‘American Idol’ outrage: McKenna Faith Breinholt eliminated during Top 7 night

The Top 7 artists on “American Idol” Season 22 each performed twice on Sunday, May 5 — a dance song and an Adele song — with audiences voting live coast-to-coast for their favorites. (Read our minute-by-minute recap.) Ultimately, after nearly 19 million votes were cast, host Ryan Seacrest announced that the pair of singers who were eliminated prior to next week’s Top 5 episode were McKenna Faith Breinholt and Julia Gagnon. Cue the fan outrage!

Throughout the competition, McKenna belted out tunes like “There Was Jesus” (Auditions round), “Anyone” (Showstopper round), “The Story” (Top 24 round), “Both Sides, Now” & “Tumbleweed” (Top 20 round), “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” (Top 14 round), “cardigan” (Top 12 round), “Iris” (Top 10 round), “Everywhere I Go” (Top 8 round) and “E.T.” & “Make You Feel My Love” (Top 7 round). The 25-year-old esthetician from Gilbert, AZ initially went viral on “Idol” when her adopted family and her birth family surprised her at her audition, creating a rather emotional moment for everyone involved.

Following McKenna’s Top 7 performance of “Make You Feel My Love,” judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie showered her with praise. Lionel called her “smokey” and “wonderful to listen to,” Katy noted how she “transforms” and “grows every single time,” and Luke remarked on how the song was “really done perfectly.”

SEE ‘American Idol 22’ predictions: Now YOU can predict who will win and who’ll be voted out next

The five artists who heard good news on Sunday night were, in no particular order: Abi Carter, Jack Blocker, Triston Harper, Will Moseley and Emmy Russell. Next up, each of these Top 5 contestants will perform on Sunday, May 12 in the highly anticipated Disney-themed episode with special mentor Kane Brown.

Since ABC earned the rights to air “American Idol” in 2018, the winners have consisted of Maddie Poppe (Season 16), Laine Hardy (Season 17), Just Sam (Season 18), Chayce Beckham (Season 19), Noah Thompson (Season 20) and Iam Tongi (Season 21). Who will be next singer to join the show’s iconic winners list?

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