out. Everything they gave me is going to make me make that a great success."
Next stop for Lil is home to spend time with her husband, her three children and their new puppy before heading out on the "Idol" tour.
"I did explain to [my babies] that my run was up and I was getting to come home to spend some time with them before I went on tour. They are so proud of their mommy. They have been great," she says.
"American Idol" returns next Tuesday at 8 p.m. on FOX when the Top Five sing songs made famous by the Rat Pack.
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