Murphy singer Braden Rumfelt advances to American Idol's Top 5
by Dean HensleyTue, April 28, 2026 at 11:00 AM
(WLOS) — Another Monday night passed for ABC's American Idol's Season 24 on April 27, and after the votes were tallied, Western North Carolina's own Braden Rumfelt advanced to the top five.
This came a week after he was the last contestant announced to make it into the top seven. For the April 27 episode, Rumfelt, 22, of Murphy, sang Taylor Swift's song "Cardigan" for the Taylor Swift week on the show.
The seven contestants sang two songs each. Rumfelt's other song was Maroon 5's "This Love."
The other four advancing in the competition were Chris Tungseth, 27, of Fergus Falls, Minnesota; Hannah Harper, 26, of Willow Springs, Missouri; Jordan McCullough, 27, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee and Keyla Richardson, 29, of Pensacola, Florida.
The two contestants eliminated were Daniel Stallworth, 27, of Moss Point, Mississippi and Brooks Rosser, 23, of Bel Air, Maryland.
The season finale of American Idol will take place on May 11, with only three finalists expected to compete. Click this link for how to vote for your favorite American Idol contestants.
In western North Carolina, you can watch "American Idol" on WLOS on Monday nights at 8 p.m.
STORY COURTESY OF WLOS-TV 13