‘Idol’s’ Crystal Bowersox Talks Staying True To Herself, Keeping Her Dreadlocks

“American Idol” is months away from crowning a winner, but already, one woman has emerged as the contestant to beat.

During her third week of live competition on Tuesday, judge Simon Cowell told Crystal Bowersox, the 24-year-old dreadlock sporting mom from Elliston, Ohio, the competition was “yours to lose.”

But what does she herself think about the hype?

“I don’t know if it’s true, but we’ll see,” she told AccessHollywood.com’s Laura Saltman on the red carpet at “Idol’s” Top 12 party in Los Angeles on Thursday night. “I just go out there and do what’s natural and hope it carries me really far.”

Crystal, who has appeared effortless on stage performing Alanis Morissette’s “Hand In My Pocket,” Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Long As I Can See The Light,” and earlier this week, Tracy Chapman’s “Give Me One Reason,” has been lauded for being real. Randy commended Crystal for her “honesty” in who she is as an artist and a performer on Tuesday, but on the red carpet last night, Crystal admitted that staying true to herself has presented some problems for the “Idol” stylist.

“She’s very frustrated with me,” Crystal laughed. “I don’t wear a lot of colors. I tend to stay to all, you know, dark colors and just natural tones and things. She says, ‘Why don’t you try some color?’ And I’m like, ‘Maybe we’ll see what happens.’ You know, I’m willing, I’m open to it, but I’m just going to stay true; if it doesn’t feel comfortable I’m not doing it.”

In addition to her personal style, another thing Crystal plans to keep is her dreads – a hairstyle she has had for a while.

“I’ve had these for about four and a half years now,” she said. “They’ve been around the world with me — Istanbul, Turkey… Mexico… England — so there’s a lot of history here,” Crystal said. “I do wash my hair — just so everyone knows. There’s a lot of myths about there about dreadlocks but they’re very clean and well kept.”

Crystal, who was hospitalized during Week 2 related to her diabetes, forcing a shake up in the “Idol” schedule (the men had to sing on a Tuesday instead of a Wednesday) explained she is doing well.

“I’m perfectly fine,” Crystal said of her current health state. “Juvenile diabetes is something you struggle with. Every day is a battle and I got back up and did my best and I’m still here.”