Haeley Vaughn believes that "doors will open" for her now that she's had a chance to showcase her singing ability on American Idol, and she hopes Disney is behind one of them.
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"I'm a really big fan of Disney and Disney Channel. So hopefully, there's something there that I can work on and I'm just going to keep working on my career and doing what I love to do.," she told reporters during a Friday conference call.
"I love Disney. And so if I was given a chance to work with Disney, I would love it. Miley Cyrus is one of my-like, oh, my gosh, I love her. And so, that'd be awesome."
The 16-year-old high school student from Fort Collins, CO was eliminated from American Idol's ninth-season broadcast on Thursday night, which revealed the Top 16 semifinalists.
When asked if she had been contacted by Disney, Vaughn answered "not yet."
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"It's only the day after I've been eliminated, but we'll see what happens for me," she told reporters before adding she'd love a Hannah Montana-type show.
"I would love to be on a show. My favorite show is Hannah Montana and just because I love Miley Cyrus so much. That's a really big inspiration to me. And so being on Disney would be awesome and performing with the artists would be great, too."
Since she's unsure if Disney will actually come knocking, Vaughn said she's going to keep all her options open.
"Country music is definitely my genre, pop country. And playing my guitar is awesome," she told reporters. "If I were given the chance to do that, I would definitely jump on it."
Vaughn was one of the youngest ninth-season semifinalists -- a distinction that she was initially praised for until she was told by judge Kara DioGuardi that she could use some more seasoning.
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"I agreed with her. I think that more experience and more time working on my vocals would be good. I think experience is always better for someone, especially since I'm only 16, and this is the first really big thing that I've done ever," explained Vaughn.
"I've never performed in front of millions of people before. I've never even performed in front of 100. And so, I think it's always good to get more experience and work on the things that I need to work on."
Still, Vaughn said it was "a little surprising" to be praised for being such a talented teenager before it worked against her. However she said the criticism also gave her something to work on.
"I think that a little more time to work on my vocals and get all the technical things worked out would actually help me and I think that I'm going to do that," she said.
"They meant that my voice needs to mature and I need to work on the technical aspects of my voice. And I think that they're right. I think that there were moments in my songs in my performances that I was pitchy and I need to work on that. And so I'm given the time to work on that and hopefully, I'll come back full force."
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Overall, Vaughn said she feels the judges gave her "really good comments and feedback."
"I'll definitely learn from it and work on the stuff that they told me to work on," she said.
In addition, Vaughn said American Idol gave her an "amazing platform" -- one which might prevent her from returning to her high school.
"I think I might go back to high school, but I think if there's anything else, like any other doors that will open for me, I don't know if I'll go back to high school or if I'll just do my school online and focus on my career, which is what is really important for me right now," she said. "But I'll definitely finish school."
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio