‘American Idol’ cut her performances. But this Utah singer is in the top 24

“American Idol” viewers haven’t seen much of Elleigh Marie Francom, but the singer from American Fork, Utah, is in the competition’s top 24 — and getting closer to making “Idol” judge Luke Bryan’s prediction of being a top 10 contestant come true.

A look back at Elleigh Francom’s ‘American Idol’ audition

Francom, a 20-year-old cosmetologist, was emotional going into her “American Idol” audition. Earlier that day, she had learned that her father, who is in the Air Force, would be deploying for a year.

“Growing up as a military kid, it was pretty rough. My dad was gone a lot of the time,” she said in a clip that aired ahead of her audition. “So a lot of the responsibilities did fall on me.

“He comes home every time, so I’m just lucky that that happens,” she continued. “But regardless, it’s just so scary.”

For her audition, Francom performed Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and received high praise from all three judges. One of the biggest moments of validation came when Bryan declared: “I think she’s top 10.”

Francom’s hands flew to her mouth in shock.

“Luke Bryan saying I was top 10 just gave me so much faith in myself,” Francom told the Deseret News in an email. “I was looking for reassurance when I walked in that room, so to hear him say that just meant the world to me.”

Viewers haven’t seen much of Francom since her audition. Her performances during the Hollywood round didn’t receive airtime, but the round evidently went well for the singer: She’s made it to the top 24.

Elleigh Francom on Hollywood round, making the ‘American Idol’ top 24

Ahead of the top 24 round, Francom reflected on her performances during Hollywood week, where she sang Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild” and Jennifer Hudson’s version of The Beatles’ song “Golden Slumbers.” Although the performances didn’t air, Francom said the judges were “very kind and helpful” and called her “a vocal powerhouse,” while also encouraging her to work on her timing.

Hearing that she made it to the top 24, Francom said, “was just pure shock.”

“It didn’t feel real and it still kind of doesn’t,” the singer said in an email. “I was so unbelievably excited and grateful.”

Now, Francom performs in the top 24 round Monday night, working with celebrity mentor Jelly Roll. She called the upcoming performance “really fun and exciting,” and hopes not being shown during Hollywood week won’t have too much of an effect on the voting (the top 24 marks the first time in the season viewers can weigh in on their favorite singers).

But what really made the top 24 performance stand out was having her father there to support her.

“I actually had to say goodbye to him a week ago, which was really hard, but I was able to spend a lot of time with him and my family before he left, including when he came to Hawaii with my family to watch my top 24 performance,” she said in the email. “It was really special.”

A little more about Elleigh Francom

This season marks Francom’s second attempt at getting on “Idol.” The singer was 16 when she tried out the first time, but didn’t make it past the online preliminary round, the Deseret News previously reported.

But when an “Idol” casting producer reached out to her four years later and encouraged her to audition again, Francom decided to give it a go. Making it to the televised “Idol” audition in front of the celebrity judges was a moment of validation for the singer.

“It’s already so scary that after you do something like that, regardless of the outcome, it’s kind of nice to just know that I did it,” she previously told the Deseret News. “‘Cause I mean, I tried when I was 16 and I literally never thought I would do that again until they offered it to me. ... I should have just done it without them offering it to me, just to do it. But it just kind of proved to me that just because you fail at something once doesn’t mean you can’t do it again.”