Kara DioGuardi told Haeley Vaughn she needs to take more time to work on her vocals.
That followed two performances filled with off-pitch moments in the American Idol semifinals — performances that ultimately spelled Haeley’s elimination Thursday night.
On Friday, Haeley wasn’t about to argue with Kara’s comments. Her only regret about her time on Idol: that she didn’t sing better.
The 16-year-old from Fort Collins, Colo., said the logic for her song choices was simple.
“I Want To Hold Your Hand” is her favorite Beatles song. “The Climb” is by Miley Cyrus, one of her favorite artists. And Haeley loves “Hannah Montana.”
Besides, Haeley, who proclaimed herself a country-pop singer the second she stepped in front of the judges, wanted to prove her versatility.
“I made them kind of pop-country. I didn’t want to just sing Martina McBride every week,” she said, noting Carrie Underwood didn’t take that approach to the Idol competition either.
As for Kara’s comment: “I kind of agreed with her. More experience and more time working on my vocals would be good.”
Nerves might also have affected her performance, Haeley admitted. They were more under control in week two than in week one.
“This is the first really big thing I’ve done, ever,” she said. “I’ve never performed in front of millions of people before. I never even performed in front of a hundred.”
But she plans to continue performing. In fact, the junior and cheerleader at Poudre High School is contemplating completing her high school education online so she can focus on her career.
She wouldn’t mind doing something with Disney — the home of Miley, one of her idols. She definitely plans to continue performing country-pop music and playing her guitar.
So, she might have agreed with Kara’s assessment of her experience level, but what about the comments from Simon.
He criticized her for smiling through her entire song in week one. In week two, he pointed to the irony of her singing a song “about climbing when you fell off.”
Haeley, just 16, said she took it in stride.
“Sometimes he could soften the blow a little bit, but that’s Simon Cowell,” she said. “He’s been like that for nine years.”
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