... no thanks. Haeley Vaughn, her gums, perpetual smile, weave, guitar, and white tights appeared on American Idol to sing "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by the Beatles.

I applaud her effort. I think she made the song her own, but she made it her own in a very bad way. She was pitchy, screechy, raspy. It was a bit much. Simon Cowell said it was "terrible." It wasn't awful, but it was far from great.

Aspiring country singer and American Idol contestant, Haeley Vaughn, 16 sings Jason Mraz's hit "I'm Yours" during Hollywood week on Idol. Haeley sings some of the lyrics too fast. She definitely has room to grow, but I think she'll get there. Simon Cowell seems to be a pretty big fan of hers. Haeley's at the 3:38 mark.

Like many of the female contestants during the first round of American Idol Hollywood auditions, (Didi Benami, Crystal Bowersox, Janell Wheeler), Haeley Vaughn, 16, brought her guitar with her.

Haeley sings Taylor Swift's "Change" and I love the rasp in her voice. Randy Jackson is still on Team Haeley. The judges have voted her through to the next round and some are even speculating that she'll make it into the finals. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Black people and country music go together like peanut butter and mayonnaise; but Haeley Vaughn, 16, doesn't care about stereotypes. She's a cheerleader, she plays the guitar, and she wants to be "the first black pop country mainstream singer," dammit!

Haeley is adorable and she has an interesting bio. She was born prematurely, weighing only two pounds at birth, and her father passed away when she was only 10 years old. It's unlikely that she will be successful if she pursues country music, considering that many country music fans are heavily concentrated in the Souf where folks aren't exactly open-minded when it comes to black people. But the same could be said about Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods and the Williams sisters, who have all defied the odds. Good luck, Haeley!