Sarah Krueger, a student at the University of Minnesota Duluth, has made it to the next round of "American Idol".
A sophomore studying education, the 20-year-old Eau Claire, Wis., native sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" during Tuesday's episode of the popular Fox television show to earn a ticket to Hollywood.
Notoriously acerbic judge Simon Cowell complimented Krueger for having top control of her voice, while many "Idol" bloggers praised the UMD student online, saying she had given one of the best performances of the night.
That comes as no surprise to Paul Gilbertson, Krueger's choral director at North High School in Eau Claire, where she graduated in 2005.
"I've told a lot of people, the only thing I've done for her is give her more places to sing," he said. "She has a 100 percent natural voice."
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In September, Krueger auditioned for the show with more than 10,000 others at the Target Center in Minneapolis. She could not be reached for comment -- according to theEau Claire Telegram-Leader, Krueger has been told by Fox she cannot talk about the show and her parents' phone is apparently disconnected.
Gilbertson said he saw Krueger in December and was told that she couldn't say anything about the show.
"Everybody here at North is up in the clouds for her," he said. "She's a nice kid, a nice person to know ... she's very dedicated to her studies and to her music."
Krueger appears to be only the person with Duluth ties to make it on to the next round on "American Idol". She is now competing against several hundred other contestants. Over the next couple of months that number will be cut to fewer than 30.
Sam Malec of Proctor won the Northland Idol competition in August, which was supposed to get her in the front of the line with the show's producers, but she didn't make the final cut in Minneapolis.
