"I'm dead serious. I am a total nerd," Melissa O'Neil declares unabashedly. Whatever she wants to call herself, she'll be a popular one at that. A popular nerd. Isn't that an oxymoron? Not if you're O'Neil.

The 16-year-old who loves to volunteer and get involved in extra-curricular activities, says she often doesn't get the time to just hang out, especially with kids her age.

"I really hope to get the chance to make some more friends that are my age," says O'Neil who seems to miss the silliness teenage camaraderie often brings.

Now that she's just made Canadian Idol's teen-dominated Top 10, she might just get that opportunity to bond with her peers.

"It's all and well to have conversations with people older than me and having civilized conversations, but it's a little -- I want to be stupid sometimes, you know," she says. "I'm excited for that."

And what better way to make friends than to join an exclusive club of singers and perform in front of millions of viewers. Let's face it. Even the coolest, most popular kids in school can't become members.

While forming friendships is part of the Top 10 experience -- especially when hopefuls spend the summer living in a mansion -- Canadian Idol, after all, is still a competition.

For O'Neil that means she'll need to expand her repertoire of songs. "I'm 16. My repertoire consists of old stuff from the 80s and the 90s," she says laughing.

She also hopes to find songs that will suit her voice and that are well-known.

"That's something I've recognized. You have to sing a song that people know. My mom says that all the time. She wants to be able to sing along to them."

Apart from choosing songs, O'Neil who loves musical theatre, is excited about performing live and expressing herself to the entire country. That is, once she finds her own comfort zone.

"This whole thing is a new experience for me and I think once I've gotten more comfortable with it, I'll be able to have me shine out a lot more," she says.

A comedian in her own right, O'Neil likes to keep herself pressure-free and relaxed by poking fun at herself and making the odd monkey face.

"You've seen me behind the scenes. I'm an absolute dork and I go a little kooky all the time. I'd like to show Canada that because, I've heard, it's endearing."

Eye on Idol