With a new CD, a gig on Celebrity Fit Club and an upcoming appearance at Factory, American Idol alum Kimberley Locke is enjoying her moment in the sun.

By Ken Knox

It seems like forever ago already that Kimberley Locke, a big-voiced, big-bodied belter from Tennessee, gave fellow finalists Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken a run for their money during the second season of American Idol. Though Locke did not win the show (she and Aiken lost to Studdard), she has gone on to enjoy her own post-Idol success, releasing her debut album, One Love, scoring several top 10 hits (including the No. 1 single “8th World Wonder”) on the adult contemporary and pop charts and landing a gig as a spokesmodel for Lane Bryant.

Now Locke is set to return to the spotlight she earned on Idol with a revealing new album and a slimmed-down appearance courtesy of her participation in VH-1’s Celebrity Fit Club. Both things, Locke says, were not so much part of a career makeover as the natural progression of a young woman coming into her own. This is perhaps most evidenced on Based on a True Story, Locke’s second album. “There’s a lot of growth on this album as an artist, as a person and as a woman,” she says. “I took it to the next level, and I really opened myself up personally and put myself out there. I think the fans always want to know a little more about the artist and feel like they have an inside scoop, and I think I really gave them that on this album.”

Working with a who’s who of successful producers and songwriters (including Denise Rich, Matthew Gerard, Danielle Brisbois, Mark Feist and Damon Sharpe, among others), Locke co-wrote nine of the songs on the record, which runs the gamut from pop to smooth R&B to rock. “I’ve always been one to not want to be pigeonholed,” Locke says. “I want to always be able to sing good music, regardless of which genre it falls in. And on this album, I think I was able to do that. I worked with some wonderful people, so just from that alone, it is definitely helping me get to the next level.”

Her gig on Celebrity Fit Club came about after she decided to slim down for health reasons. “The hardest part for me about doing the whole thing was just the mental shift, because I became very comfortable with myself the way that I was,” she reveals. “I didn’t feel that I was ugly or fat, but I knew I could lose a few pounds. It was just a matter of whether I wanted to do it or not.” Though she could not reveal how much weight she’d lost (the show is currently airing Sundays on VH-1), Locke said that “Doing the show was a great experience. I learned a lot, and I’m happy with the results.”

Her involvement with the show led to a contract as a spokesperson for Jenny Craig (“which gave me an even bigger support system,” she claims)—yet another thing the spunky 29-year-old has on her plate at the moment. She is also serving as a judge for Entertainment Weekly’s coverage of American Idol (“I think I’m a little harder on [the contestants], because this is now the sixth season, and I want them to want it like we wanted it. And, sometimes I don’t feel that [they do]”), and is also set to teach a master class at this summer’s first-ever Idol Camp. And how does she intend to instruct the campers to handle Simon Cowell’s sometimes harsh remarks? “I’ll tell them that you have to be like a duck and just let it roll off your back and keep on going,” she says, “because there’s no time to get caught up in all of that.”

Up next, however, is Locke’s appearance at Factory to promote her new record—something she says she is looking forward to. “There’s always a really good energy at the Factory,” she says. “I’m going to have a lot of fun. It’s just going to be a big party. I will be as personable as I possibly can be, and I always hang out afterward with the boys and have a couple cocktails.”

Kimberley Locke will be performing at PopStarz at Factory, 652 N. La Peer Ave., West Hollywood, on Friday, May 4, at 12:30 a.m. For information, call (310) 659-4551.