Out of all the contestants on American Idol’s 10th season, Haley Reinhart’s album is one of the most highly anticipated. After coming in third in the competition, the songstress did little to hide her disappointment but vowed to come back strong.
In an exclusive interview with Wetpaint Entertainment, Haley tells us that not winning has done little to deter her from pursuing the career she’s always dreamed of.
“From day one, I knew I was meant to do this,” she told us at the 4th Annual Holiday Tree Lighting at L.A. LIVE & Opening of L.A. Kings Holiday Ice. “So I have a lot of faith now, that third place or ninth or first, whatever it might be, I'll do everything in my will and power to get to where I want to be and have my music touch people and start touring. It will be amazing.”
Haley, who was signed to Interscope Records shortly after finishing the competition, is now hard at work on her first album. “I'm working my tail off,” she admits. “I like being a part of the writing process, and they're starting to understand that I want to be really hands on with everything. So I'm totally, utterly and completely in the process of making everything. I'm in the studio just about every day with different writers and producers and getting towards the end of the making of the album. My debut will be out beginning of next year.”
It’s a chance to show fans exactly who she is as an artist, after feeling that the Idol judges were always questioning her musical identity.
“The judges were constantly saying that I don't know who I was, but by the end I think they saw that no matter what I did, I always had like this soul, or whatever, I put into [the performance] that made it my own,” she says. “I like so much different music, but I like to put my own spin on it at the same time.”
Her advice to new Idol hopefuls? “I would say, take all the advice that you can, but don't take all of it,” says Haley. “Listen to everything, but pick and choose and stay true to yourself because you'll make it in the end.”