With his beautiful voice, Jordan McCullough was awarded one of only three 2026 American IdolPlatinum Tickets after performing “Grandma’s Hands” by Bill Withers in Hawaii, and what made it even more meaningful for the 27-year-old worship director from Murfreesboro, TN, was his ticket was voted on by his peers.
“I think that is just the highest honor I could have received all season knowing that this is a singing competition,” McCullough exclusively told Parade. “I’m in a competition ultimately to see who’s the best singer this season and to know that all of these people that I look up to so highly thought that I had a great performance and voted for me to get the Platinum Ticket, that just meant so much.”
As a worship director, McCullough is used to singing inspirational songs, but he says that the theme nights like "Rock & Roll Hall of Fame" or "Disney Night" haven’t thrown him. In fact, he claims it hasn’t been challenging at all.
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"It’s just been more sober feeling and me stepping into full creativity of how God designed me to be,” he said. “I’m learning throughout this experience that inspirational music doesn’t just happen inside of the church, but it happens in intimacy, it happens in love, it happens in all forms of encouragement. And so having the opportunity to step outside of my genre and do rock and roll, and country, and all these other types of themes is revealing to me, and it’s a special place to be in.”
So, for “Taylor Swift Night” tonight, Jordan had no problem finding a song – which he wasn’t able to reveal – that spoke to him.
“I appreciate Taylor Swift’s work so much,” he explained. “I appreciate what she’s done for the music industry and who she is as a person. And so, knowing that I know a lot of her catalog, I decided to go with a song that I wasn’t as familiar with, but I’ve been known for taking big risks here on this season. So, I think this upcoming song selection and episode will be another one of those risky moments. I’m excited to see if it pays off.”
Following is more of our chat with Jordan about the type of album he’d like to make, the judges’ comments, and what has surprised him most about American Idol.
Related: American Idol 2026 Results Last Night: Who Went Home and Who Made the Top 7?
Jordan McCulloughDisney/Eric McCandless
So, if you were to make an album, would it be inspirational music, or would you like to incorporate some of these new things that you’ve learned?I definitely want to incorporate some of the new things that I’ve learned. My hope would be that no matter what I’m singing, if it’s an R&B song, if it’s a rock song, at the end of the song, you’re inspired. And so, my faith and my belief in Christianity are always going to be the foundation, but I’m open to singing multiple genres of music and releasing music that just inspires.
You get to work with some terrific vocal coaches, who I’m sure help you produce your songs in a style that works for you. What’s that been like?The vocal coaches here are just incredible. They listen really, really well. They mentor every week really well. And they also leave room for my creativity to flow as well, so that I appreciate a lot. I have the best team here on Idol, and it’s a great combo.
Last week for Disney night, Carrie Underwood said you were "perfect," a really great compliment, but it’s not something that you can use to improve. How much are you able to incorporate the judges’ comments when they do have constructive criticism?I think it’s always encouraging to have those highly sought-after comments, like “that was perfect,” and “drop the mic” moments. But I’m also listening to not just the feedback that they’ve given me, but also every contestant that’s on the season, so that it applies to not just them, but also me. So, I’m very attentive to what they’re saying to each and every single one of us after our performances.
You auditioned for The Voice, but you didn’t get a chair turn. What did that teach you going into your American Idol audition that you think maybe got you your Golden Ticket?It’s so precious. I’m grateful that I had that opportunity to set me up for the success that I found here on American Idol. I was at a time of trying to prove myself without knowing myself to so many people. And my journey here on American Idol was just knowing that I’m enough. And so, I came in to my audition singing Goodness of God, right where I was in the time of my life and it’s led me to the Top 7. So very grateful.
Talk about dealing with the challenges of American Idol. What’s been surprising to you? Have you learned things about song selection, about gaining confidence so you’re more comfortable on a bigger stage? I think what surprised me the most is the pace of the show. The show happens every Monday. Most concert singers have months, if not multiple months, to prepare for performances. We have days in between each show to prepare for performances and the teams behind the team do so well at making sure that we’re prepared. But yeah, the pace surprises me a lot.Song selection is a big thing to me. It means a lot to me. I like to think that I've picked some very encouraging yet challenging songs that helped me grow. But I’d say that the pace is definitely what surprises me the most.
Related: How to Vote on American Idol 2026: Online, Text and Social Media Voting Guide
Do you read the comments on social media after your performance? And if so, do you consider what the fans have to say?I have to be completely honest, I do read the comments, but a lot of people have encouraged me not to. But I am just very fortunate to receive very encouraging responses each week.I want to know what they have to say, because ultimately, these are the same people buying records and showing up to performances and buying tickets. And so, I want to know what they have to say. I want their input. But also, I’m confident enough to know that the reason why they fell in love with me is because of my authenticity. And so I’m not losing myself in the comments, but finding support in them.
Jordan McCulloughDisney/Eric McCandless
Win or not – because the field is getting narrow, so you must have started thinking about plans for after the show — how do you plan to use the Idol platform? Do you have music that you want to get out there? Or will you be starting from scratch?Yes, I will definitely want to build off of the momentum that I have for what’s happening here on the show. My goal and dream would be to land a cinema record or record or write something for a film and kind of go down that route. But yeah, I’m ready to just release some music.
What about Broadway?I would definitely be open to that as well.
You’d have to move.I love New York. So that works, too!
Is what you’re saying is that if you got a chance to do an album, you’d like to do like an album of movie songs?Not necessarily movie songs, but maybe a record that would be featured in a film. I have to think that I have the voice to, again, inspire, but also have a big ballad moment. I don’t know, I think it’d be really, really cool based [on] the momentum that I’m receiving on the show, and then go more into my artistic creativity of who I am as an artist.
American Idol airs Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. Streams next day on Hulu.
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