ABC The "American Idol" finale airs on Sunday, May 22
The Sunday, May 22, 2022, season finale of ABC’s “American Idol” featured performances from each of the top three contestants, plenty of celebrity duets and performances from the judges, and it all culminated with the announcement of the season 20 winner of “American Idol.”
WARNING: Spoilers for the finale episode of “American Idol” season 20 follow. Do not read on if you don’t want to know what happened or who won the season.
If you would rather just see who won the season and who the runner-up contestant was, scroll on to the end of the post.
‘American Idol’ Season 20 Finale Live Recap
The three-hour show started with Ryan Seacrest welcoming the viewers to the show and the top 10 contestants performing “Good Feeling” alongside Flo Rida on the top of the Roosevelt Hotel.
Then, Ryan welcomed Katy, Luke and Lionel to the stage before bringing out the top three, Leah Marlene, Noah Thompson and Huntergirl. After two rounds of voting, the first person will be eliminated and the final two will face off.
The first round was dedicated to Bruce Springsteen. Leah Marlene was up first with “Cover Me.” The judges especially liked her stage presence. Huntergirl chose to sing “Dancing In the Dark.” Katy said she was “having fun” on stage and was “comfortable.”
Noah Thompson then took the stage to sing “I’m on Fire.” The judges loved it, with Noah obviously being Luke’s favorite to win in particular, as he told the contestant he was “so proud” of his humility.
Then, Ryan asked the judges who they thought was in the lead, and they wouldn’t give him a straight answer, though Luke did say he loved Huntergirl’s song choice.
Then, the show highlighted Leah Marlene’s homecoming and concert, which took place over the week before she performed her original song “Flowers.” She got very emotional, as did Katy Perry, who told her she was so happy for her.
Then, Noah Thompson’s trip back home was shown. Then, he performed his single “One Day Tonight.” Katy was emotional again, and she said that he was going to “do something really big” and encouraged him to “not stop dreaming.”
Huntergirl was up next with her hometown visit and her single, “Red Bird.” Luke connected with the song personally, sharing that he named his farm “Red Bird” farm.
There was a break in voting after the next commercial break so that the top two could be announced. First, there was a performance from Jay Copeland and Earth, Wind and Fire, and then one from Mike Parker and Deanna Carter.
The first contestant eliminated from the finale was Leah Marlene, leaving Huntergirl and Noah to compete for the title.
Ben Platt performed alongside Lady K after the break, and Nicolina and Emyrson Flora also got a chance to perform.
Katy Perry and Thomas Rhett performed his new song, “Where We Started,” together, and then Fritz Hager took the stage with James Arthur. Then, Lionel Richie performed with the Top 10. Noah then performed with Melissa Etheridge.
Ryan then told both Huntergirl and Noah that they’d won a cruise to the Bahamas alongside three guests courtesy of Disney.
Katy and Leah then performed “Firework” together with Leah’s dad on guitar, and they were followed up by Luke and Huntergirl singing “I Told You So” by Randy Travis.
The last performance from Noah was an encore of “Stay” by Rihanna. The crowd was so excited that the judges had a hard time getting a word in by the end of the performance. Katy said, “How dare you wear that suit and sing that song?”
Huntergirl’s final performance was a repeat of her audition song, “Riot” by Rascal Flatts. Katy joked that she was going to call her “Hunterwoman” instead of Huntergirl and shared that she thought her career was just starting.
When all the votes were in, the winner of “American Idol” was Noah Thompson.
Who Won ‘American Idol’ Season 20?
When it was finally time for the results to be read, Ryan asked the contestants what “American Idol” meant to them, and they both commented about the growth that they’ve experienced since the show started.
When all the votes were in, the winner of “American Idol” was Noah Thompson.
The first contestant eliminated from the finale was Leah Marlene. That meant Noah and Huntergirl went on to compete for the win.
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