Gina Glocksen
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She's an American Idol finalist, on tour with her friends AND engaged. Life is good for Gina Glocksen.

Let's read what she had to say about it to TV Guide recently...

TV Guide: How's the tour going?
Gina Glocksen: I'm having an amazing time.

TV Guide: Is it different than you expected?
Gina: It's absolutely completely different than what I expected.

TV Guide: How so?
Gina: I was expecting to be tired all of the time and not get any sleep. Also, we're a really close group and I thought that the bad parts about us would come out on tour. But so far, nothing has happened. If anything, we're closer, so it's kind of weird.

TV Guide: What do you like to do when you're on the bus headed towards the next stop?
Gina: We'll just put in movies. We'll watch Friends or The Devil Wears Prada.

TV Guide: You're lucky. A lot of people on the road complain that they miss their friends and family.
Gina: And mine get to come with me.... It is cool.

TV Guide: What do you do when you're not performing?
Gina: Every show we go to, there's a massage therapist. I definitely try to get into those as much as possible. But mostly I just try to get to know everyone who's involved with Idol. When people think of the Idol tour, they just think of the 10 Idols who are performing. But there's so many people. There's the backstage crew and the road staff....

TV Guide: Is there anyone in that group you've gotten to know well?
Gina: Yeah. There's this guy Matt. He's totally awesome. He's kind of spunky and unique like me, and we kind of enjoy the same things.

TV Guide: Have you given any thought to what you want to do when the tour is over? I'm sure you've been getting lots of offers.
Gina: I have not yet, actually.

TV Guide: Really?
Gina: Not yet. But I have a friend who's put together some songs for me. I listened to them for the first time the other day and I loved them, so I'm going to record them as soon as I go home.

TV Guide: How would you describe the songs?
Gina: They're very, very hard-rock songs. It's hard because [my friend has been] singing them and when he does it, it sounds like Alice in Chains, which is not the route I want to go.

TV Guide: I can't really see you doing that.
Gina: No. I'm going to try to make it as punk as possible.

TV Guide: Season 7 auditions are starting. What advice do you have for people who want to be where you are right now?
Gina: Not to get overwhelmed, because they are going to get overwhelmed going into an arena where there are thousands of people who are there for the same reason. They all have the same dream, so make yourself stand out in some possible way. Always smile. The judges smell fear.

TV Guide: Especially Simon?
Gina: Yeah. Well, there's a couple of rounds [with the producers of Idol] you have to make it through before you even see Randy, Simon and [Paula Abdul]. Also, don't sing Etta James. Don't sing Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston. They hear it all of the time, so they just get bored with it.

TV Guide: A lot of people sleep outside to audition. Any words of wisdom about camping out all night?
Gina: Just be ready for any kind of weather. Dress in layers. Bring an umbrella. Anything can happen. The first time I auditioned for the second season, it was pouring rain and I had nothing, so I was completely sick the next day.

TV Guide: At tour stops, do people recognize you in the mall?
Gina: Yeah. If I didn't have the red in my hair, no one would know who I was. When I wear a hat, no one knows who I am. They'll all go up to [Blake Lewis] or [Jordin Sparks]. They give me the camera and they'll be like, "Can you take a picture of us?" [Laughs]

TV Guide: Is it nice to be able to hide if you don't want to be recognized?
Gina: Yeah. The thing about me, though, is I love it. I love the attention. If someone comes up to me and asks to take a picture, I'll never brush them away. I'll take out my camera and ask for one, too. Remember the Crying Girl? She came up to me at the meet-and-greet after a show and was like [Mock sobs], "Will you take a picture with me?" She was bawling. I was like, "Only if you take one with me."

Gina Glocksen may have finished ninth on this year's American Idol, but the 23-year-old singer is first int he heart of longtime boyfriend. Joe Ruzicka.

In fact, he proposed to her onstage during a performance on Tuesday as part of the American Idols Live tour in Rosemont, Ill.

After Gina finished a duet with fellow Idol hopeful Phil Stacey, her boyfriend was ushered onto the stage where he declared he was the "biggest Gina Glocksen fan of all," People magazine reports. Then, Ruzicka proposed amid cheers from the hometown crowd.

(See the YouTube video of the proposal below.)

Glocksen's response? She accepted – with a kiss.

Before getting voted off the April 4 episode of American Idol, Glocksen frequently talked about her boyfriend who cheered her on from the audience. During an early episode, Glocksen dedicated her performance of Heart's "Alone" to her beau.

She praised Ruzicka for his support – and thanked him for encouraging her to audition again after being rejected from the show the year before.

"He has been my rock throughout this whole process," she said on the show. "He's absolutely the best thing that's ever happened to me."

A contestant will join Gina Glocksen in the land of the unwanted after tonight's American Idol results show.

In the meantime, suburban Chicago newspaper, The Naperville Sun asked readers to send their best to Glocksen shortly after the 22-year-old resident had been voted off the show. Here's a collection of e-mails submitted by readers.

I just wanted to congratulate you on your appearance on American Idol. It was awesome to see you perform on the show. I voted for you every time. You are phenomenal and have a great talent.

You should be so proud of yourself; some people would not have the opportunity to go as far as you did on the show. I was definitely shocked to hear Ryan Seacrest call your name. It was a sad day for both of us, but I know you will make your comeback someday.
- Cheryl R. of Minooka

As a fellow Naperville girl, I was shocked that you were voted off. I can't believe that some of them are still there - Haley, Sanjaya, Phil. This reinforces what I've read recently. You really sounded like Chrissie Hynde ("I'll Stand By You") and "Smile" was great also. It was bittersweet to see you singing that as your last song. Keep your chin up. I know that there is a recording company that will sign you up.
- Terri H.

I wanted to say congrats on making it as far as you did, although I think you really deserved to go much further. You were pretty much the only reason I watched American Idol this season. I think you're a real classy and talented act, and I know you have what it takes to have a long and successful career in music!
- Rock

Gina, wanted to let you know that we are very proud of the job you have done on American Idol. I am a 60-year-old grandfather and was introduced to the show by my granddaughters, sister and wife. I cannot understand the voting system that is being used. It is not for the talent. If it were, you would still be there. You have a wonderful voice and I am looking to hear more from you professionally as your career moves on.
- Charlie Earl, Naperville

I am a Naperville resident and I really liked you, and voted for you all the time. I know it's sad to see you go. You deserved to go further and Sanjaya does not deserve to get a better place than you. You got ninth place out of over 100,000 people! That is really good. I really want to see you tour with the Idols and I really want to meet you! My family loves you also. Good luck. - Elliott Borchardt, Naperville

She may have been voted off American Idol, but Gina Glocksen still has a lot to say. Below, she comments on the one, the only ... Sanjaya Malakar.

"It's funny that everyone is asking is it tough that Sanjaya [moved on], I mean it's tough that all the other eight people did. It's not just Sanjaya," Gina said.

She also added: "He's just different. It's not that he's better or worse. He's Sanjaya and Jordin is Jordin and Chris is Chris and Blake is Blake; America, I guess, was through with me, and that's fine. I'm fine with it. I'm going to tour."

Sounds like a reasonable assessment to us. But still, come on, let's not compare Jordin Sparks to Sanjaya in any way please.

When asked what she thought about Sanjaya hanging in there every week, Gina Glocksen said: "I'm proud of him. He's hanging in there and he's not letting it get to him. He still comes out on stage every week and he gives his all."

Okay, Gina, but what about that hair? Do you have any styling tips for Malakar?

"Oh, no. No. It's funny; it's like a competition - who has better hair, and we're going to have a hair-off...I [the faux-hawk was] number one; I think it was awesome. It just set him apart from everyone else. It was crazy."

We can't argue with that.

Voted out, but not forgotten.

Gina Glocksen may have been booted from American Idol last week, but officials in her hometown said they want to welcome her back in style.

Naperville, Illinois officials said details are still being finalized, but the city hopes to hold a parade honoring the 22-year-old dental assistant on Wednesday.

Mayor George Pradel said he was also contemplating a ceremony to give Glocksen a key to the suburban Chicago city. The festivities will be filmed for American Idol Extra, a behind-the-scenes show on FOX Reality Channel.

Glocksen grew up in Tinley Park, but has been living in Naperville for several years.

Glocksen is due back in town tomorrow; and the timing of the event hinges on her schedule. The plans are also tentative because they require approval from FOX, which still has her under contract.

Jordin Sparks is only 17 years old. But she sings like she's been in the business for years.

Maybe that's because the daughter of a former NFL star has been dancing and carrying a tune since she was a tyke. Here Jordin is at three years old ... and on the American Idol stage.

Meanwhile, Gina Glocksen is gaining momentum in the competition, as well. Here are side-by-side photos of this rocker gal as a child and an adult:

For Leslie Hunt, making it to the final rounds of American Idol would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.

Hunt, a 24-year-old Chicagoan, is one of the final 12 women taking the stage on the FOX talent show Wednesday (the final dozen men perform Tuesday, and live eliminations begin Thursday).

A couple of years ago, however, Hunt would not have had the physical stamina to go through the grueling American Idol audition process.

Diagnosed with lupus when she was 7, Hunt says she had a difficult childhood that was spent largely indoors.

“It was really tough,” Hunt said in phone call from Los Angeles, where she’s sharing a room with fellow Chicago-area contestant Gina Glocksen. “When I was a kid, there were a lot of limitations. Just a couple of years ago, a miracle medication made be able to do something like this.”

One side effect of lupus was that it was dangerous for Hunt to be in the sun, but thanks to her new medicine, she’s been able to work as a dog walker for the past couple of years. And she credits the medicine with allowing her to have the stamina to wait in line for six hours at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, where she tried out for Idol.

“Now I’m outside all the time,” said Hunt, who grew up in St. Charles, studied composition and piano at Roosevelt University and has played around Chicago with cover bands and with a group called Mark Twang.

She’d never thought about trying out for American Idol, but a near-death experience while traveling left Hunt with a new passion for life.

“I got a vaccination for yellow fever, and I got deathly ill. I almost died when I was in Rio,” said Hunt, who is engaged and lives on the North Side of Chicago. “Ever since then, it’s this new mentality for me. I’m not going to just rest on my laurels and wait for things to happen to me. I have to take a proactive approach.”

Part of her strategy this Idol season is to pick a genre she shines in, without being too predictable.

“I’m going to be varied within reason. I do feel like I have a niche — I’m not going to be doing the Isley Brothers one minute and Celine Dion the next,” Hunt said. “I’m going to be doing a lot of classic soul, basically.”

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