American Idol Season 24 returned on Monday for Disney Night, as Jennifer Hudson appeared as a guest mentor and judge for the Top 9. At the end of the night, the Top 7 contestants were revealed after viewers voted for their favorites.
American Idol Top 9 Perform on Disney Night
Disney Night kicked off with a performance of “A Whole New World” from Aladdin by Daniel Stallworth, which judge Lionel Richie called “so powerful.” Hudson said he “took every note that I gave you,” while Luke Bryan asked, “Can you teach me to sing, Jennifer?
Next up was Braden Rumfelt, whose performance of “Remember Me” from Coco had Carrie Underwood praising him for “getting into character.” Hudson called him a star. Hannah Harper also impressed with her cover of “Almost There” from The Princess & the Frog. Bryan called it “one of my favorite performances you’ve ever done.”
Chris Tungseth’s cover of “Let It Go” from Frozen also earned praise from the judges, as Richie commented on his stage presence and Underwood said it was “the most we have seen you emote.” Meanwhile, Brooks’ performance of “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus had Hudson telling him, “You deserve to be here.”
Another notable moment from Brooks’ time on stage came when eliminated contestant Rae showed up to confirm that the two are dating. As Rae said, “The princess is here to claim her prince.” The moment seemed to surprise Brooks.
Jennifer Hudson Throws Her Shoes at Contestants
On Monday night’s episode of American Idol, a few contestants received a special honor, as guest judge Jennifer Hudson threw her shoes at them. This is something Hudson frequently did as a coach on The Voice to express how much she loved a performance.
Keyla Richardson was the first to receive the honor on Monday, after her powerhouse performance of “Circle of Life” from The Lion King, which Hudson herself sang during her time on the show in Season 3. As Lionel Richie said of the performance, “Amen!”
Later, Jordan McCullough’s performance of “Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas inspired Hudson to throw not one but two shoes onto the stage. Underwood called the performance “perfect,” while Richie said, “Shut your mouth!”
At the end of the night, Kyndal Inskeep’s rendition of “Butterfly Fly Away” from Hannah Montana inspired Hudson to throw her shoe after the fact, as the called the performance “absolutely beautiful.”
Voting was open during the show. At the end of the night, American Idol host Ryan Seacrest shared the results of which contestants made it into the Top 7. Those contestants are Daniel Stallworth, Keyla Richardson, Jordan McCullough, Chris Tungseth, Hannah Harper, Brooks, and Braden Rumfelt.
Unfortunately, that meant that Kyndal Inskeep and Lucas Leon were eliminated. During the show, Lucas performed “Life Is a Highway” from Cars, which Underwood called “fun to watch.” Apparently Hudson’s shoe-throwing moment wasn’t enough to save Kyndal, either.
The American Idol Top 7 will return to the stage next Monday night for a show themed to songs by Taylor Swift. Do you agree with the results from this week’s show? Let us know in the comments below.
Words by:
Jill O'Rourke Jill O’Rourke is a contributor at Talent Recap, writing news stories and recaps for shows like ‘AGT,’ ‘The Voice,’ and ‘American Idol.’ She graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in English and Film Studies, and has been writing about pop culture since 2012, with previous bylines at Crushable and A Plus. Jill spends her free time binge-watching sitcoms and daydreaming about life as a hobbit
