American Idol’: Chris Tungseth Breaks Down Show Day Preparations Viewers Don’t See

Chris Tungseth has earned his spot in the Top 5 on Season 24 of American Idol. The Minnesota native has spent the last several weeks in Los Angles amid the American Idol Live Shows, and recently detailed to KTSP exactly what goes into preparing for performance days. Spoiler alert: It’s a lot more than what we see on television.

“Saturday, Sunday, Monday, those are days that you’re like … we could be here for 12 hours, 15 hours,” Chirs shared. “We don’t really know how long we’re going to be [there]. You see your call time, you go to the lobby, you get picked up, and from that point on it’s just go, go, go.”

Chris detailed some of the things he and the other contestants have to do before hitting the stage: “vocal coaching, wardrobe, somewhere else, back to wardrobe, digital.” He added, “Show days, they feel like they’re 15 hours long. Sometimes they are 15 hours long! It’s insane.”

Of course, it’s all been worth it to get to this point. Chris will perform again on the May 4 episode, along with his fellow finalists Keyla Richardson, Jordan McCullough, Hannah Harper, and Braden Rumfelt. At the end of the night, only three of these artist will get voted through to the finale, meaning that two more will be eliminated.

The episode will feature the contestants performing with Dancing With the Stars pros dancing in the background. Plus, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson will be there to mentor them, and Abdul will be sitting in as a guest judge.

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Braden also recently gave fans a behind-the-scenes look at what preparing for American Idol show days consists of. He said being on the show is like a “full-time job,” adding, “[We have] vocal coach, run through the words, we got dry blocks, we got a dress rehearsal, we have to go to the dressing rooms and stuff and get fitted for all the clothes, meeting with creative, talking about what the background is going to look. The song … usually we spend hours and hours on the song.”

Plus, there’s also stage blocking, choreography, and “getting the lights and stuff put together and them showing us that kind of thing” before the live performances take place, Braden shared.

American Idol, Season 24, Mondays, 8/7c, ABC