I stopped by Underground Atlanta for the Go Arts Month celebration today to catch up with Diana DeGarmo, who did a panel on how to become a singing star, signed autographs and sang a couple of songs.

Snellville’s own and season three runner up started doing gigs at age 5 and said she had sung many times pre-‘Idol’ at Underground, sweating it out in Kenny’s Alley.

Diana has never been terribly warm toward me even though we’ve probably talked at least 7 or 8 times over four years. One of these days, I might have to just be real and bring it up to her why that is, but I’ve never felt comfortable doing so. At best, she’s been polite and she was in polite mode today, more so than she was at Turner Field in April when she sang the National Anthem.

If anything, she looks great. Believe it or not, she’s now 21 years old. I don’t recall her ever looking this slim before either.

She said she would have been doing previews for “Godspell” on Broadway but the investors pulled out with the economy going to pot. So when she was asked to do this Go Arts gig, she said yes.

She’s still living in Nashville, working on her songwriting and networking with country music business. “I really want to be respected here,” she said. “I don’t want to be known as a pop star who just came in as a flash in the pan.” I said, “Like Jessica Simpson?” She was too smart to take that bait. “I won’t say any names.”

So far, she said the country music folks have treated her really well. She has had to sell her story, that she has sung plenty of country growing up and knew singer/songwriter Steve Wariner when she was a kid. “He remembered me!” she said, when they met up again. She has also joined the Nashville Songwriters Association. Writing country vs. pop, she noted, is “more real. You can take on subjects you can’t in pop.”

Diana said she’s still in talks for a label for her first country album. Nothing has quite clicked yet. “I want a label that connects with me, has a real passion,” she said. She said she’s halfway through her album so far. At Underground, she sang a new country song she penned with John Rick and Vicky McGehee (who has worked with Gretchen Wilson) called “Turn To Me.”

After her panel discussion, eight-year-old Chloe Gabriella McSwain poses with Diana. She was only four when Diana competed but remembers watching her.

“American Idol Rewind” has just started airing season three so on TV Guide Channel and the CW you’ll be able to catch the show. The Atlanta episode is airing this weekend at 6 p.m. on MyATL-TV and on TV Guide Channel Friday evening. I’ll do a recap if I remember to DVR it.

-Ruben Studdard is going to be in Atlanta tonight. Not sure if I’ll be able to go but he’s at Greater Piney Grove Baptist Church for a free concert to spread awareness about sickle cell disease. If I can get by, I’ll post another blog entry with photos and such. I’ll do a real sit down or lengthy phoner with Ruben later on for his “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” tour, which hits the Fox Theatre in mid November.