Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Braden Rumfelt with Ryan Seacrest and Paris Bennett after his performance during the duet round Monday night on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Braden Rumfelt likely knew he was a bit of a longshot to make the American Idol finale.

That might be why he didn’t immediately proclaim he was “in it to win it” when urged to do so by Randy Jackson during their mentoring session for Top 5 night.

Regardless, the 22-year-old from Murphy, N.C., took his Idol elimnation in stride.

“What’s up beautiful people?!,” Braden wrote in a social media post Tuesday. “As we all probably know, I didn’t make the top 3, and that’s okay!

“@americanidol has given me some of the best experiences, friends, and challenges I’ve waited my whole life for:)

“Jesus has blessed me with an amazing talent and I’m proud of myself for using it the way I have the past few months:)

“ALSO I want to thank you 🫵🏼 because of you, I now know I can be successful in what I love 🩵 there’s not a better feeling!”

He goes on to promise fans that he’ll be tourng and releasing music in th future.

The youngest remaining contestant in the Top 5, Braden had not released music prior to American Idol.

But now he has several of his Idol performances on streaming sites.

And he won’t be away from fans TV screens for long.

He’ll be returning on Monday’s grand finale for a duet with Clay Aiken, one of the first singers from North Carolina to make a splash on Idol. Clay finished second on Season 2.

The three-hour Idol finale airs Monday night beginning at 8 p.m. as Hannah Harper, Jordan McCullough and Keyla Richardson vie for the Idol crown.

Song by song grades for the Top 5
Photo gallery from Top 5 night