Zach Birnbaum Survives American Idol's A Cappella Round

It was good news and bad news for Cherry Hill West’s Zach Birnbaum on American Idol Wednesday night, as the 16-year-old survived the a cappella round before getting cut during the group stage of the reality show.

Birnbaum, who won his spot via the New York auditions last summer, was grouped with fellow contestants Nate Tao, Cortez Shaw and Elijah Liu, performing Some Kind of Wonderful, first popularized by The Drifters in 1961.

This was the Cherry Hill teen’s first shot at stardom, but far from his first performance—and not even the only competition he’s involved in right now.

Even as the show is airing, Birnbaum and his bandmates in No Commitment are taking their shot at a spot in the Skate & Surf Festival, in The Break Contest. They’ve made it through the first round, and have a second performance coming up next month at the ICAC Hall in Gloucester City.

Editor's note: this article has been updated to reflect which round Birnbaum made it through on Idol.