Why Wait (19 Recordings/Arista Nashville, 2008)

Kristy Lee Cook's second album (and first major label effort) may include just 10 songs, but the Oregonian doesn't waste any space. She's the latest in a long line of former American Idol contestants to try their hand in country, finishing seventh on last season's show.

So it's not a surprise that Cook fits squarely into the pop-country category, but she does it better than any of her Country AI predecessors, save for Carrie Underwood. All of the songs have a common theme, love - of home, family, country and, of course, the voice of a woman hoping to fall in love herself. The title track talks about not being careful and just jumping right into love. Lyrics like "we could throw around these sparks all day until this fire gets hotter." make the song even more interesting.

Cook didn't write any of the songs, but she enlisted the help of songs written in part by Underwood (Not Tonight), Jamie O'Neal (Baby Believe) and Rachel Proctor (title track and Homesick.) Like My Mother Does is the perfect tribute song to a mother, during which Cook recalls Martina McBride vocally. Sure, Cook has fun on the kiss-off song 15 Minutes of Shame, but she's at her best when belting out a ballad. She performed Lee Greenwood's God Bless The USA" on AI and records a stunningly beautiful cover of the patriotic song on her debut.