Noah Thompson Takes American Idol Crown

20 year old country singer takes the annual crown, following in country start footsteps of Carrie Underwood, Scotty McCreery, Trent Harmon, Laine Hardy and Chayce Beckham.

After an initial push from his friend and co-worker, Noah Thompson settled into American Idol’s run and the legion of country music fans who watch the program helped propel Noah to the finale of the program on May 22 where he was crowned the winner of the 20th season of American Idol over fellow country singer HunterGirl and folk/pop singer Leah Marlene.

"I was just kind of just shocked, you know?" Thompson said Monday on "Good Morning America" when reflecting on the moment his name was called as this milestone season's champion. "Truthfully, I came into the competition not even thinking I would get a golden ticket, so to hear my name at the end, that was amazing."

It wasn’t unexpected that another country singer would do well or win American Idol this year as there were more country artists in the Top 24 than any other genre and several others, including Leah Marlene, were country-adjacent enough to draw some fans to their sides. Noah Thompson constantly drew audiences to his side as the “aw shucks, I’m just happy to be here” guy who basically knew his lane and stayed in it. He was consistent from start to finish and that is what ultimately had him joining Laine Hardy, Trent Harmon and Chayce Beckham as country music singers to win the program (while others, like Gabby Barrett, found success without winning the program).

Now officially signed to BMG’s Nashville division by virtue of winning the program, we’ll see if BBR Music Group will take time with Noah like they smartly have with Chayce (whose first single — a duet with Lindsay Ell — is climbing the charts a year after his win) or if they’ll send the iTunes #1 he recorded with Jimmy Robbins, “One Day Tonight,” to radio.

2 Comments

  • Matt Bjorke

    Rick, I agree 100% that they should send him on that radio tour. He's already getting the digital sales and streams which prove that he deserves the tour. If not right now, perhaps they'll schedule one for AFTER next week's CMA Music Festival (and hopefully ABC/BBR MG/19 Entertainment are capitalizing on the high ratings on the show this year to do something there.

  • Rick P

    They need to strike while iron is hot and throw him into a radio tour for the crash course experience and media practice he needs. The song is doing sooooo well and already being played on several stations without an official release. It's hard to think they won't capitalize. Chayce's 23 was good but it didn't make sense for country radio like Noah's does. My 2 cents:)