Cumberland resident and University of Southern Maine student Julia Gagnon has been making her way towards the top prize on this season of “American Idol” on ABC, turning in week after week of powerful performances.
Gagnon won a spot in the top 14 last weekend, and this Sunday and Monday she’ll compete to see if she can then win a spot in the top ten. If you’ve never watched “American Idol” or haven’t seen the show in a long time, here’s how it’ll all go down.
Starting at 8 p.m. Sunday, Gagnon and the other 13 contestants will each perform a song for the judges and for the American public. This week’s theme is songs from members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, so expect to see some classic rock and R&B selections. Immediately after the show, voting will open for the public. You can vote up to ten times on all three voting platforms — you can vote for Gagnon by texting the number “4” to 21523, via the “American Idol” website, and via the “American Idol” app. Voting will stay open until 9 a.m. Monday morning.
On the 8 p.m. Monday episode, contestants will then perform songs that hit number one on the Billboard charts, before learning at the end of the episode which singers will make it into the top ten.
Gagnon has wowed the judges and “Idol” viewers with her powerful, multi-octave voice and soulful delivery, and won their hearts with her touching story of trying to make both her birth mother in Guatemala and adoptive mother in Cumberland proud.
Gagnon has been performing in Maine for several years now, as evidenced by this video from last summer, where she’s singing Macklemore’s “Can’t Hold Us” during the Central Maine Idol competition in Hallowell.
There’s also a video of Gagnon performing the Beatles’ “Golden Slumbers” at Johnson Hall in Gardiner last fall, as part of a fundraiser for the central Maine venue.
