'American Idol' runner-up says she almost lost her 'sole source of income' when the show told her to stop performing local gigs

• Crystal nearly lost her main source of income after auditioning.

• She started playing local gig in order to make money for her family.

• The other finalist had to give up their jobs and school for the chance to win the show.

Crystal said the show told her to stop performing local jobs for a while, but she broke the rules because she was homeless.

In order to keep her spot on the show a secret, the runner-up said she was told not to take outside performing jobs between the summer of 2009 and Hollywood Week of 2010.

I was told that I couldn't do it. She said that was her sole source of money.

She hid under another name so she could keep performing for money after giving birth to her child.

The experience was more frustrating because she had no experience in the music industry.

They told you not to tell anyone. She said that your family needs to sign contracts.

She avoided getting disqualified even though news of her undercover work got around anyway.

Bowersox was hesitant to audition for the show in the first place, but she won over judges and viewers

The idea of pitting people against each other in a music competition always struck her as strange, as evidenced by the fact that she didn't try out for the show.

The singer said she had to give up her pride so she could help her family.

She said that playing the $50 bar gig was not going to cut it while she was caring for her child.

The mother and son traveled from Illinois to Ohio to try out for the show.

After impressing the judges with a performance of Erma Franklin's "Piece of My Heart," she was able to get a ticket to Hollywood.

Other 'Idol' contestants also made sacrifices to be on the show

David Cook said that he was in a similar situation before Hollywood Week.

Even though he wanted to take the job, he had to choose between the show and the job.

He was hoping for the best because he said he had to see this through.

The winner of the 16th season of the show had to take a few days off from school to try out. She said it was hard to keep up with her schoolwork after Hollywood Week began.

Poppe told Insider that he needed to take the leap of faith. I quit.

Representatives for the show did not reply to the request for comment.

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