LOS ANGELES — After an exciting season full of hope and heartache, season 24 of “American Idol” came down to two singers.
The top three were narrowed down to only two when Keyla Richardson was eliminated from the show in Monday night’s finale. That meant the final two contestants were Jordan McCullough — a 27-year-old worship director from Tennessee, and Hannah Harper — a 26-year-old stay-at-home mom from Missouri.
The judges — Carrie Underwood, Lionel Ritchie, and Luke Bryan — watched this season’s singers up their games week after week and were proud to see the three in the finale.
So, who won “American Idol” 2026?
Spoiler alert
Hannah Harper was crowned the new “American Idol” on Monday night.
Harper, the Missouri wife and mother of three, is the first female country singer since Carrie Underwood in season four to win “American Idol.”
With tears streaming down her face and confetti in her hair, Harper performed one final time after she won, joined on stage by her fellow contestants and judges.
“I just can’t even fathom or wrap my head around everything that just happened. It’ll hit me, soon, probably,” Harper said.
Harper said that she’s headed on tour after her big win.
“I didn’t care where I was going to place. I knew I was going to hit the ground running as soon as I left here,” she said. “So we’re going to take two weeks to just chill for a little bit, and then almost every weekend until, like, September, October, is wham, wham.”
Church worship director Jordan McCullough is this year’s runner-up.
“I left my heart out on that stage tonight,” McCullough said. “I just want to live in the moment right now and be present in what’s happening. I don’t want to move so far ahead that I forget to be grateful for what’s happening now.”
Keyla Richardson, a music teacher from Florida, skipped the post-show press, but she did make it to third place from a field of thousands.
After all the excitement, On The Red Carpet caught up with host Ryan Seacrest and the judges.
“They need to rev up because they’ve created so much momentum,” Seacrest said of the final three contestants. “That’s what is hard in this business — to make that connection emotionally with people, have them pay attention. They’ve got that. Now, they need to step on it and make something happen, and they will.”
“Just go seize the moment. Seize the day. Go work hard,” judge Luke Bryan advised the finalists. “There’s no way around not working hard in this business if you’re going to be successful.”
“They’re all in their own space. They all have different voices. They all have different tools in their tool bags, and there was no wrong answer,” judge Carrie Underwood said.
“Building a career is the hardest thing you’ll ever do in your life, and they’re only going to ask one question: ‘What do you got next? What are you going to do next?'” said judge Lionel Ritchie.
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