Mason's Rebecca Brunner cut from 'American Idol' after making top 55

MASON — Rebecca Brunner's run on "American Idol" ended Monday night after she performed in this week's "Showstopper" round.

Despite receiving very little air time on this season of the ABC show, Brunner, 27, was among 55 contestants who made it through to the final judgments in front of Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Ritchie. The trio of celebrity judges finished narrowing the field of candidates to just over two dozen contestants on Monday night's episode.

Brunner first auditioned in front of all three in November in Nashville, Tennessee, before advancing to the show's "Hollywood Week" in Los Angeles, filmed in December.

Viewers ultimately saw very little of her. Brunner's Nashville audition, in which she performed an original song dedicated to her late father Mark, who died after a brief battle with cancer in 2000 when she was 5, never aired. Still, it did earn her three "yes" votes from Bryan, Perry and Richie, Brunner said.

"My mom came into the room," she said. "It was super emotional. She got to hug Lionel Richie and got to talk with all of them. I got to honor my dad with my song for him and honor my mom by bringing her into the room, so it was really special for me, for sure."

In Los Angeles, Brunner made it through her first solo performance and a duet with fellow contestant Tripp Taylor singing "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper.

"We had to pick our duet partners within seconds of finishing our performance round at about 11 p.m. at night," Brunner said. The pair sang in front of the judges the next day.

"It was probably the most intense round for me," she said.

Brunner's duet with Taylor and her showstopper performance of "Don't Let Me Down" by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya didn't air on the show. Brunner briefly appeared on camera in a few episodes.

Her elimination in front of the "Idol" judges was disappointing, Brunner said, but judges told her it wasn't because she lacked talent or skill.

"Rebecca, we don't have any criticism to give you," she said Bryan told her. "Unfortunately, we just have to cut talent and you're one of those people."

"You think, 'I could have always done more,' but it's reality TV at the end of the day," Brunner said. "There are things that are in place and things that happen so you've got to roll with the punches and accept the experience for what it is. I'm super thankful."

Brunner said she made incredible, lifelong friends with several contestants, many of whom are still competing.

"I literally feel like they're all my best friends," she said. "They're all so amazing."

Brunner, a 2013 Mason High School graduate, is no stranger to televised singing competitions. She auditioned for "America's Got Talent" in 2016, a year before making it through blind auditions on "The Voice" and securing a spot on celebrity judge Blake Shelton's team.

Brunner earned a degree in music from Columbia College Chicago after high school, then moved to Nashville in 2021.

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Leaving the "Idol" competition is easier than either of her previous experiences with reality television, Brunner said.

"After 'The Voice' I had a really hard time getting back on my feet, but this has kind of been a cool, eye-opening experience for me, just seeing my growth as an artist because I now have so much to look forward to coming back," she said.

Her single, "Round Hole," with Song House, a songwriters group there, was released last year and she's currently working on her first album. Brunner plans to release new singles in the coming months and an EP later this year.

"That's really what's next for me," she said. "I'm really grinding away in the studio and writing with tons of artists."

Contact Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ .

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Mason's Rebecca Brunner, 'Voice' alum, eliminated from 'American Idol'