After American Idol: Lacey Brown Predicted Her Elimination

"I had the strangest feeling that I was going home," the songstress tells reporters

If Lacey Brown looked a little too calm when American Idol sent her packin' Wednesday night, it's because, well, she was.

"I woke up yesterday morning and had the strangest feeling that I was going home," Brown told reporters early Thursday morning.

Whether you call it bowing out gracefully or a case of crazy accurate intuition—cue the spooky music!—Lacey is holding her head high postelimination and ready for the next big thing. Or maybe just a cup of coffee at her favorite hometown Starbucks...

So far in season nine, almost all of the eliminated contestants have had some pretty big (imaginary) plans lined up for themselves post-Idol. Lacey, who's refreshingly soft-spoken, is just eager to get home to Amarillo, Texas, to pick up a cup o' joe.

"I'm looking forward to stopping by my favorite Starbucks and Roasters," she told us with a laugh.

And as for that eerie premonition that she'd be booted off Idol last night? Lacey swears it was genuine.

"I hadn't been tipped off, hadn't read anything, but talked to a few of the contestants and said, 'Look, I'm going home,' she explained. "Something was off. It wasn't that I'd made peace with it, I'd just gotten used to it. It's a hard thing to hear, but when you're there in that moment after you sing, you're not in control of anything."

Lacey was, however, in control of her performances, and admits to being unable to rise to the level the judges were looking for. When asked what she would have done differently looking back on her time in the top 24, she stated,"Energy.

"[The judges] kept asking for energy in my songs and I kept trying to give it and they kept saying it was a sleepy performance; they wanted to see a little more energy because I'm a happy and bubbly personality. [But] the issue that I was having is I really love to sing ballads."

(Sounds like that brew she's been looking forward to might have come in handy earlier this week?)

Immediately after Wednesday's show wrapped, Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi, Randy Jackson and Ellen DeGeneres rushed up to the stage to wish Lacey well, and since we were lucky enough to be part of the audience during the elimination, we gotta agree with Lacey's declaration of the judges' sincerity.

"All the judges came up afterward," she told us. "They genuinely care about the contestants, and they're there to help you." And as for what words of wisdom they shared, Lacey said, "They had nothing but nice things to say...they want us to succeed. This is not the end all for me; this is a great jump off to start for my career."

With realistic goals in mind, Lacey is ready for the next step in her life, whatever that may be: "You can be happy with the situation and make the most of it, which is the route I'm trying to take," she said graciously. "I haven't put my focus on anything negative going on. "