Gilbert’s McKenna Faith Breinholt eliminated from ‘American Idol’

PHOENIX — Singer McKenna Faith Breinholt from Gilbert ended her “American Idol” journey on Sunday.

Breinholt was one of the top seven contestants, but the public eliminated her during a vote for the top five performers.

The 25-year-old esthetician from Gilbert performed “E.T.” by Katy Perry and “Make You Feel My Love” by Bob Dylan on Sunday’s episode.

Breinholt wasn’t the only performer eliminated from the finalists. The public also voted Julia Gagnon, from Cumberland, Maryland, off the show.

The sixteenth episode of the latest season of “American Idol” whittled down the competition to these finalists:

• Abi Carter
• Jack Blocker
• Triston Harper
• Will Moseley
• Emmy Russell

Of the three judges — Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan — Breinholt connected most with Perry. In fact, although Breinholt made it to the top 10 on her own, Perry’s intervention ensured her spot among the top seven finalists.

On April 29, Perry saved the singer from elimination using her “judge’s save,” which is a trick judges can use to save a singer and keep them in the competition — even when they don’t have enough public votes.

“I’m really proud of you because tonight I think you’ve shown us how to transform, how to keep people on the edge of their seats,” Perry told Breinholt after her performance of “Make You Feel My Love” by Bob Dylan.

“Life is just all about change and evolution and you’re just growing every single time and I love it,” Perry added.