ABC "American Idol" top three contestants Leah Marlene, Noah Thompson, and HunterGirl.
Season 20 of ABC’s “American Idol” is set to wrap up on Sunday, May 22, 2022, and with only three contestants left in the competition, there aren’t many left to choose from when it comes to who will win the whole competition.
Judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie have joined long-time host Ryan Seacrest throughout the season, giving each of the hopefuls advice and constructive criticism along the way. When it comes to who will come away with the title of “American Idol,” however, the judges don’t choose. The viewers have that power.
During the finale episode, voting will open starting at 8 p.m. ET and go until the final commercial break. That’s when the votes will be tallied. Then, the winner will be announced.
Read on to learn who we think will win this season of “American Idol.”
Noah Thompson Is The Obvious Front-Runner
At the time of writing, country singer Noah Thompson is the obvious front-runner for fans and even for judge Luke Bryan. This thought was only cemented after Thompson’s single, “One Day Tonight,” was released on May 13, 2022.
The song is an obvious radio tune, and fans think it could propel Thompson to the top when it comes to who wins the competition. Thompson has gained a loyal fanbase throughout the competition, and though he doesn’t have any original music out other than the single, videos of him singing on “American Idol” rack up huge views, specifically on Facebook.
Thompson has 80,000 followers on Instagram at the time of writing. That number has increased by over 20,000 in the previous week.
On top of that, Thompson’s hometown concert was hugely successful, leading to lines around the block and a huge crowd that he got to perform for ahead of the finale.
Second: HunterGirl
Huntergirl has had success with her previously-released music, but her voice doesn’t connect with audiences in the same way that Thompson’s voices seem to. It’s still possible she comes through with the win, however. She also has the most followers on Instagram out of the top three with 115,000 at the time of writing. That’s an increase of over 15,000 over the past week.
On top of all that, HunterGirl is performing with Luke Bryan during the finale, which could lead to a bump in votes, especially within the country music genre.
While that might be enough, it’s also possible that HunterGirl will be splitting some votes with Noah Thompson since they’re in the same genre, and that could lead to issues for the artist.
Dark Horse: Leah Marlene
Leah Marlene was shocked that she made it into the top three over her good friend, Fritz Hager, and she’s the only non-country artist to be competing for votes during the finale, which could give her a leg up on the competition if the votes end up getting split.
Marlene also gets to perform with judge Katy Perry during the finale. Together, they’ll perform “Firework,” which Perry does not perform live very often.
Marlene currently boasts 82,000 followers on Instagram, which is up over 12,000 from the previous week. She also may be getting more support from Fritz Hager’s fanbase, as the two are close and he told his fans to vote for her after he was voted off during the top five episode.
With a standout performance, Marlene could take home the title. That’s the delight of having live voting: anything can happen during the show.
“American Idol” airs on Sundays at 8 p.m. Eastern time live coast-to-coast on ABC.
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