At last, a dream has come true for a Rancho Bernardo High senior.
Last November, Kristi Krause, 17, emerged from over 10,000 hopefuls at San Francisco's AT&T Park to become an "American Idol" contestant, and her winning audition could be among those to air in Wednesday night's episode.
Singing "At Last" by Etta James, the Rancho Bernardo cheerleading captain was one of 325 finalists nationwide to advance to the popular singing competition's Hollywood stage. Fifty-two from the original San Francisco pool received the gold-colored sheet of paper that represents selection.
"It's a dream come true for me because I never thought I'd get as far as I did, and I'm grateful," Krause said in a phone interview. "It just helped me grow as a person and an artist. I had a lot of fun learning different things about being on stage and on camera ... It was a great experience."
Krause has already competed in the Hollywood stage, but her father Bob Krause said the family is not permitted to disclose the results.
Kristi Krause, who lives in Rancho Bernardo and earned a 3.8 grade-point average last semester, has been on stage since she was 4 years old. She has fined-tuned her talent through professional singing lessons.
"She has always loved the stage," Bob Krause said. "She's been one of those performers where when she gets on, she kind of lights up the room."
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Wednesday's episode will air on Fox at 8 p.m.
