Mainer and college student Julia Gagnon has made it through yet another cut to land in the top seven contestants on the national television talent show “American Idol.” 

Gagnon, 21, of Cumberland, found out with the rest of America at the end of Monday night’s episode that she was moving on with six other contestants. 

Earlier in the episode, each competitor showed off their talents once again, this time singing songs secretly selected for them by the judges. Gagnon, wearing a white cowboy hat, sang “Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz. She said the film was her paternal grandmother’s favorite. 

“She always wanted to hear me sing that song,” she said. 

As she sang, she earned periodic cheers and applause from the audience. After she finished, she learned that judge and country music legend Luke Bryan had chosen the song for her. After her performance, he heaped praise upon her. 

“There is no song too big for you,” he said. “There is no song you can’t sing.”  

During the live broadcast Monday night, viewers were encouraged to vote via text for their favorite performers. In the final minutes of the episode, host Ryan Seacreast read the list of the six top contestants, with two competitors voted out.  

Although he said the top six were listed in no particular order, Gagnon’s name was read first. Standing on stage in a gold dress, her jaw dropped in shock as a fellow contestant cheered for her. She left the stage, secure for another week, with her hands over her mouth.  

Gagnon will appear on the show’s next broadcast, scheduled for Sunday, May 5.