Before the live "American Idol" episodes kicked off this week, Ashley Rodriguez was shaping up to be the season-nine diva. She tackled songs by Alicia Keys, Beyoncé and Jordin Sparks during her audition and Hollywood Week, and pulled them off with flying colors.

Her cover of Leona Lewis' "Happy" wasn't quite as successful, and the 22-year-old Berklee College of Music student got the boot Thursday night, along with Tyler Grady, Janell Wheeler and Joe Muñoz.

So what's next for Ashley? We caught up with her to talk about that and her experience on "Idol."

Q: It was a pretty tough week on "American Idol." Were you surprised by the judges' primarily negative feedback?

A: A lot of people thought they would be a little lenient, considering it was our first live show. Turns out that they were coming in throwing punches. [Laughs.] I wouldn't say that they were too hard, but we definitely could've used a little bit of love from them, that's for sure. I think they were quick to give a lot of criticism and not back it up by anything positive, which is unfortunate, because you can always find something good from a performance, even if it falls apart.

Q: Was everyone expecting a free pass for their first week?

A: We've all kind of agreed that Simon and the rest of the judges were a little harsh with both the girls and the guys this year. There was definitely no leniency with it being our first live show, which is unfortunate, because there are a lot of jitters and nerves that go on for our first live performance, you know? But they're doing their job, and their job is to critique and their job is to give criticism. They're the judges. It's unfortunate that it came about that way, but at the end of the day, I love them all. They've all played such a huge role in this experience for me. Hopefully, we'll be crossing paths again.

Q: Having been eliminated in the first week, is there anything you wish you would have done differently?

A: I feel like I went into this competition giving 100 percent all the time. I think it's actually a really, really awesome thing for me that I can walk out of it saying that I have no regrets. I gave my all in every performance and in every situation. I wouldn't change a thing. I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and that one opportunity that may not have been for me is just gonna lead me and bring me to the next best thing for me.

Q: What's next?

A: "Idol" has really shown me that, now more than ever, I have to fight for what I want. It was giving me a little taste of the dream, and I'm willing to work hard for it, especially now that I've gotten a little glimpse of what this life is like.

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