The newspapers have always documented her story like this article via Trib Total Media.
http://triblive.com/x/dailycourier/news/s_740067.html#axzz2rrOVRDo4

By Linda Harkcom

Published: Thursday, June 2, 2011,

A desire to get closer to her audience and expand her experience has a Mt. Pleasant teen stepping away from her band and performing as Kortney Jean Acoustic.

“I wanted to try doing more shows in intimate settings. I wanted to learn to play guitar and spread my wings a little bit,” said Kortney Jean Zufall, 17, whose stage name is Kortney Jean.

The teen has been a popular singing act in and around the local area since she was a small child. The past few years she has performed with the Kortney Jean Band but recently she has chosen a different path. She has been concentrating on acoustic performances accompanied by Ben Haines of Connellsville.

Haines, the band director at Connellsville Junior High East has known Kortney Jean for several years and has been her guitar teacher for the past two years. Shortly after she began her lessons the two began playing acoustic shows together. While they have performed some regional shows they have mainly appeared at local venues including Nino’s Restaurant in Mt. Pleasant.

“With the acoustic concert you are stripping away so much. You can really hone in on the vocals so much better,” Haines said.

The two are occasionally joined by Tyler Hough, 15, also of Connellsville. Hough is already an accomplished musician having played drums since the age of 3 and guitar since he was 8.

Hough and Kortney Jean have basically grown up together. He was a member of the Kortney Jean band and played on both of her self-titled CD and her latest CD “Never Been to LA.”

The new format is also helping Kortney Jean gain valuable experience as she gears up to showcase in Nashville, Tenn., this summer. A showcase is when recording label executives see an artist perform. During the showcase, she will sing original songs as well as covers. She will also get to meet with the recording label representatives.

“The acoustic shows will help prepare her mentally to sing in front of a small group who is there just to hear her. She has to be physically and mentally ready,” mother Kris Zufall said.

Kortney Jean Acoustic will perform from 7 to 11 p.m. July 23 at the Springfield Township VFD Fair and Aug. 7 at Lions Square in Connellsville.