Spotlight on: Ayla Brown - Season 5 Cast Off Speaks Out

I came across this article written by Season 5 contestant Ayla Brown.

For those of you that don't remember Ayla she was the future WNBA star turned singer who was voted off Season 5 without making the Top 12.

At the time it was clear Ayla did not want to accept the rejection and judging from this article that bitterness remains.

Basically Ayla takes issue with some of the experience American Idol contestants have before going on the show.

This year in particular there has been some debate about people like Carly Smithson, who already a major recording contract, competing on the show.

However, while Ayla mentions this her article mostly takes aim at her season 5 cast mates:

When I was on the show two seasons ago, it was the same story. Lisa Tucker had been on Broadway, Taylor Hicks and Chris Daughtry were already in bands that were selling CDs, and Mandisa was doing studio work and touring with famous country singers.

For the record both Taylor Hicks' and Chris Daughtry's albums were self produced. Apparently Ayla doesn't spend much time checking out her own local music scene or she would have found independent cd's like Taylor's and Chris's everywhere.

Yeah, Lisa Tucker appeared on Broadway as a child, but that is not the same as having a recording contract.

So is it fair that a professional like Taylor Hicks won the “American Idol” competition? I don’t think it is.

Plenty of contestants have spent time trying to work professionally in the music business. That is what they want to do. Taylor was 29 years old when he appeared on Idol. Is it so strange he had been trying to make a career in the music business? However, recording an independent album is not being a "professional" in the business.

One of the most perplexing arguments Ayla made was against current contestant David Archuleta. Ayla says:

I feel bad for contestants like David Archuleta, because his raw talent will hurt him in the end. He won’t stand a chance against individuals who’ve already had record deals.

David Archuleta himself has been the subject of this seasons controversy. He appeared on the Jenny Jones show as a singer at age 11.

Personally I say so what to that, but according to Ayla the contestants should have never set foot in any kind of professional entertainment setting in their lives. So why is she defending David?

Why not the already voted off Garrett Haley who auditioned for Idol on whim while on vacation in San Diego?

Really Carly Smithson is the only contestant to have had the major deal and released an album through a major label. She is the only one I question being on the show, but even she didn't violate Idol's "no current contract" rule.

It seems that Ayla Brown still hasn't gotten over her Idol loss despite releasing her own album.