Ever since premiering in 2002, “American Idol” has had people at the edge of their seats trying to decide who they want to become the next idol. It’s always been hard to decide who to vote for, as the amount of talent and potential of its contestants are what makes everything so entertaining and addictive to watch.
“American Idol” never disappoints when it comes to its winners, often launching them to successful and highly profitable careers, while some others have chosen to follow a more low-profile path at some point.
So what are the latest 10 winners of “American Idol” now, and what projects have they worked on so far? Keep watching to find out!
Let’s begin with Abi Carter, the winner of the 22nd season of “American Idol” in 2024. Abi is a native of Indio, California, and was born on 31 July 2002, making her 21 years old by the time she won the competition.
Her appearance in the show indicated tht Abi was set to show the world what she’s made of. Her audition was a rendition of “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish, immediately gaining all the judges’ approval. Right before the grand finale, Abi received a heartwarming message from Eilish, who congratulated her for getting so far into the competition.
The rest of Abi’s path in “American Idol” was full of extraordinary and astounding performances. Shortly before becoming the season’s Idol, Abi released the single “This Isn’t Over”, which was preceded by her debut song “It’s All Love”, released in March 2024.
While it’s still early to know where Abi would exactly take her career, there’s no denying that she has a bright musical path ahead.
As the winner of the 21st season of “American Idol”, Iam Tongi made history in more than one way. He was born on 1 September 2004, and is a native of Kahuku, Hawaii, making him the first Hawaiian to win the competition. His talent, inspirational backstory, and his artistic goals made him an instant favorite.
After winning the competition in May 2023, Iam released the single “Monsters” in collaboration with James Blunt. Other works from this time include the single “Why Kiki?”, the extended plays (EP) “An Iam Tongi Christmas” and “Cool Down/Don’t Let Go”, released in 2024.
During this year as an “American Idol” winner, Iam temporarily returned to his native Hawaii for a while, for his first shows and to finish high school, also becoming involved in campaigns to help victims of the Maui wildfires.
The 20th season of “American Idol” introduced us to Noah Thompson, a construction worker from Louisa, Kentucky, whose friend signed him up for the competition. Noah attended the audition without believing he would make it, but it only took him to sing Kameron Marlowe’s “Giving You Up” to convince the judges that his path really was behind the mic.
As he advanced the competition, Noah gained confidence and eventually became the 2022 season’s Idol at 20. His victory prompted him to release the song “Stay”, followed by “Make You Rich” and “One Day Tonight”. However, his most streamed song remains to be “One Day Tonight”, accumulating over 30 million streams on Spotify alone.
The winner of season 19th of “American Idol” has continued to flourish since conquering the competition. Chayce Beckham is a native of Apple Valley, California, who has an inspiring story of overcoming alcoholic tendencies.
Chayce was in a serious car crash in late 2020, inspiring him to make the best out of his time in the show, He conquered the hearts of the judges and fans, making it to the finale stage with his song “23” and successfully becoming the first show winner to have an original coronation song.
He later released singles such as “Can’t Do This Without Me”, “Tell Me Twice”, and the popular “Keeping Me Up All Night”. In 2024, he released his first album “Bad For Me”, which he’s promoted on tour in the US during the year.
We are up in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado this week to celebrate the 4th. But before we get there how about we kickoff this weekend off early with “Devil I’ve Been”!https://t.co/tDENSGcnhX pic.twitter.com/Op2Dco2q0M
— Chayce Beckham (@ChayceBeckham) July 2, 2024
Samantha Diaz, better known as Just Sam, is a singer and winner of the 18th season of “American Idol”. Sam is a native of Harlem, New York, where they lived quite an inspiring journey, making a living out of singing in trains. They temporarily moved to Los Angeles during the competition, as the episodes were filmed remotely due to the COVID-19 restrictions.
Sam became the season’s Idol in May 2020, but their deal with Hollywood Records didn’t turn out as expected, leaving them without releasing music. Since then, Just Sam has independently released songs such as “Africando” and “Change”.
The first time Laine Hardy competed in “American Idol” was in the 16th season, but he only made it to the Hollywood Round before being eliminated. After encouraging himself to try again, Elaine auditioned for the 17th season by singing the Band of Heathens song “Hurricane”, steadily advancing to the finale and becoming the winner.
Since then, Laine has released singles such as “Ground I Grew Up On”, “Tiny Town”, “Other LA”, “Memorize You”, and his debut album “Here’s To Anyone” in 2021.
The 16th “American Idol” season had Iowan native Maddie Poppe as its winner. She stole people’s hearts with her rendition of Kermit The Frog’s “Rainbow Connection” during her audition, immediately letting the audience and judges rejoice in her unique style and voice.
Maddie was crowned as the season’s Idol in May 2018 and has since released several songs, including “Keep On Movin’ On”, “Made You Miss” and “Peace Of Mind”. She released her album “Whirlwind” in 2019 and has made guest appearances in subsequent seasons of “American Idol”.
We saw Trent Harmon for the first time in the 15th season of “American Idol”, but that wasn’t his first TV rodeo – he’d already appeared in 2014’s “The Voice”, but didn’t make it very far. The experience inspired him to improve as a singer and musician, using that knowledge and experience during his “American Idol” journey.
Trent was named an Idol in April 2016, passing on to release the song “There’s a Girl” a couple of months later. In 2018 he released the single “You Got ‘Em All” and an album of the same name, before releasing “She’s My Heaven” and “There’s A Girl” in 2021, with the latter becoming his most streamed song on online platforms.
Nicholas James ‘Nick’ Fradiani is “American Idol”s 14th season winner. He’s a native of Guilford, Connecticut, where he’d been known for leading the rock band Beach Avenue and for appearing in “America’s Got Talent”. Nonetheless, his definitive rise to fame came with “American Idol”, in which he was crowned as the winner in May 2015.
Since his victory, Nick has released two albums, including “Hurricane” in 2016 and “Past My Past” in 2022. His most successful singles are “Must Be Another Way” and “Empire” from 2019, and his 2020 single “Even The Angels”.
Last but not least, we have Caleb Johnson, who is the winner of the 13th season of “American Idol”. His audition consisted of Soundgarden’s “Rusty Cage”, which began a long journey in the show.
While this season was plagued by some controversies, that wasn’t enough to overshadow Caleb’s victory in May 2014. He later released his first solo album “Testify”, but his exit from his record label delayed the release of his next album. In 2019 he released “Born from Southern Ground” his band Caleb Johnson & The Ramblin Saints. His third album “Mountain Mojo Vol. 1” was released in 2021, the same year he joined the rotating band Neverland Express.
While not all of the past 10 winners of “American Idol” have risen to massive levels of fame, there’s no denying that all of them are very talented and worthy of their victories.