Local Singer, Songwriter is Off to Nashville

ZANESVILLE, OH – A local singer and songwriter is on her way to Nashville.

Haley Bundy, who is originally from Cambridge, recently announced she had auditioned for the 24th season of American Idol, which is set to air on January 26th.

Bundy says it was a bit of a last minute decision to audition for the show but thanks to her wonderful producer she was able to make the cut for this upcoming season.

“I was really nervous, I think I was more excited than I was nervous just to meet the judges and to get to meet everybody that’s going to be on the show this year.” Bundy said. “Just to build connections I think that’s what I was looking at it more so, I’ve been looking at it more so just like a big community, a big networking thing and it’s been really, really nice just to be able to connect with all the young talent and get to meet all of them and the judges.”

It has only been a short two years since Bundy found herself on the stage at the Ohio State Fair for their version of American Idol.

She says she can’t believe how far she’s come in such a short time but that experience at the State Fair helped her to get where she is today.

“Honestly, doing the Ohio State Fair Competition really I think helped me be on the show because that’s when I met my producer from the show.” Bundy said. “Her name is Tammy, she works with Idol, and she was the one when I placed top 3 that year, she tried to help me get on the show that year. Wasn’t the right year unfortunately, but this year she helped me, since that year she’s been helping me every year as I get closer to auditioning for the executives of the show and this year was the year that they finally made the decision that they wanted me on the show!

Season 24 of American Idol is set to air at 8PM on Monday January 26th, 2026.

If you’re interested in following Bundy’s journey, you can follow her on Facebook or Instagram and her music is streaming on Apple Music as well as Spotify.