Noah Thompson was working construction in Kentucky when he learned that his friend, Arthur, signed him up to audition for American Idol without telling him. Thompson went to the audition and won the judges over with his talent.
In that moment, Thompson never could have imagined that he’d eventually be named the winner of American Idol.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6aEJ7D82Xc
Thompson took home the winning title on Sunday (May 22), with fellow country singer HunterGirl coming in second place. While speaking with USA Today, Thompson said he was shocked about his win:
“Honestly, dude, I was just kind of numb. It blew me away. I just didn’t know how to feel. Anybody could have won this show, you know what I mean? I just didn’t think that it was me.”
Judge Luke Bryan said he believes people voted for Thompson to win because he was so “unassuming.” As Bryan told PEOPLE after the finale:
“He just came in as the underdog…the unassuming guy that he didn’t see it coming, America didn’t see it coming. And I think, you know, we’ve seen it in twenty years where those type people, really — American pulls for them, responds to them. And it always tells me that at the end of the day, being a good, humble, kind person wins.”
Tonight is the IDOL FINALE and I will need your SUPPORT to be the #TheNextIdol ! @AmericanIdol STARTS at 5pm PST / 8pm EST! 3️⃣ ways to vote: pic.twitter.com/gtQU1mzI35
— Noah Thompson (@noahthompsonmu1) May 22, 2022
So what’s next for Thompson now that he’s the newly crowned winner of American Idol? He shared his plans in an interview with Good Morning America.
Thompson says he wants to return to his hometown of Louisa, Kentucky to “just take it all in” after his big win:
“I want to see my family and just kind of let this settle in, you know what I mean?” he said. “It’s going to be wild. I’m going to try to just stick to, you know, staying in the house for a little bit.”
Thompson and his girlfriend, Angel, share a one-year-old son named Walker. He told Music Mayhem he hopes he’ll be able to make his son proud:
“For me, I remember the way I looked at my dad as a kid, I thought he was a rockstar, you know what I mean?” Thompson said. “So, I think the coolest thing for me, out of this whole thing, is by the time Walker is at that age where he can look at all this and be like, ‘That’s my dad.’ And that’ll be a really proud thing for him. So for me, I think that’s the coolest thing out of this whole process.”
Check this out!
This was a special moment during Noah Thompson’s parade through downtown Louisa, KY earlier.
You can see Noah with his family, as his girlfriend Angel and his 1-year old son Walker greeted him during the parade. pic.twitter.com/R4ufSDM59N
— Brandon Lawson (@wxbrandon9) May 18, 2022
We’re thrilled for Thompson, and wish him the best in his career. Head below to watch the video of him singing just moments after he won American Idol.