EDITOR'S NOTE: The following story originally appeared in the August issue of GCU Magazine, available in the purple magazine bins on campus or digitally.
It was easy for Chris Tungseth to fall in love with music.
His dad was an opera singer and worship leader; his mom, a pianist. Because of their musical influence, he dreamed of performing on the big stage, and after a friend surprised him by signing him up for “American Idol” auditions, that dream came true.
Tungseth, who graduated from GCU in 2025, finished in the Top 5 of the show’s recent 24th season and gained a national following. He has since released his first single, “Lonely Road,” and has performed with Billy Ray Cyrus and Bucky Covington.
“I had no idea if this would lead to anything,” Tungseth said. “My dream was to make music, go on tour, meet people, play shows. But there was no direct plan.
“This show led me there, and it’s been crazy seeing the amount of people getting behind me and supporting me. It makes me feel so grateful and validated in many ways.”
Tungseth grew up performing at church with his tightknit family and watching “American Idol” at home. Music spoke to them – a common language that united them.
When he was 10 years old, his mother, Cathy, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which progressed so quickly that she ended up moving into an assisted care facility.
Then in 2021, doctors diagnosed his father, Mark, with leukemia. Along with his siblings, Tungseth moved home to take care of his parents.
As his mother’s primary caregiver and father’s supporter while he endured chemotherapy, Tungseth developed a passion for physical therapy.
That passion stayed with him following his father’s death in 2023, with Tungseth taking his first steps away from his family and home in Minnesota to pursue an exercise science degree at GCU.
But during such a dark time, only music was his medicine – those chords and melodies acting as his escape after the loss of his dad, who he has described as "gravity to us."
“Music was where I turned to in dark times to navigate my story, navigate the season of life I was in,” Tungseth said. “I never told anybody at GCU anything about my path. I wanted people to know me for me and not my darkness.”
“I wanted to turn over a new leaf and start a new season. I got placed with three random roommates, and during move-in, they saw I had a guitar and a record player. They were like, ‘You like music? You should play us a song.’ I played them an original, and they started crying, all of us, just crying in the living room.”
Tungseth sang that same song, “Lonely Road,” at his “American Idol” audition in front of judges Carrie Underwood, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan just two months after graduating from GCU.
He wrote the song after his father’s death.
The lyrics conveyed his road to recovery and how he navigated his overwhelming grief and loneliness: “No one tells you how to move on/ Got all this pain that I can use/ I would rather sit in darkness/ Than let go of the memory of you.”
That emotional song guaranteed his place in the music competition.
“Lonely Road” is Tungseth’s first single, which he released in June on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music.
Just two weeks after its release, the song surpassed 25,000 streams and had been played in 70 countries (it has been streamed more than 78,000 times on Spotify as of Oct. 23).
“From the very beginning, my dad was extremely present in this whole experience,” Tungseth said. “I had drawn closer to him because music was his dream and one of the languages we communicated through.
“He studied opera and went through a lot of challenges of his own. So knowing he is with me in spirit when I am going through difficult things, it’s like, ‘Oh, Dad, you already know what this feels like.’”
When Tungseth returned to his hometown of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, after the show ended in May, he was met with overwhelming support.
The town hosted a homecoming rally for Tungseth attended by more than 8,000 people. It featured a motorcycle parade to honor his dad, who loved motorcycles. Tungseth kicked off the event by cruising around on a Harley Davidson.
He also led a concert that featured his debut single, the song that started it all.
“This is very humbling to see,” older sister Laura Tungseth said. “The Lord has brought our family through so much, and to now give Chris this platform to share his voice, live our dad’s legacy through this and bring glory to God is ultimately his goal.”
In addition to the parade, Fergus Falls Mayor Anthony Hicks presented Tungseth with a golden microphone and proclaimed May 16 as Chris Tungseth Day.
Earlier that week, his high school unveiled a new sign. It reads: “Fergus Falls, Home of ‘American Idol’s’ Chris Tungseth.”
“When you are in L.A. in a hotel room for seven weeks, you don’t get to see firsthand that the community is behind you and what they are doing. I came home to that and was super overwhelmed in the best way.
“It’s funny how the push from someone else is the reason that you chase your dreams. But at the end of the day, it’s never too late to chase a dream. When you get out of your own way, God has a really cool opportunity to use you.”
GCU News staff writer Izabela Fogarasi can be reached at [email protected].
***
Also from the magazine:
Students tell the against-all-odds story of how they built GCU's first supercomputer
In demand: Why employers keep coming back to GCU
How AI is helping integrate Christian worldview authentically into GCU's curriculum
From embassy work to a Holy Land visit, Lopes lived large this summer
Five questions with GCU's Dr. Andrea Hogan
Online student expands domain from sports blogosphere to city hall
