Wylie Cut From The Cast Of "The Glee Project"

The Glee Project turned out to be a short-lived dream for Ellis Wylie, 18, of Grayslake, as she did not make the callback list during the second episode of the reality television show.

Wylie had made it into the top 12 contenders vying for a seven-episode guest starring role on the popular show Glee, selected from among the nearly 40,000 people who auditioned. Once on the show, Wylie landed in the bottom three contenders two weeks in a row.

In last night's episode of The Glee Project, Wylie was critiqued by some of the other contestants and by the mentors on the show for having a negative attitude.

Wylie, now back at home in Grayslake, said it was very hard not to make it further.

"It's like the worst feeling in the world to have to leave," she said. "And to know I was leaving because of personal issues, due to my attitude, not because of my talent or ability - that hurt."

She said she did not realize she was coming across as that negative.

"I've never had the kind of critique before," Wylie said. "I wish I had realized what I was doing earlier so I could have changed it. It was kind of unfair to not let me prove myself. It was a stressful situation and my reaction to it all was so maximized by that week. It showed."

She acknowledged the critique is helpful going forward as a performer. But it was challenging this week to talk with local family and friends who were rooting for her.

"It was hard this whole weekend. I've been running into people who said they were going to watch the show," Wylie said. "I was down at the (Grayslake Youth Center) and people were excited about it, and I had to be excited too. But people have been great."

Fans can still vote for her as a Fan Favorite, even though she is no longer on the show. The winner of the Fan Favorite voting will receive $10,000.

Wylie said she still keeps in touch with the other contenders from The Glee Project.

"We talk all the time on Facebook and Twitter and Skype," she said.

When asked who she thinks are the contestants to watch, Wylie said, "I think that Lindsay and Cameron and Damian are all going to do really well. But I also hope that Matheus does really well because he is such a genuine guy. That is very refreshing to see."

Wylie said she was happy to have been a part of the television show.

"It was a great experience and I'm so honored to have been a part of it for as long as it lasted," she said.

Wylie is now working on a demo CD and plans to put videos on YouTube. She will attend Columbia College this fall.

"I'll see where the road takes me," Wylie said.

For more information, check out http://thegleeproject.oxygen.com