Ashthon Jones, booted from ‘American Idol,’ talks about her future

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Ashthon Jones was ousted Thursday night on ‘American Idol.’ But the Nashville native with an endearing life story as a runaway who returned to her family and found God says that her future will be big and bold, even if she doesn’t know what path it will take. She will simply follow God’s will.

Jones worked as a store manager before she left for ‘Idol,’ but she’s not going back. ‘Now it’s time for me to be an artist and performer, that God put in me a long time ago,’ she said in a conference call with reporters Friday morning.

‘I believe something great is going to come from this experience,’ she said.

She befriended her fellow finalists -- she’s ‘best friends’ with all of them, she said -- and was praying for Casey, who missed the show because he was hospitalized.

Many ‘American Idol’ contestants -- winners, even -- have come and gone, fading away with their brief run-in with fame. She said she realizes the attention from ‘Idol’ is fleeting, but she plans to make a career for herself in the music industry and says that she has the persistence and the faith to carry her where others have fallen short.

‘That strength has nothing to do with me,’ Jones said. ‘That strength comes from God.’

‘This is not the end -- I couldn’t end right there,’ she said, alluding to her final moments on the ‘Idol’ stage Thursday. ‘This is only the beginning.’

Still, she was emotional on the ‘Idol’ stage. She ususally holds in her emotions and puts on a tougher front. ‘Sometimes you got to let it out,’ she said. ‘Sometimes you can’t hold back.’

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-- Rick Rojas