Mystic Sounds: It’s been five years now since you were on American Idol. You had something of a music career started before your appearance on that show; in 2006 you released a self-produced album, From the Strange to a Stranger, which is still available for purchase today. In addition to producing that album, what else can you tell us about your music career before you went on American Idol?

Leslie Hunt: I have been pursuing a career in music since I was sixteen years old. I joined a rock band in high school and started writing songs. We made a full length record, and then I released a six-song tape and distributed around my high school of all original music. My tape got into the hands of someone who introduced me to Jim Peterik [who] wrote the songs Eye Of The Tiger, Vehicle, Hold On Loosely, The Search Is Over, among many other hits. Jim mentored me for many years and really helped me with my songwriting. He helped me get a development deal with Sony when I was nineteen. It didn’t pan out at the time because I didn’t feel like I was ready as an artist. I still had some developing to do. I actually had a LOT of developing to do, because even when I was on American Idol as a twenty-three-year-old, I still hadn’t come into my own as a performer.