Singer Haeley Vaughn was a top 20 contestant of the hit show American Idol during its ninth season. She auditioned at the age of 16 in Denver, Colorado. The first show featuring her aired on February 2, 2010. She was later eliminated on March 4, 2010, along with Michelle Delamor, Jermaine Sellers, and John Park.

During her first live show featuring the top 24 contestants, Vaughn sang "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" originally by The Beatles. Kara DioGuardi felt there were some technical issues with the song, but that everyone loves to watch Vaughn's performance. Randy Jackson agreed, stating that he loves her unpredictability, but that she might need to drop the key to be able to hit the high notes. Ellen DeGeneres felt that she had a lot of presence on stage and "just shined." Simon Cowell thought it was verging on terrible, like a wind up doll that never stops smiling during the song. "A complete utter mess." Ellen piped back with "If it was a mess, it was a hot mess!"

She sang "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus for her second performance. Randy Jackson stated that it didn't work for him, it was "excruciating, there was no connection to the song at all." Ellen DeGeneres called her adorable, but also didn't feel she connected to the song. Kara DioGuardi added that people are rooting for her because she's real, but feels she needs about a year of training to get better. Simon Cowell gave her the same feedback as last week, calling it a "complete utter mess."

• Top 20 Song, March 3, 2010: "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus
• Top 24 Song, February 23, 2010: "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles

• Ashley Rodriguez
• Tyler Grady
• Katie Stevens
• Siobhan Magnus
• Paige Miles
• Jermaine Sellers
• Katelyn Epperly
• John Park
• Lee DeWyze
• Crystal Bowersox
• Janell Wheeler
• Aaron Kelly
• Michelle Delamor
• Michael Lynche
• Tim Urban
• Andrew Garcia
• Vered Didi Benami
• Alex Lambert
• Joe Munoz
• Lacey Brown
• Todrick Hall
• Lilly Scott
• Haeley Vaughn
• Casey James