‘American Idol’ results are in: Did South MS star survive? Who was eliminated?
He was the first to sing on Monday’s episode of “American Idol” and the first to be announced as having advanced to next week’s episode. It truly is “A Whole New World” for South Mississippi’s Daniel Stallworth.
The Moss Point native was mentored since last week’s episode by former “Idol” contestant Jennifer Hudson, an entertainment powerhouse who has won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. Hudson had two televised messages for Stallworth: She wanted him to bring his gospel roots to his performance and she wanted him to slow down.
Mission accomplished.
Stallworth brought the judges, the crowd and his fellow contestants to their feet with his performance of the hit from the movie Aladdin. The judges had nothing but praise for the 27-year-old singer, who has been singing in church for more than 20 years and ministering for more than 15. The comments from the judges:
- Lionel Richie: “The advice that Jennifer gave you, you took to heart. Your sermon was amazing. And, more importantly, it was so natural. You were just giving God’s gift to us, and it was so powerful the way you delivered it. Congratulations.”
- Carrie Underwood: “I was so excited when I saw you were going to sing this song tonight because I knew you would crush it, and I was right. It felt like it was made for you and your voice, and it just seemed so easy. Beautiful.”
- Jennifer Hudson: “All I want to say is the doors of the church are now open after that performance. You ministered it. You owned it. And I felt it. And you took every note I gave you. You did it.”
- Luke Bryan: “Can you teach me to sing, Jennifer? I love your charisma, your style, the way you navigate. Everything you do is so well-done. Since Day 1 when we saw you, you’ve got it all hooked up and put together. You started at one level and really started showing out at the end. Great job.”
Not as fortunate were the two singers eliminated: Lucas Leon and Kyndal Inskeep. The remaining seven singers advance to next week’s episode, where they will perform songs from Taylor Swift.
As it happened
9 p.m.: Lucas Leon and Kyndal Inskeep are the two singers eliminated after tonight’s episode of ‘American Idol.’
8:58 p.m.: Daniel Stallworth has advanced to next week’s episode.
8:52 p.m.: Voting will close during this commercial break. When we return, two of tonight’s nine singers will be eliminated from the competition. Seven singers will advance to next week’s episode, which will feature Taylor Swift songs.
8:45 p.m.: Kyndal Inskeep is the final singer of the night. She is singing ‘Butterfly Fly Away’ from Hannah Montana: The Movie.
8:36 p.m.: Jordan McCullough has taken the stage, singing “Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas.
8:33 p.m.: We are down to just two performers remaining and less than 30 minutes to vote. Two singers will be eliminated tonight, with just 7 advancing to next week’s episode.
8:28 p.m.: Brooks Rosser is next to take the stage, singing “The Climb” from Hannah Montana: The Movie, a song Daniel Stallworth has already performed this season.
8:21 p.m.: The show is taking a break from the competitors for a performance of “Perfect Princess” from the movie Descendants: Wicked Wonderland.
8:16 p.m.: Entering a commercial break, only three singers remain: Kyndal Inskeep, Jordan McCullough and Brooks Rosser. There will also be a special performance from a Disney park.
8:11 p.m.: Richardson has taken the stage, singing a song that mentor Hudson sang during her time as a contestant on ‘American Idol.’
8:05 p.m.: Host Ryan Seacrest said that Keyla Richardson will be next on stage, performing “Circle of Life” from The Lion King.
7:58 p.m.: Tungseth is performing “Let It Go” from Frozen.
7:56 p.m.: Host Ryan Seacrest announced that the seven singers who advance to next week’s episode will be performing Taylor Swift songs.
7:53 p.m.: The judges have been very complimentary of all the singers tonight. None of the singers have had any obvious missteps. After a commercial break, Chris Tungseth will be the next to take the stage.
7:44 p.m.: Four of nine singers are in the books tonight. Host Ryan Seacrest said that after a commercial break, all nine remaining contestants will sing a song together.
7:38 p.m.: After a commercial break, Hannah Harper has taken the stage to sing ”Almost There” from The Princess and the Frog.
7:28 p.m.: Lucas Leon is next to perform, singing “Life is a Highway” from Cars.
7:23 p.m.: Rumsfelt is performing “Remember Me” from Coco.
7:21 p.m.: Braden Rumsfelt is the second of nine singers tonight. He will be performing after a commercial break.
7:18 p.m.: It’s up to the voters whether Stallworth makes it to next week, but the judges were blown away by his performance. Here’s what they had to say:
- Lionel Richie: “The advice that Jennifer gave you, you took to heart. Your sermon was amazing. And, more importantly, it was so natural. You were just giving God’s gift to us, and it was so powerful the way you delivered it. Congratulations.”
- Carrie Underwood: “I was so excited when I saw you were going to sing this song tonight because I knew you would crush it, and I was right. It felt like it was made for you and your voice, and it just seemed so easy. Beautiful.”
- Jennifer Hudson: “All I want to say is the doors of the church are now open after that performance. You ministered it. You owned it. And I felt it. And you took every note I gave you. You did it.”
- Luke Bryan: “Can you teach me to sing, Jennifer? I love your charisma, your style, the way you navigate. Everything you do is so well-done. Since Day 1 when we saw you, you’ve got it all hooked up and put together. You started at one level and really started showing out at the end. Great job.”
7:11 p.m.: Stallworth brought the crowd, the judges and his fellow contestants to their feet with his performance.
7:07 p.m.: Stallworth will be singing “A Whole New World” from the movie Aladdin tonight. All songs will be from Disney works.
7:05 p.m.: Idol legend Jennifer Hudson is introduced. She served as a mentor for the singers this week and will be a judge tonight. Daniel Stallworth is the first to sing tonight.
7:03 p.m.: After an introductory Star Wars skit, voting is open.
6:50 p.m.: ‘American Idol’ will begin in 10 minutes on the ABC network. Tonight’s voting will open shortly thereafter. There are five ways to vote (see below), and you can vote 10 times on each platform.
ORIGINAL STORY
Daniel Stallworth, and the other 8 singers remaining on Season 24 of “American Idol” are closing in on the finish line, as there are three elimination episodes remaining before a champion is crowned on the season finale.
Tonight (7 p.m., ABC) the nine remaining singers will perform Disney songs, under the mentorship of superstar Jennifer Hudson. Hudson, a finalist in the 2004 season of “Idol” has gone on to become one of only 22 performers to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.
Two singers will be eliminated in each of the next three episodes, before the winner is crowned on May 11.
How to vote
Fans can cast a total of 50 votes for Stallworth per show. Voting starts at the beginning of the episode and ends in the show’s final commercial break. The voting methods are:
- Text message: Text the number 4 to 21523. There is a 10-vote limit on the number of texts that will be counted.
- Facebook: Once the official voting post for the night goes up, each comment of Daniel will be worth one vote. There is a 10-vote limit.
- Instagram: Once the official voting post for the night goes up, each comment of Daniel will be worth one vote. There is a 10-vote limit.
- TikTok: Once the official voting post for the night goes up, each comment of Daniel will be worth one vote. There is a 10-vote limit.
- “American Idol” website: Once voting opens, each comment of Daniel will be worth one vote. There is a 10-vote limit.
The final 9 singers
- Hannah Harper
- Kyndal Inskeep
- Lucas Leon
- Jordan McCullough
- Keyla Richardson
- Brooks Rosser
- Braden Rumfelt
- Daniel Stallworth
- Chris Tungseth
Stallworth’s previous performances
INITIAL AUDITION: Stallworth was introduced to the judges and America as a music teacher from Moss Point. For his audition, he performed “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey and received nothing but praise from the judges. Needing just two “yes” votes to advance, he received three.
Music icon Lionel Richie was the first with praise, saying “Your students are going to hail you as the greatest thing that has ever shown up in their lives.” Carrie Underwood, a previous American Idol winner, said “my teeth hurt because I am smiling so much.” Country superstar Luke Bryan was the last to judge Stallworth, saying he was just “thinking about how lucky the kids are to have you.”
HOLLYWOOD WEEK: Again facing elimination, Stallworth sang “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King. Hollywood Week was a series of two shows where the talent pool was cut from 127 to 30 singers. The show’s three judges, who all had glowing reviews of Stallworth’s audition, each stood and applauded after he finished.
“To take a song that we’ve heard so many times and just take it to the rafters of this place, you are a truly special person,” Bryan said.
OHANA ROUND: On a night where the number of singers would be cut from 30 to 20, Stallworth sang “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus. The episode was filmed at Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina, Hawai’i. Stallworth again received a standing ovation from all three judges.
TOP 20 AT DISNEY: The Moss Point native sang “All Night Long” by Idol judge Richie in an episode that aired last week, taking a big chance and getting raves from the judges, including the song’s original singer. The song choice was “the riskiest thing anyone is doing,” said country music superstar and guest judge Brad Paisley.
Richie was wowed, saying “I’m going to give a compliment that I’ve never given before. You took that song and made it yours. If you put that out tomorrow, I’ll split (the profits) with you.”
Bryan delivered a powerful compliment, adding “You might be the best singer in this competition.”
SONGS OF FAITH NIGHT: The show began with the elimination of 6 singers: Kutter Bradley, Genevieve Heyward, Aboyami Lewis, Madison Moon, Makiyah Mustiful, Ruby Rae.
Stallworth was one of the first of the remaining 14 singers to perform, delivering a powerful rendition of “Brighter Days” by Blessing Offor.
Stallworth again received nothing but praise from the American Idol judges in his bid to survive the planned cut from 14 to 12.
‘90s NIGHT: Needing to survive the elimination of two singers at the top of the show and a second elimination of a singer at the end, Stallworth breezed to the next round.
Eliminated on Monday were Julian Kalel, Jake Thistle and Jesse Findling.
Stallworth was again one of the first contestants to take the stage, and the “Idol” judges were again wowed by his performance. The music teacher was given three songs to choose from: “Can We Talk” by Tevin Campbell, “I Want You Back” by *NSYNC, and “It Ain’t Over Til It’s Over” by Lenny Kravitz. He chose the Kravitz song.
ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME: Stallworth’s song choice was a surprising one, as the elementary school teacher said during a recorded clip on the show that it was the first time he had performed a rock song. Mentoring from Rock & Roll Hall of Fame couple Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo helped the Moss Point native craft what proved to be a winning performance.
This story was originally published April 20, 2026 at 5:00 AM.