Haley Reinhart Says Judges Liked to 'Fire Her Up,' Had Fun with Casey Romance Rumors

Haley Reinhart, en route to 'Idol' finale rehearsal, hopped on the phone for her exit interview with the press, this afternoon to discuss her often rocky run on the show and what's ahead.

The Top 3 finalist may have won viewers over after four trips to the bottom three, but the judges still gave Haley a hard time, which many fans and apparently some of her fellow contestants, took issue with. Asked about their unnecessary roughness, Haley said she took it all in stride.

"I believe their intentions for it, throughout this whole process was simply to push me along further because it was apparent that they liked to get me to where I could be at the top of my game, get me a little fired up inside so I'd come with something they really, really didn't expect or what not. It could go both ways, it's up to America. As far as if it hindered me anything, I mean, I got to Top 3, so that's quite alright."
"Its apparent on stage, even Lauren and all them coming up to me and they just don't understand. The only thing I can get out of that is that they really just wanted to push my buttons, push me as far as I could possibly go to get whatever they wanted to get out of me. And that was more of the fire that they wanted so that I would get all 'grrr,' aggravated and try to take it out on stage. It is what it is. Randy and them always told me it's all love and I was like 'I understand, you want to see what you can get out of me.'"

Haley also remarked on the support she received from former 'Idols,' in particular Adam Lambert.

"I'm not too big on the blogs. I don't like to look into anything that could possibly be negative but I definitely look at the Tweets. I pretty much read everything that everyone sends me and getting that support from Adam meant so much because in my opinion, he's just spectacular. He's one of the best that ever set foot on that stage."

Indeed, fans and 'Idol' pundits rallied around the Chicago-based singer in the past few weeks. But it took some time for Haley's unique blend of blues and jazz to really catch fire, which she elaborated on, during today's call.

"I think I took a lot of risks in the beginning, early on, when usually you do the opposite and maybe they didn't know how to take me. I started getting into my own little niche with the rock, bluesy, sultry feel throughout and I think America finally started to catch on and they kept me around."

But does Haley regret any of her decisions along the way? The judges took issue with a number of her song choices, in particular an unreleased Lady Gaga tune and Michael Jackson's 'Earth Song.'

"I don't live in regret, really. I mean, of course there's going to be things. I do nitpick, I'm a Virgo but other than that I don't regret anything because each step along the way has gotten me to where I am today. And all these different songs and the genres I got to show off in the early stages, I wouldn't trade that in for the world. I got to show versatility and I'm proud to do that."

Remarking on her repeat trips to the Bottom Three and her seemingly inevitable elimination, Haley said she never gave up on making it to the end.

"I don't like to sell myself short and I believe that taking that all in stride and realizing I've been in (the Bottom Three) so many times and I'm still around, there's something going on, I just have to step up my game week to week and I pulled it off."

Like James Durbin before her, Haley was one of the more polarizing contestants this season. Though she may have come off a bit cooler than her fellow contestants, Haley insists there's more to her than what America saw.

"It's easy to get depicted in different ways on the show. It's all just the way the cards end up playing out with the footage that was taken. I'm usually messing around with all the camera guys, we're all cracking up together. I like to have a good time. I'm usually always bubbly. It's different to see what comes out in all reality but also, you know, you're on that stage and you have to perform in front of the judges and it's not like you have a one on one where you get to talk and show everybody that personality inside so it's really hard to get that all out in that short minute and a half but it's time now that I get to really get that out there."

But after last night's results came down, Haley definitely seemed stunned, almost angry, some suggest.

"(I wasn't) angry, of course everybody is always surprised with the verdict but all in all, I accepted it very quickly and took it in, took it all with a grain of salt and said 'hey everything happens for a reason and this is a good thing.' This happened for a reason and it only means I'm going to start my career as a solo artist even sooner.

"You literally have seconds to think about it so I took a second to think about it and then I said 'alright, ok, this is it and guess what, I have to sing a song in five seconds so let's move on to that. Let's have a good time with it and show America why they kept me there for so long and hopefully give them a good show."

And finally, what about the Casey Abrams showmance rumors?

"It started a long time ago. I forget which week, it's when we just really started bonding a lot more and getting really close and really just confided in each other and had a different connection than the rest. So we'd sit by each other and all that jazz and we laughed about it. Obviously we have a really strong relationship maybe not the dating but just the musicality between us. We never said 'yes' or no' (about dating). It's funny, we got so many questions about it but either way it's not gonna hurt anybody. We had a lot of fun with it, we played the game.'

A few more tidbits from Haley's call:

- Excpect Haley Reinhart record to have a "sultry, bluesy rock feel" with some jazz influence

- Haley, who grew up around classic rock, would love to work with Steven Tyler, who she said was very supportive of her throughout the competition

- Haley's first big performance was on her 9th birthday at an international tattoo festival where sang LeAnn Rimes' "Blue."

- Fellow Chicagoans and former 'Idols,' Jennifer Hudson and Crystal Bowersox are a source of inspiration to Haley. "Seeing (Crystal), in second place, get to do the music she really wants to do in life so, it's a beautiful thing so I'm excited for the future."

'American Idol' airs next Tuesday and Thursday at 8PM ET on FOX.