   ryan starr (born tiffany ryan montgomery; november 21, 1982) is an american singer, songwriter and actress. she finished seventh on the season 1 of the talent search television series american idol. she has since appeared in numerous movies and both reality and scripted television programs. ==career== ===american idol=== starr appeared during the audition rounds on the first season of american idol, using her birth name. according to simon cowell's memoir i don't mean to be rude, she was "cripplingly shy" at the audition, but "paula [abdul] saw some potential for stardom in her, and decided to mentor her." as a result, he claims, montgomery became overly confident, changing her name to "ryan starr" by the next phase of the competition, dressing in flamboyant homemade outfits, and insisting on singing rock rather than the pop music he felt she was suited for. instead of the usual pop hits that other contestants were singing, starr chose an unusual song, "the frim fram sauce," in the first semi-final. she was the second singer from that group to be voted into the top ten. the following week, starr was the first to perform on american idol's  first live show. she sang "if you really love me" by stevie wonder, and received praise from the judges, including this quote from simon cowell: "pure star performance, loved it." starr faltered when she sang the kinks' "you really got me," and was panned by the judges. cowell called it "dreadful." the following week she sang donna summer's "last dance," and received praise from the judges, but was eliminated. starr returned with the rest of the finalists during the shows' finale and sang "these boots are made for walkin'", and went on a nationwide 32-city tour with the other finalists. rca, in partnership with american idol, signed her. ====performances==== {| class="wikitable" |- !week !theme !song !original artist !result |- | auditions | contestant's choice | "lean on me""fallin'" | bill withersalicia keys | advanced |- |semi-final group 1 |free choice |"the frim-fram sauce" |nat king cole |advanced |-
1982_births 21st-century_American_actresses 21st-century_American_singers Actresses_from_Los_Angeles,_California American_Idol_participants American_female_pop_singers American_female_rock_singer-songwriters American_film_actresses American_pop_rock_singers American_television_actresses Female_rock_singers Living_people Models_from_California Singers_from_Los_Angeles,_California The_Surreal_Life_participants