GENEVA – Of all the people congratulating Geneva teen Kayla Mickelsen on her successful "American Idol" audition, nobody is more excited than her dad.

When the 18-year-old emerged from the San Francisco audition clutching a golden ticket to Hollywood, Kraig Mickelsen said the moment was the culmination of a three-year effort that included attempts at NBC’s “The Voice.”

“Nobody’s more excited for her than me,” Kraig Mickelsen said, explaining he has spent hours upon hours taking her to multiple auditions in various cities. “I support her fully.”

The Geneva High School senior has known since October that she cleared the first round of auditions for the hit Fox show, which premiered its final season this week. She said it was a hard secret to keep.

“I really didn’t think I would advance, actually, only because I think ‘American Idol’ is really looking for a pop star,” Kayla Mickelsen said Friday, saying she falls more into the folk and jazz categories.

Her “Idol” journey began with a push from her guitar teacher to participate in a talent show at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, she said. She won her age category, she said, and someone involved with the event encouraged her to try out for the TV show.

“It was mostly other people telling me to do it,” Kayla Mickelsen said.

In San Francisco, she won over each of the judges – Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. – and introduced herself as an ice cream shop employee, a nod to her job at Graham's Chocolates in Geneva.

“We were jumping up and down when we saw that,” Graham’s owner Robert Untiedt said.

He knew through videos on social media that she was “really good,” but seeing her perform on national TV was a different experience, he said.

“When you see it on something like that, it knocks you out,” Untiedt said.

Kayla Mickelsen has been involved with choir since she was a freshman at Geneva High School, her choir teacher Roxanne Curtis said, noting her daughter also gives the teen private voice lessons.

“She’s an extremely talented young woman,” Curtis said.

At this point, Kayla Mickelsen said she is thankful to have gotten a golden ticket. Her next goal is to make it past Hollywood week, which has a reputation of being intense, she said.

She said she wants to thank everyone for the support – the amount surprised her – she’s gotten her since her audition episode aired Thursday.

“It’s just been an incredible experience,” she said.

When to watch

American Idol next airs at 7 p.m. Wednesday on Fox.