Daniel Stallworth survived another round of elimination Monday night in his journey to become the second Mississippian in a row to win “American Idol.”
Stallworth, one day before his 28th birthday, was the first contestant called to the stage as part of the show’s annual “Disney Night.” After telling SuperTalk Mississippi News before the episode that his favorite Disney movie is “Toy Story 2,” some thought he might choose a song from the animated franchise. Instead, he took viewers on a magic carpet ride with his rendition of “A Whole New World” from “Aladdin.”
As they have more often than not throughout season 24, the judges praised Stallworth’s performance.
“I knew you would crush it, and I was right,” Carrie Underwood said, as Luke Bryan added, “Everything you do is so well done. You’ve got it all.”
Fellow judge Lionel Richie, for the second week in a row, compared Stallworth’s performance to a religious experience. The metaphor makes sense, considering the soulful singer first began performing in church in Pascagoula as a child.
“Your sermon was amazing,” Richie said. “It was so natural. You were giving God’s gift to us.”
Stallworth did get his “Toy Story” fix later in the episode, as the remaining nine contestants took the stage together for a group performance of “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.” The song by Randy Newman serves as the main theme for the “Toy Story” franchise, which is set to release its fifth film this June.
The end of Monday’s show mirrored the beginning with Stallworth again hearing his name called first – meaning he received enough fan votes to advance to the Top 7. Hannah Harper, Chris Tungseth, Keyla Richardson, Brooks Rosser, Jordan McCullough, and Braden Rumfelt rounded out those advancing, while Kyndal Inskeep and Lucas Leon were eliminated.
Who is Daniel Stallworth?
Stallworth is a 27-year-old from Moss Point who later graduated from Alcorn State University, where he was chair of the HBCU’s gospel choir. Since graduating, he has been working as an elementary music teacher and currently teaches outside of Houston, Texas.
Stallworth explained in an interview with SuperTalk Mississippi News last month that family members first noticed his musical talent when he was just a toddler “beating on pots and pans” in the kitchen. His mother signed him up for lessons, he began performing at church, and later learned piano around age 15.
While his run on “American Idol” may be the first the masses of ABC viewers have seen of Stallworth’s talent, he’s no stranger to going viral. Before the show, he had already garnered tens of thousands of followers on social media by posting videos of himself singing.
Who else from Mississippi has won?
Mississippi singers have a history of success on “American Idol.” Stallworth is the fourth Magnolia State native in the past four seasons to make it this far on the show. Monroe County’s Colin Stough and Zachariah Smith both made the Top 5 in season 21 before Meridian’s Jamal Roberts went on to win season 23.
Roberts, who was also an elementary teacher at the time of his “Idol” run, was the first Mississippi winner since Amory’s Trent Harmon won in season 15. That same season, McComb’s La’Porsha Renae finished as runner-up.
When’s the next episode of ‘American Idol’?
“American Idol” season 24 resumes on Monday, April 27, with the remaining seven contestants tasked with performing songs by Taylor Swift. The episode starts at 7 p.m. CT on ABC and will see American decide on the show’s Top 5.
