The international entertainer and American Idol semi-finalist got her start singing in her home town of Tucson, Arizona. After graduating Magna Cum Laude from the University of Arizona (U of A) with a degree in Music Education, she auditioned for the cultural phenomenon American Idol – along with 100,000 other contestants. Crystal made the top 44 and, although her Idol journey stopped there, she forged a close friendship with that season’s runner-up, Katharine McPhee, and joined Katharine’s national tour as a back-up singer. While on tour, Crystal appeared on The Tonight Show, The Ellen Degeneres Show, Regis & Kelly, The Today Show, and Jimmy Kimmel Live, among others.

Soon after Idol, Crystal entered and won 1st place Adult Contemporary Vocalist and overall Best of Show at Gospel Music Association’s Music in the Rockies competition. Following that victory, she was asked to perform at Disney World’s Night of Joy, a Christian-themed music celebration alongside some of the top names in Christian music, including Kirk Franklin, Toby Mac, and Mercy Me, among others.

For the last decade, Crystal has maintained a nearly non-stop performance schedule. She fronts multiple bands that specialize in private and corporate functions as well as regional performances, is a frequent soloist for the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Sierra Vista Orchestra, and Tucson Pops Orchestra, collaborates with Invisible Theatre on mainstage performances and summer cabaret events, and has served as a headliner for Austin Cabaret Theatre on more than one occasion. In addition, Crystal has developed and starred in numerous large-scale concert productions that pay tribute to legendary performers such as Ella Fitzgerald (To Ella, With Love), Donna Summer (Hot Stuff), Aretha Franklin (Long Live the Queen), and Whitney Houston (Evolution of an Icon). She also joined forces with the New York Bee Gees to perform her Donna Summer tribute at the famed Amphitheater at the Coney Island Boardwalk alongside disco legends such as Thelma Houston, Evelyn “Champagne” King, the Delfonics, the Tramps, Chic, and Peaches & Herb.

Other travels have taken her to esteemed venues throughout the United States, performing for such luminaries as Senator Bernie Sanders and President Barack Obama. Favorites performance venues include the Mahalia Jackson Theater in New Orleans, Mainstage at the San Diego State Fair,  and the iconic NYCB Theatre at Westbury, and she has shared the stage with such other talents as trumpeter Rick Braun,  saxophonist Jeff Kashiwa, comedian Bob Newhart, and Broadway superstar Liz Callaway, just to name a few. Most recently, she played keyboard and sang back-up with Grammy ® and Academy® Award-winning artist Jon Batiste.

In recent years, she has broadened her international footprint. She has traveled to Mexico with the U of A’s Studio Vocal Jazz Ensemble and performed a month-long tour of China with the university’s Studio Jazz Big Band. She has added Cruise Headliner to her repertoire and now stars in the Vegas-based vocal powerhouse trio Divas3, thrilling audiences around the globe. She has also developed and stars in her own series of solo cruise headliner shows that celebrate some of the most influential female performers to ever grace a stage: First Ladies of Song (Aretha, Tina, Whitney, Adele, Diana), and Queens of Disco (Donna, Thelma, Gloria, Chaka).

2020 was a pivotal year for Crystal. She left a formidable K-8 general music, choir, and band program that she had built from the ground up and began her own enterprise – Crescendo Vocal School – a studio committed to helping singers of all ages and abilities grow their voices in a healthy and fun environment. In its first year, the school flourished and Crystal is currently in the process of expanding class offering  and planning additional growth opportunities.

Though she is a growing international presence, Crystal remains closely tied to the Tucson community. Her two solo albums (Hold On and One Way) were written and recorded in the city. Tucson Weekly news magazine named her 2021’s “Best Jazz Performer”. She also contributes her talents to a number of nonprofits and productions that raise money for different charitable organizations in and around Tucson. And, in addition to all that, she stays close to her early musical influences by serving as music director for a local church. 

Crystal relaxes by hanging out in her ah-maz-ing backyard and planning the next series of home improvement projects with her husband, Bill, and her two adolescent sons – the only two people on the planet with as much energy as her. 

Crystal is represented by Blackburn International, TAD Management, and Khris Dodge Entertainment.