Crystal's Homecoming Videos/2 Original Songs & Bobby McGee!

American Idol Top 3 front-runner Crystal Bowersox sings her heart-felt, original songs, "Holy Toledo" and "Gray Haired RockStar" at the Fox Toledo studios upon arriving in Toledo, Ohio on 13 May, 2010. After singing "Holy Toledo", Crystal was moved and said that she had never had a crowd cheer so loudly for a song she wrote.

Crystal finished the set with Janis Joplin's "Me and Bobby McGee" - the song that showed American Idol viewers and judges she was "in it to win it!"

Holy Toledo:



Gray Haired Rockstar:


Me and Bobby McGee:

Crystal Bowersox Honors her Hometown! Sings "HOLY TOLEDO" at Idols LIVE!!

American Idol Season 9 runner-up (and the winner in the eyes of her hometown crowd!) Crystal Bowersox had a surprise in store for all her fans who showed up when the Idols LIVE! Tour came to Crystal's native Toledo, Ohio to play the Huntington Center on August 29th, 2010.

Crystal sang an original song ~ a very emotional rendition of "Holy Toledo" to her hometown Fans, and dedicated it to a friend who just passed, Mark Brink, the writer of "The Saddest Song That I Never Wrote." "Holy Toledo" replaced Patty Griffin's "Up to the Mountain" in Crystal's set, and was the first time, ever, that an Idol performed an original song on the Idols LIVE! Tour. The Fans seemingly loved it, and to use an apt metaphor, "The crowd went wild!" Or as one man tweeted, "all 40 year old males are going berserk!!"

Watch Crystal Bowersox'sVideo "Farmer's Daughter"

American Idol's Crystal Bowersox releases her first video, the title track from her new, debut CD, the critically acclaimed "Farmer's Daughter." This autobiographical song was written years ago, and I for one am happy it made the cut and was put on the new album along with other heart-felt, emotional songs Crystal wrote in the past, about her past ~ such as "Holy Toledo" (the only contestant-written song EVER to be performed on American Idol).

Also check out, American Idol winner Lee DeWyze's CD "Live It Up"!

Crystal Bowersox's Debut CD "Farmer's Daughter" Reviewed!

America Idol's Crystal Bowersox's Debut Album: 4 out of 5 Stars!

Crystal Bowersox was never your typical American Idol contestant. As expected, her debut album Farmer's Daughter is not a typical post-American Idol release. With Bowersox shouldering a majority of the songwriting on the disc, it becomes a personal musical journey akin to her personal struggles in real life. With pop culture often being so shallow and surface, it's refreshing to see a new artist diving deep into themselves to produce material of substance. With this release Bowersox steps out of the shadows of busking and onto the biggest stage of her life so far, and does it with such grace and style you'd think she's been through all this public limelight before. As a seasoned performer in her own right, with years of practice behind her in the bars and streets of Ohio and Illinois, make no mistake that Crystal has been ready for this moment for some time, grooming her style and perfecting her artist within.

The opening tune "Riding With The Radio" is a Rockabilly flavored radio-friendly track that questions “Whatever happened to good old rock and roll ?” and in an almost defiant sentimental tone, Crystal hints that the song is a return to roots, rhythm and days long gone. With a lyrical nod to "Turn On Your Lovelight", it alludes to the 1960's era of music that has in so many ways transformed our musical culture forever. It's a song that Bowersox will get a ton of mileage from, and it's a great lead in to the only cover song on the disc, Buffalo Springfield's 1967 mega-hit, "For What It's Worth". In typical Bowersox fashion, the Stephen Stills classic gets Crystallized, and while the underlying structure remains,the subtlety is now replaced with urgency, perhaps a sign of the times we live in, and no doubt a deliberate move on behalf of Team Bowersox.

The tone of the disc changes rapidly on the title track "Farmer's Daughter," and Crystal bares her soul for the world in a daring move. It's a song that will transcend itself and hit home for many, hopefully healing wounds in the process. By shedding the title of "Farmer's Daughter," Crystal declares her independence and her transformation to a new life. Perhaps the most disturbing lyrics of the track, "When you broke my bones I told the school I fell down the stairs," are about an ugly subject not many artists talk about in a public forum, and I commend Crystal for the courage it takes to have this conversation. It's a standout song that will hopefully not become the entire focus of the release, because Bowersox is about more than this singular track.

"Holy Toledo" continues the journey and autobiographical nature of the disc as Crystal wonders
out loud "How do I get to heaven from here ?" while she leaves her home in hopes of discovering herself as she discovers the rest of the world beyond her hometown. After a song like "Farmer's Daughter" it's really no wonder Crystal left in search of a brighter future, and little can be said other than it was the right choice considering the last year of her life.

"Lonely Won't Come Around" pulls the mood in a different direction, and the upbeat song serves as a turning point to the flow of the disc. It's a pop-laden track full of spunk and heavy rhythm. As it's co-written with David Ryan Harris and Alexandra Tamposi, it's also the least typical Bowersox flavored song on the disc. The song can be seen as a pivotal juncture in many ways, perhaps most obvious the period of time where Crystal emerged on the national scene through her American Idol audition. American Idol changed Crystal's life forever, and it was the turning point for her finding the true happiness she's always been seeking. It's a track that offers a much needed moment of lightheartedness on the disc, and it's placement between "Holy Toledo" and "Hold On" makes perfect sense. The chorus is catchy and Crystal's voice shines through, but it's a stretch to say that this is a song Crystal would have produced on her own.

The Kara DioGuardi and Chad Kroeger penned "Hold On" is a finely tuned and crafted vehicle for Bowersox to showcase her powerful vocals, but as an outsider's attempt to mesh into Crystal's style, it still ends up feeling like a cover song at times. Crystal's vocals are big enough to keep the listener's interest on this track, but the lyrics feel cold in comparison to a track like "Farmer's Daughter", and one is left hoping for more substance. Moving quickly to the second half of the musical journey, Bowersox seems to jump back on the tracks, having been only temporarily derailed by her American Idol contractual obligations. Crystal clearly takes control back as engineer of the train, and the disc is better for it.

Starting off the virtual side two of the effort, "On The Run" is a bluesy and passion filled burst of energy. It paints a picture of a younger Bowersox full of life and attitude, carving her way through the world on her own terms and her own rules. It's a declaration of her free spirit and intentions to find out what life has in store for her. The groove is catchy and once again it's a great opportunity for Crystal to stretch her powerful and nuanced vocals.

Turning the vibe to a funkier tone, "Kiss Ya" is an unabashed message to a lover. While it's not the strongest lyrical offering Crystal has to make on the disc, you can't discount the conviction she offers on the song, noting that "I don't give a shit who's around," when said kissing takes place. This is a song that will most likely resonate more with her female audience, but that is the clever part of "Farmer's Daughter" as a whole, it really does offer a bit of everything for a wide range of old and new fans alike.

Slowing down the pace for a moment is the ballad "Speak Now", which is a bit of a tearjerker. The underlying story is about Crystal and Brian Walker, and a break-up they went through years ago. Of course the story ended up with a fairy tale ending as they were recently married, but Crystal paints the picture of her retreat back to Ohio as a bleak moment in time, with a touch of promise and regret thrown in for good measure. It's a bluesy number that offers a soulful guitar solo and equally impressive vocals. It's a stand out song on the disc and a testament to hope in the darkest hour.

"Mine All Mine" is a strong contender for country radio airplay, and the inclusion of pedal steel guitar solidifies the country love song sound reminiscent of the jukebox-era country I grew up on in the 1970's. It's once again a song that showcases Crystal's feminine side and plays into the romantic musings of her female fans. The lyrics are appropriately girly and echo the thoughts that every woman wonders from time to time, "Are you mine, all mine ?", and in a nod to Johnny Cash, Crystal declares that she'd "Walk the line." It's perhaps a risky song in some ways because it doesn't play as much to her entire fan base, but great artists take risks from time to time, and play their cards as they see fit. This song has a built-in audience that will adore it, and it's wonderfully crafted.

The highlight of Crystal's debut CD is "Mason", a song co-written by husband Brian Walker. It's an excellent example of the sort of music that I hope Crystal explores in the future. It's a heartwarming tune that has as many metaphors as you can fit into a 3 minute and 19 second song. While in the midst of clawing her way to the American Idol finale this song was busy gathering over a hundred thousand hits on Youtube as her budding fan base desperately sought to hear more than the cover songs Crystal was allowed to perform. The tune features pitch perfect harmonies between Bowersox and Walker, and a dream-like tone supporting the melody. It's a song that plays into all of Crystal's strengths as an artist and I hope that Team Bowersox contemplates releasing this as one of the remaining singles from the album.

With the closing track "Arlene" Bowersox offers as her curtain call a song that paints the story of a truck driving woman named Arlene who has an independent do-it-yourself view of life. The track features bassist Frankie May and harmonica player Ryan Suzuka, and feels like a cozy campfire song - a scene I can almost picture in my head. The slow and deceptively simple song is a perfect cap on a solid debut CD that plays to the core audience that propelled Bowersox to the final of American Idol without pandering to the lowest common denominator. It's a sly and sophisticated song that leaves the listener on a high note and pondering what's next for Crystal Bowersox. I would rate the album as a whole 4 out of 5 stars. There's no doubt as Crystal ventures out further on her own and distances herself from American Idol that she'll go far.

©2010 John Schulze

Crystal Bowersox whirlwind tour of Northwest Ohio

America Idol finalist Crystal Bowersox spent her day in Northwest Ohio “just trying to take it in,” she said.
The Elliston, Ohio, resident was continually greeted with adoring fans as she went from parades to concerts to singing the national anthem at the Mud Hens game.

Ottawa County officials declared May 14 as “Crystal Bowersox Day,” which was fitting as the Elliston, Ohio, native performed her hometown tour as a Top 3 contestant on “American Idol.”

Prior to her performance in Levis Square, in Downtown Toledo, she appeared in a parade led by Mayor Mike Bell, as well as Toledo School for the Arts (TSA) students and members of Diabetes Youth Services of the Greater Toledo Area. Bowersox attended TSA.

“It was really hectic, but really cool,” said Miriam Taylor, eighth grader at TSA, of being in the parade with Bowersox.

Appearing on stage, Bowersox told the audience of several thousand, “I’m just trying to take it in.” She waved to those who had gathered on rooftops and in parking garages to hear her sing.

A diabetic, Bowersox shouted, “Diabetics in the house!” and asked everyone to support the local juvenile diabetes organization.

At Levis, Bowersox performed “Holy Toledo,” a composition of her own, and “Hand in My Pocket” by Alanis Morissette. During her performance, Muddy and Mudonna danced behind her.

Afterward, Bowersox made two media-free appearances; one at Papa’s Tavern and one at her family’s home in Elliston. She visited with old friends and families in private.

At the Ottawa County Fairgrounds, some “Bowerstock” attendees waited outside in the blazing sun for Bowersox for more than five hours.

Peg Wilbur, of Genoa, received a speeding ticket on the way to the fairgrounds.

“We came to see Crystal. We vote for her lots, just the other night, I voted 73 times,” she said.

Ron Hanny and Nancy Nigh, of Findlay, arrived at the fairgrounds at 12:30 p.m. to see Bowersox perform.

“We wanted to support her. We like ‘American Idol’ and she’s from Ohio so we support her,” Hanny said.

Bowerstock attendees were excited to hear four songs by Bowersox and her former bass guitarist Frankie May.

Bowersox showcased Janis Joplin's “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Holy Toledo” and “Hand in my Pocket” and then asked the crowd to choose a cover or original song for her final performance. The crowd screamed “original,” which led to Bowersox shouting, “yay, yay,” throwing her fist into the air.

The singer chose her personal favorite, “Speak Now,” a song she wrote as she was leaving Chicago to return to Toledo, she said.

In addition to her performances, Bowersox received many accolades throughout the day, including keys to Elliston and the City of Toledo. Bowersox also made an appearance at an AT&T store where she received a text from “American Idol” judge Ellen DeGeneres telling her she will sing “Maybe I’m Amazed,” by Paul McCartney, on the May 18 show.

At the Mud Hens game, Bowersox sang the national anthem with her son Tony in one arm. The singer also threw the first pitch to Mud Hen Jeff Frazier, who is a huge Idol fan.

At each appearance Bowersox reminded Northwest Ohioans that if it was up to her she’d be the winner of “American Idol,” but it’s up to them and they have to vote.

Source:  Kristen Rapin/Toledo Free Press

Crystal Bowersox Concert at Ottawa County Fairgrounds, including "Speak Now", "Holy Toledo" and others

Crystal Bowersox, the American Idol Top 3 favorite, visits Toledo, Ohio during her Homecoming visit Friday, May 14, 2010. Crystal gives a very emotional concert at the Ottawa County Fairgrounds with her bassist and friend Frankie May. In recognition of Crystal Bowersox Day, the event was called 'Bowerstock'.

Crystal first performed Janis Joplin's "Me and Bobby McGee", the song that showed her fans and the judges on American Idol she 'was in it to win it.' Then, she sang her heartfelt original song "Holy Toledo" with the great line "my dread's are locked, my watch has stopped, my glass half full, my gun half cocked." The song asks "How do I get to Heaven from here?" Crystal told the crowd "And the answer is you guys...Because really the only way to make it to the top on this thing is if you guys are doin it. Because it ain't up to me. It's completely up to you, completely up to you man God Bless you all for carrying me this far, I don't know what else to say. I'm very thankful."

She then opened Alanis Morissette's "Hand in My Pocket" with a great harmonica solo.

Crystal then tells the crowd "We have time for one more...do you want an original or a cover?" The overwhelming response, "ORIGINAL!" Crystal lets outs a mighty "YEA! YEA!" and plays one of her personal favorites, "Speak Now," which she wrote right before moving back to Ohio, when she didn't know where her life was heading.

It's obviously headed in the right direction!

Crystal Bowersox Homecoming Schedule

American Idol Season 9 Top 3 Finalist Crystal Bowersox will return home to the Elliston, OH area on Friday!
Here is her tentative schedule. Local time is EDT.

--10:30am: Arrive at local AT&T store (Monroe St. Toledo, OH)

--11:30am: Parade and short concert in downtown Toledo, OH

--4pm: Small parade and then a concert at Ottawa County Fairgrounds (7870 W. State Route 163, Oak Harbor, OH)

--7pm: Sing national anthem before Mud Hens game at Fifth Third Field

Melissa Etheridge talks about meeting Crystal Bowersox

Onstage during a performance at iheartradio, Melissa Etheridge remembers an encounter with American Idol's Crystal Bowersox.

Crystal, the Season 9 Top 5 front-runner, has named Melissa Etheridge as one of her musical influences along with other 'huge' name artists such as Janis Joplin and Bonnie Raitt. "Lesser known artists, with whom Crystal has regularly jammed with in Toledo and Chicago, and/or whom she got to know and played with during her worldwide travels" include Sista Otis, Ray LaMontagne, Bobby May, Brian Walker and Ron "Razz" Rasberry. "These artists have all played a role in contributing to Crystal's life experience and her unique artistic style."

Thanks to fansofcrystalbowersox.

"American idyll" ~ A Story of Crystal's Early Life in Ohio

Examine ‘American Idol' favorite Crystal Bowersox's next performance closely, and you'll catch a glimpse of the hardscrabble nooks in Northwest Ohio that shaped her.

By Christopher Borrelli, Tribune reporter

TOLEDO — What makes an American Idol most?

A great story? A great talent? To understand the phenomenon that is, or will be, Crystal Bowersox, to trace the roots of this 24-year-old Midwest singer — from microscopic rural patches of Northwest Ohio to Chicago train platforms where she busked for tips, from the dingiest old-man dives to the glare of "American Idol," where she now stands a real shot at winning, or at least walking away a freshly minted star — to assemble the pieces that come together in a bluesy growl that transcends pop novelty altogether, to understand why an everyday, small-town bar musician with few prospects has most of this depressed area rallying around her: Begin at Papa's Tavern.

Papa's is on the East Side, on the side that looks like the Toledo that people who are not from Toledo imagine Toledo looks like — that is, until the economy collapsed, and the rest of Toledo began to look like the East Side of Toledo. Papa's rests in the center of a blue-collar neighborhood, within a row of squat houses, a 70-year-old bar so tucked away that people who have lived here all their lives have never heard of it.

Bowersox started here.

It is a place so unchanged that a chunk of cardboard pulled from a beer case and signed by dozens of returning Vietnam vets still hangs on a pillar, a makeshift POW-MIA tribute from the 1970s. A place so unchanged that at the back of the urinals in the men's room you can still find a "Hanoi Jane" sticker, with Jane Fonda's stoic expression at the center of a bull's-eye. A place so unchanged the lovely caramel-candy color of its tin ceiling is actually decades of accumulated nicotine, so thick the bar once brought in folks to scrub it off, but the hue was so ingrained everyone gave up after a few hours. A place so unchanged that on a Tuesday afternoon every stool at the bar is occupied and nearly everyone is smoking, the state ban on cigarettes in bars and taverns more of a quaint suggestion than a law.

The kind of place where, to borrow a phrase from Bowersox (writing on Facebook about rumors that she had threatened to walk off the show), one doesn't apologize for being human. Tim Stahl bought the bar three years ago. He remembers trying to schedule Bowersox into a weekly slot. He sits in a booth on a recent Tuesday afternoon. Behind him, on the wall, alongside the paintings of other musicians associated with Papa's, is a mural of Bowersox, carrying her guitar. The painting went up last year, months before anyone here had a clue she had even auditioned for "American Idol."

"Listen, I'll tell you, I am not big on change," he says. "I don't mind putting in a new toilet, and I don't mind replacing the CDs in the jukebox every now and then. But that's it. I wanted her in here every week, so I said, ‘Crystal, I don't have much to offer, but I can give you Wednesday nights, and that is Taco Night, and Taco Night is big.'"

The stage is small.

Big enough for a singer and not much else. Stretched across its wood floor is a rug that hasn't seen shampoo in years. Stahl gave Bowersox an old lamp a while ago. She built a microphone stand from it. As Stahl explains this, a man wanders over and hovers beside the table with an expectant smile and a beer in his hand. Stahl stares back.

"I'm a Siobhan fan, myself," the guy says.

"Get the hell out, Dave."

"He's kidding," Stahl says.

Papa's is for regulars. Many live within stumbling distance, no more than a block or two away. There's Chuck Rat. And there's Coop. There's Catfish, who comes in and cues up "Goodnight, Saigon" on the jukebox once a week. And there's the elderly man who comes in with his oxygen tank and plastic tubes up his nose and drinks until his wife arrives in her pickup truck and Tim has to carry him out of the bar. When Simon Cowell says he looks at Bowersox and sees a street musician still playing for change — and he means that with sincerity and affection — he's seeing the paycheck-to-paycheck tenacity found in a place like Papa's.

Bowersox first performed here at around 14. Ron Rasberry, a local singer-songwriter who plays Papa's on Tuesdays, says he met her at an open-mic night in nearby Genoa. He suggested to her mother that she come to Papa's and grab some stage time between acts.

"Already, I remember, instead of a bunch of covers, she was singing originals, and I thought, ‘Look, you haven't been doing this long enough to be this good.' But she was," he says. "The conviction in her voice was genuine."

She's also been a shot in the arm around here, Rasberry adds: "Toledo, if I may say so, is in the toilet right now. Tumbleweeds are pretty much rolling through downtown these days. We could use an uplift, and Crystal is it."

The unemployment rate in Lucas County, which contains Toledo, is 13 percent, a couple of points higher than the state average. In nearby Ottawa County, where Bowersox grew up, unemployment is more than 19 percent. Bowersox is not the only famous person to come out of this area: There's Danny Thomas, Jamie Farr and Katie Holmes. But if people here feel closer to Bowersox than, say, Holmes, that's because "she's done it the hard way," according to Craig Coolidge, who works at Guitar Center in nearby Holland, "and Katie Holmes went to private schools, and she doesn't feel like part of Toledo."

It's an area with class resentment but not much guile. The other day, Stahl says, eager to get his bar on the map but not eager to seem greedy, he quietly looked into how much it would cost him to hire Carrie Underwood to play Papa's. He decided he'll stick to local talent, but he doubts Bowersox will ever play Papa's again. Outside the bar, a banner wishing her good luck is strung across the faded blue facade. Inside, Stahl is saying, "I don't know if I'll ever see Crystal Bowersox again, and if I don't, you know, I admit, that would be awesome, because that'd mean she did well and she had no reason to come back here."


The next stop on our Bowersox tour of Ohio is the Village Idiot, which she played Monday nights for the year leading up to "American Idol," though it was to the smallest crowds of the week. She landed $100 a performance, which she split with her bass player and old friend Frankie May. The Village Idiot is in Maumee, just south of Toledo, and if the lack of pretense you sense from Bowersox can be glimpsed at Papa's, then at the Village Idiot, you can hear her influences, and see her Earth-mama, vaguely indie image taking shape. Nate Woodward, one of the bartenders, says — as did many of the regulars — that she hasn't improved on "American Idol" so much as brought to the show exactly what she sounded like at the Idiot.

"And I mean that as a compliment, definitely," he said.

Bowersox went to the Toledo School for the Arts, then moved to Chicago at 17, where she busked and played open-mic nights, as well as Uncommon Ground, Fitzgerald's and the Friendly Tap in Berwyn, which started a tip jar in 2008 to help her move back to Ohio to give birth to her now-year-old son.

"When she returned to Toledo and we played together again," said May, "we could not believe how much we improved."

They started to play around Toledo, and last year they won the Toledo Blade newspaper's Battle of the Bands. The prize included a $500 gift certificate for a local guitar store.

Today, a massive portrait of Bowersox hangs above the Idiot bar, across from a poster of Bob Dylan and beside a portrait of bartender Ed Lopez dressed as Isaac from "The Love Boat." Beneath it is a sign reading "Hippies use the back door" — a bit of an irony because the Idiot is something of a hippie bar itself. An ancient piano is supported by a pair of old beer kegs. A dog sits beneath a table in the center of the room. The jukebox is a mash of roots music — Mavis Staples alongside Talking Heads beside Townes Van Zandt — though, unlike the jukebox at Papa's, it doesn't have any of the handful of songs Bowersox recorded while living around here.

That said, Idiot owner John Schafer held a raffle this year and sent about $500 to Bowersox — "just walking-around money that she might need" in LA, he said. And like Stahl at Papa's, he sounds queasy when asked about capitalizing on Bowersox's potential: "I don't want to define ourselves by her, but even my 85-year-old Polish mother thinks I should be sending press releases and milking this."

Nevertheless, Tuesdays — performance night on "Idol" — have drawn packed houses and a host of white-haired grandma types "looking to get close to the action," said Kathy Lee, of nearby Perrysburg. The crowd trickles in, the lights dim outside the tall windows of this former bank, then the show begins. And the crowd talks straight through every performer except two: Bowersox and Lee DeWyze, the Mount Prospect native who is looking like her chief competition.

When Bowersox sings the first notes of The Impressions' "People, Get Ready" (the show's theme is "inspiration"), a collective Shhhhhhh surges through the room, along with a handful of exasperated expletives. Bowersox bursts into tears on the final notes, and the room Awwws. (Tuesday night Bowersox performed Shania Twain's "No One Needs to Know," a love song she dedicated to her boyfriend.)

When "People, Get Ready" is over, Woodward, the bartender, swipes at water collecting in his eyes. The band on the stage Bowersox once occupied warms up, and Woodward and Lopez begin their newest Tuesday-night tradition: They place their cell phones beside the register. They take an order, then turn to the register, text in a vote for Crystal, return to the counter, take an order, turn to the register, vote again, repeat — 200 times.

•••

To reach Elliston, where Bowersox was born and raised and her father still lives, it's best to avoid Google Maps. Sometimes you get Graytown, the next town over, sometimes Elliston. Elliston does not appear on many GPS units either, and the Ohio Department of Transportation official state map includes no mention. Elliston is roughly 20 miles southeast of Toledo, and, depending on who's answering, 90 people live there, give or take a dozen. Stand in the center of Elliston and turn slowly, and you will see no more than a couple dozen houses, a few farms, two churches and the remains of an old gas station. Walk over to the gas station. There's a single pump, the glass across its face jagged and smashed, the price ticker stopped at 30 cents a gallon.

Elliston is so flat that from a mile away you can see a dead raccoon in the center of County Road 208, which cuts north and south. Elliston is so flat that the highest point is probably where County Road 208 rises a few feet and meets an Amtrak line, which cuts east and west. You don't visit Elliston, you pass through. It's so quiet every sound registers distinctly. A dog barks. A bird chirps. A truck roars by. A lawnmower starts. There's virtually no overlap.

Elliston is not incorporated. Its cemetery is roughly the size of Elliston. And, until a few weeks ago, when some locals sprung into action, Elliston never even had a welcome sign. So, now it does: "Elliston, est. 1867. Home of Crystal Bowersox."

The Bowersox home is yellow, and the paint on the garage is peeling. It sits behind Trinity United Church of Christ, where, on a Wednesday night, hundreds stream into its gathering hall — most wearing red and white T-shirts professing their love for Crystal — for what has become a weekly viewing party. The town is here: the pastor, who mentions that Crystal doesn't go to church here, but they want to show their support for her anyway; and "the Mayor" is here, 82-year-old Evelyn Schimming, who remembers when the town employed mostly barrel-makers, then farmers. She sits in front of a wide spread of desserts, hot dogs, pizza. Crystal is without question the biggest thing to happen here, Schimming says. "She doesn't need good luck," says Andrea Hayes, holding her newborn. "She's clearly the best." Elliston is unequivocally confident in her. When the moment comes for the weekly results, the room quiets, but doesn't go silent. There's little tension.

Standing in the kitchen, Dan Appelhans turns to his wife and says, "I haven't seen this many people in one place since the presidential election."

"Since the chicken barbecue," Kathy Appelhans corrects.

Outside Trinity, the night is starless and black, and the fields and the railroad tracks and the front yards piled with rusting bed frames and car doors have disappeared. Everyone is inside, and everyone from every surrounding community is inside. The only light comes from a cloud rimmed in silver from a faint moon and — across the street, in the living room of the Bowersox home — from the flicker of a TV screen. Between curtains pulled halfway across the window, you can see "American Idol" break for a commercial. A cat stalks across the windowsill and jumps to the floor. We knock. There's no answer. A train whistle blows from the east. And someone, somewhere laughs.
<---click all="" bowersox="" button="" can="" crystal="" enjoy="" facebook="" friends="" music="" post="" profile="" s="" so="" the="" to="" your="">