by Michelle Husain

Sun, May 4th 2025 at 1:19 PM

Updated Sun, May 4th 2025 at 1:39 PM

Mattie Pruitt MONDAY, APRIL 28 (8:00-10:01 p.m. EDT) on ABC. (Disney/Frank Micelotta)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WICS) — Central Illinois has yet another reason to tune into ‘American Idol.’ 16-year-old Mattie Pruitt, the show’s youngest Top 10 competitor, is from Tennessee, but her roots run deep in Champaign. We spoke with the rising star about her Central Illinois family, her journey on American Idol and what we can expect from her next.

Pruitt reflected on her strong family roots and the unwavering support she’s received:

My grandparents are from there, my mom and all her siblings and cousins, they’re all from Champaign. I visit them once or twice every year for like holidays and stuff, and along this journey, they’ve been really supportive. I’ve had my uncle Michael and his wife Renée come out last weekend. And they are really supportive.

Pruitt shared how her family has supported her throughout her American Idol journey:

Spread the word, you know ‘Vote for Mattie’ and they’re all just kind of trying to help me out and support me along this journey, and I really appreciate it.

We asked her what her favorite local Champaign spot was:

I really like Monical’s. It’s Monical‘s pizza. It’s like the OG pizza. Can’t get pizza like that nowhere else.

Pruitt, a vocal powerhouse, has delivered standout performances on “American Idol” this season. She shared her favorite with us:

My favorite performance was honestly probably my Hollywood week performance. ‘This is a Man’s World’ just because that song was fun. It was different and people didn’t expect it and I really made that one my own.

Pruitt also gave a sneak peek at what to expect on the show Sunday, including her excitement about this week’s mentor:

I’m very excited about Miranda Lambert being our mentor because she’s honestly like my idol because my whole family’s obsessed with her and her music. She’s just an amazing artist. Actually Sunday, I’m doing a country song and I’m playing guitar, so I’m really excited for that. All of the mentors that were last week, James Taylor and Fantasia, were just so awesome. This weekend and so on, I’m gonna really try to stick to my genre so that people aren’t confused anymore. And I really want them to know that I wanna be a country/ soulful artist. I’m gonna try to just like stay in that area.

Voting opens at the top of the show and ends in the final commercial break. ‘American Idol’ airs on ABC Sunday at 7 p.m.