‘American Idol’ crowns a Season 20 winner

By Marianne Garvey, CNN

“American Idol” picked a winner on Sunday during a three-hour finale.

Noah Thompson, a 20-year-old country singer from Kentucky, won Season 20 of the singing competition.

“Buddy, you just won,” host Ryan Seacrest told the singer as he revealed the result of viewer voting between Thompson and HunterGirl, Hunter Wolkonowski.

“Oh, my God,” Noah said, “My heart is beating out of my chest. This is crazy.”

HunterGirl finished in second place, while Leah Marlene, a singer from Illinois, finished in third place.

All three finalists had performed an original song, as well as a cover of a Bruce Springsteen song. Marlene sang “Cover Me,” HunterGirl sang “Dancing In The Dark” and Thompson sang “I’m On Fire.”

Along with a number of celebrity performances, “Idol” winner Carrie Underwood was scheduled to perform but was exposed to Covid, Seacrest said at the start of the show.

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