BHSU STUDENT LOGAN CULHANE TO APPEAR ON AMERICAN IDOL

Logan Culhane, a Black Hills State University student, will be appearing on Season 22 of American Idol. The season will premiere Feb. 18, and Culhane will be featured in one of the audition episodes.   

Culhane learned about the opportunity to audition for American Idol through her family who saw that American Idol was holding virtual auditions and encouraged her to sign up. "Growing up, they always said I would go far, make it big, and have all these opportunities,” Culhane said. “I always had dreams of doing big things like this, but I never thought it would happen so soon, in my freshman year of college. I’m very thankful for it, and I’m really excited for people to see it.”   

Culhane sang in multiple rounds of Zoom auditions before she was invited to attend the televised auditions and sing in person for the American Idol judges: Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie. “It was definitely a super new experience. I’ve never experienced that kind of atmosphere,” Culhane said. “I was so nervous, and it didn’t feel real until I was going into the audition room with them. You look at these people that are so incredibly talented and have so much presence in the industry, and it’s like wow! So, it was an honor to sing in front of them.” 

Originally from Mitchell, Culhane is a freshman at BHSU majoring in music and minoring in theatre. Her music journey began with making songs on GarageBand, singing in the choir in elementary school, and performing in musicals and plays throughout middle school and high school. “I’ve been performing and singing my whole life. When I was little, my mom was making her own music too. As I was growing up, I was always in an environment where creativity was encouraged,” Culhane said. 

Still active in the world of musical theatre, Culhane will be performing as Laura Ingalls in the BHSU Theatre and Music Departments’ production of “Little House on the Prairie: The Musical” Feb. 23-24 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. in the Woodburn Auditorium. 

“Not only do I love to sing, but I love to perform too,” Culhane added. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve been doing things that make me happy. Performing and singing make me very happy, so I continue to go after those things.” 

To find out the results of Culhane's American Idol audition, viewers must tune in to the new season which premieres Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.