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The top 20 contestants of American Idol season 21 were announced on ABC on Sunday, April 23, at 8 pm ET. Following last week's top 26 rounds, six singers were eliminated after the audience from America did not vote for them. One such contestant was North Carolina-based singer Elijah McCormick.
Elijah has a soulful voice and joined the competition after impressing the judges with his unique take on Rascal Flatts’ Bless the Broken Road. His voice even made the judges cry and they hugged him afterwards. He was the winner of the third Platinum ticket, which meant that he skipped the first Hollywood week round.
McCormick later chose Lucy Love as his duet partner. He also gave his solo performance on CeCe Winans Believe for It. His top 26 performance on Chris Janson’s Good Vibes also won over audiences and viewers, but it seems as if that was not enough, since voters did not vote for him to reach the next level of the competition.
American Idol fans were shocked by this as they felt that Elijah deserved to be in the top 20 based on his performance.
American Idol fans think that less talented singers were picked over Elijah McCormick
In a recent post, Elijah said that he gained a lot of “knowledge” from the show and had “grown a lot.” He also confessed that he was not disappointed, but was hurt, as he felt like he “was doing this for all of us.” He added:
"I’m super grateful for this experience and I know this is all a part of God's plan. This journey was more than I could ever dream of. I got to travel the world and met some amazing people along the way."
American Idol fans were upset that such a talented singer like Elijah was sent home so soon in the competition and wondered why people did not vote for him.
Who is Elijah McCormick?
21-year-old Elijah McCormick is from Raeford, North Carolina and graduated from Pinecrest High School in 2019. Just three hours after the graduation ceremony, Elijah got into a terrible road accident a mere mile away from his house. McCormick flatlined 9 times and spent 79 days in the hospital. He had 10 surgeries, one of which was an open heart procedure.
Even after so much pain, his first question to his mother was:
"Mama, can I still sing?"
Elijah’s mother had signed him up for American Idol before the car accident.
After hearing his story, Katy Perry felt that him competing in the show was “always meant to be.”
As of now, Elijah has not said anything about his next project.
American Idol airs on ABC every Sunday and Monday at 8 pm ET. Fans can also stream the show on Hulu one day after the television premiere.
