The singer was forced to leave the competition in last night's results show after the judges chose to save Paige Thomas over her.
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Speaking to E! News backstage, Garcia confessed that she was "really surprised" about the result.
"I guess I had a little more faith in myself," she said. "But everything happens for a reason, and I have to keep telling myself that."
Garcia, who vowed to reverse the effects of her makeover by "dyeing [her] hair black and taking off the heels", promised to keep pursuing a music career.
"I'm getting right back into making my own music because one thing I really hated is that we were singing somebody else's music," she said. "It's going to be rock and roll and it's going to be badass, as tough as a guy. It's not going to be girly."
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Garcia added: "I feel like a lot of what I've been doing [on X Factor] is girly with the make-up and the hair, and that wasn't necessarily me. My goal coming in was [to] put rock music back on the radio, and that's exactly what I'm going to fight for until I croak."
Simon Cowell has admitted that he enjoyed watching Lovato "squirming" when she was forced to choose between Garcia and Thomas.
Cowell's act Lyric45 were also eliminated from The X Factor USA during last night's results show.
Watch Jennel Garcia's elimination from The X Factor USA below:
