Jessica Sanchez

I'm playing a powerhouse singer who is big competition, but she's also really down to earth and sweet. But the whole sweet thing goes away when she's in competition mode. I love the show, so I'm very excited to be a part of it. I'm going to kill it on 'Glee!'

Especially now, with 'Glee,' it's allowed a lot of kids to love music and performing at a young age. All ages watched 'American Idol,' but I think it was nice to be able to show kids, 'Hey, you can be here, too.'

You make your first album, you make some money, and you feel like you still have to show face, like 'I still go to the projects.' I'm like, why? Your job is to inspire people from your neighborhood to get out. You grew up there. What makes you think it's so cool?