In the words of Ryan Seacrest, America has voted and the winner is… Noah Thompson.
On May 22, the 20-year-old was crowned the winner of American Idol season 20, beating out finalists Huntergirl and Leah Marlene. (Don’t worry, there’s no bad blood: The singers eagerly cheered on their friend after all was said and done.)
The season finale started off with the contestants performing their own takes on classic Bruce Springsteen songs, like “Dancing in the Dark” and “Born in the USA.” Those renditions were followed by performances of original songs, which they wrote during the season.
Throughout the 3-hour finale, Noah, Huntergirl and Leah were joined onstage by a myriad of performers, including FloRida, Sara Bareilles, Ben Platt, Michael Bublé, Thomas Rhett, Melissa Etheridge and more. Of course, judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan also made appearances.
Thompson, whose son is named Walker, was one of two contestants who tested positive for COVID-19 during the season. He and Fritz Hager performed from their hotel rooms while isolating.