Cumberland Singer Julia Gagnon advanced Monday to the next round of “American Idol” after singing “Over the Rainbow,” the song made famous by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz.”

She is now in the top seven.

For Monday night’s show each of the three judges – pop singer Katy Perry, R&B legend Lionel Richie and country star Luke Bryan – chose a song for each contestant.

The contestants then got to choose which of the three songs to perform.

Gagnon and the seven other contestants still in the contest performed songs including “Traitor “by Olivia Rodrigo, “Always On My Mind” by Willie Nelson and “Sand in My Boots” by Morgan Wallen.

The contestants also each sang as part of a group.

Millions of people voted on contestants throughout the show.

Gagnon was the sixth individual contestant of the night.

The three songs chosen for Gagnon were “Because of You” by Kelly Clarkson, “Because You Loved Me” by Celine Dion and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

Gagnon said that she chose to perform “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” because the “Wizard of Oz” is her grandmother’s favorite movie and that her grandmother always wanted her to sing that song. The song was chosen for her by Bryan.

A few tears streamed down Gagnon’s face as the judges praised her performance.

“You killed that song,” Richie said. “I couldn’t believe the fact that you had so much control the whole time. It was a great job.”

Gagnon also sang “Wide Awake” by Katy Perry, along with three other contestants.

On Sunday, the remaining contestants will perform Adele hits, and two more contestants will be voted off the show.

Gagnon, who graduated from North Yarmouth Academy and is a senior at the University of Southern Maine on a pre-law track, told the Press Herald before the start of her “Idol” journey that she had been reluctant to share her gift for singing because she didn’t want to stand out among her classmates.

The Guatemala native says she’d been bullied and harassed for her looks and background, and that made her want to be quiet and blend in. But after a talent show during middle school, her chorus teacher, Nora Krainis, encouraged her to sing publicly and worked with her parents, Meg and Jim Gagnon, to create opportunities for her to sing more.

She decided to try out for “American Idol,” in part, to share a special moment and journey with her birth mother in Guatemala, Sara Ramos, who is seriously ill and fighting an infection, Gagnon told the Press Herald in March.

She was the last person to audition for season 22 in November. The judges awarded her one of only three platinum tickets for the singers with the strongest performances, which meant she got a pass through the first round of “Hollywood week.” She then competed against 150 others in the show’s Hollywood Week competition and made it to the top 24.

People can vote from the start of each episode, airing at 8 p.m. on ABC, until the last commercial break. Online voting information can be found at idolvote.abc.com, and text votes can be placed by texting the number of the contestant you like (4 for Gagnon) to 21523. For more information on how and when to vote, go to idolvote.abc.com/#faq.

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