In Just 3 Words, Carrie Underwood Shares Powerful Advice For “Idol” Stars
on Apr 29, 2026
American Idol Reveals Its Top 5 Contestants For Season 24 – Who Are They?
Carrie Underwood won Season 4 of American Idol in 2005. She brought things full circle in 2025 by becoming a judge on the show, a position which she still holds today during Season 24.
Underwood and her fellow judges, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie, have been given the opportunity to listen to some extraordinarily talented contestants throughout Season 24. Sadly, they’ve had to say “goodbye” to a new group of singers with each passing week.
On Monday (April 27), the Top 7 competed during a Taylor Swift-themed evening. Each contestant performed a song from Swift’s catalog, including “Mean” and “Tim McGraw.”
Additionally, everyone performed a song honoring artists from California, such as Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and Merle Haggard’s “That’s the Way Love Goes.”
Two contestants were eliminated at the end of the night, whittling the Top 7 down to the Top 5.
Hannah Harper, Jordan McCullough, Keyla Richardson, Braden Rumfelt, and Chris Tungseth advanced into the Top 5. Brooks Rosser and Daniel Stallworth were eliminated, marking the end of their Idol journeys.
Carrie Underwood Shares Simple, But Solid Words Of Wisdom With Idol’s Top 5
With the competition heating up and the finale just a few weeks away, the Idol judges wanted to offer some words of wisdom to the remaining contestants.
Lionel Richie told On the Red Carpet that his approach at this point in competition is to “stop trying to critique [the contestants] as who you think they should be and let them be.”
He added, “America’s gonna fall in love with them, and we have to witness who gets that love more than the other.”
Having been in this position herself, Carrie Underwood shared some of her best advice with the Idol stars. While speaking with On the Red Carpet, she said:
“My advice to anybody moving forward is just, you got to take risks. You got to leave it all on the stage. You got to think about what kind of artist you want to be, and you have to give them that.”
But beyond that, she wanted the Top 5 to absorb just 3 simple words of wisdom: “Say your prayers.”
This aligns with what Underwood has said throughout Season 24. Underwood, who’s a devoted Christian, previously urged all rising stars in the entertainment industry to stay true to their faith.
“You don’t have to…sell your soul to make it in the entertainment industry,” she told the Christian Post after this year’s “Songs of Faith” special on Idol. “You are going to have to stand strong in your faith and remember who got you here, because it wasn’t you.”
RELATED: 16 “AMERICAN IDOL” CONTESTANTS WHO DATED – SEE WHO’S STILL TOGETHER
Check out the video below to hear Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie speak with On the Red Carpet about the Top 5 Idol stars and the excitement surrounding this phase of the competition.
The next episode of American Idol airs on May 4, followed by the grand finale on May 11!
“American Idol” is down to the Top 5. Did America get it right?
— On The Red Carpet (@OnTheRedCarpet) April 28, 2026
Here’s what judges Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie told us right after the elimination!
"American Idol" airs live Mondays at 8/7c on ABC and Disney+. It's also streaming the next day on Disney+ and… pic.twitter.com/4hwvDvwiZS
