Braden Rumfelt Surprises ‘American Idol’ Judges With “Girl Crush” Cover
on Feb 02, 2026
A life-changing injury turned into the opportunity of a lifetime for North Carolina native Braden Rumfelt.
Braden Rumfelt, a 22-year-old singer from North Carolina, wowed Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie with his American Idol audition. Prior to his performance, he shared that he turned to music after his dreams of being an athlete were derailed.
“I found out I have a congenital issue. My legs are naturally in the wrong position,” Braden explained. He underwent surgery for lower leg realignment on both legs.
“That put a stop to the dreams of becoming an athlete,” he said. “It was tough seeing everybody get to do what I wanted to do.”
But as he was recovering, Braden realized that he felt better when he was singing. He and his twin brother, Kellen, began singing together. Kellen accompanied Braden on guitar for his Idol audition.
Braden sang through nerves to deliver a stunning performance of “Girl Crush.”
The judges were clearly surprised when Braden began singing. And that surprise turned to joy as the song went on.
“I’m happy! Surprising. I don’t know what I expected to come out of your mouth, but that wasn’t it,” Underwood said.
She then addressed Braden’s apparent nervousness, telling him to loosen up. Luke Bryan agreed, saying that he was tempted to step in and help him shake off the nerves during the audition.
But, there was no denying that Braden Rumfelt can sing. Lionel Richie compared his voice to that of Journey’s Steve Perry. “You have a top end to your voice, it’s not as high as Steve Perry, but the texture when you get up there is so sweet, man,” Richie said.
The judges agreed that Rumfelt could do well in the competition and voted unanimously to move him through to Hollywood Week.
Watch Braden Rumfelt’s American Idol audition performance of “Girl Crush” in the video below.
