Another season of American Idol came to an end on Sunday night (May 22). The finale was jam-packed with performance from celebrity guests, the judges, and the three finalists.
HunterGirl, Leah Marlene, and Noah Thompson were the three contestants who advanced to the finale.
View this post on Instagram
Earlier in the night, viewers learned that Marlene placed in third. That left HunterGirl and Thompson as the last singers standing at the end of the show.
Finally, in the moment everyone had been waiting for, host Ryan Seacrest announced the winner of the season…Noah Thompson!
Thompson later took to social media to thank everyone who believed in him.
“Thank you all for giving me this opportunity, thank you for everyone who voted, thank you guys so much for everything!!” he said. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you all so thank you guys so so much. I’m looking forward to continuing this journey and seeing where this thing goes.“
View this post on Instagram
After the finale, judge Luke Bryan shared his thoughts about the outcome. He made it pretty clear he’s a fan of Thompson’s:
“He just came in as the underdog…the unassuming guy that he didn’t see it coming, America didn’t see it coming,” Bryan told PEOPLE. “And I think, you know, we’ve seen it in 20 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.”
We’re so happy for Thompson and wish him the best moving forward in his career! Head below to watch his celebratory performance after he won American Idol.