A new American Idol has been crowned. Although the Sunday, May, 17, finale wasn’t what the stars are used to, the remaining singers were ready to compete. Dillon James, Jonny West, Arthur Gunn, Francisco Martin and Just Sam were announced as the final five at the top of the show, eliminating Julia Gargano and Louis Knight from the competition.
Here’s a breakdown of what the singers performed:
Dillon, 26, sang Eric Clapton‘s “Change the World” and Bob Dylan‘s “The Times Are a-Changin’.”
Francisco, 19, performed Harry Styles‘ “Adore You” and “Alaska” by Maggie Rogers.
Just Sam, 21, covered “Stronger” by Kelly Clarkson and “Rise Up” by Andra Day.
Arthur, 21, sang “I Don’t Want to Be” by Gavin DeGraw and Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?”
Jonny, 23, played the keyboard and sang “You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down” by James and Bobby Purify and an original song, “Making Love.”
After the finalists finished, the judges had some time to perform as well. Luke Bryan sang his new song, “One Margarita” and a pregnant Katy Perry sang her new song, which dropped hours before, “Daisies.”
Additionally, Rascal Flatts virtually joined Doug Kiker, the garbage man who made everyone cry during the auditions, for a performance “Bless the Broken Road.” Lauren Daigle also joined the finale from home to sing “You Say” with Just Sam.
Later, Cynthia Erivo was joined by the former top 11 singers for a performance of multiple hits by Aretha Franklin.
When it came time to announce the winner, host Ryan Seacrest first revealed the final two: Arthur and Just Sam. In the end, Just Sam won, becoming the next American Idol!
After the winner was announced, she joined the judges — including Lionel Richie, who cowrote the song with Michael Jackson in 1985 — for a performance of “We Are the World.” They were joined by Idol alums Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Lauren Alaina, Jordin Sparks, Phillip Phillips, Ruben Studdard, Scotty McCreery, Laine Hardy, Gabby Barrett and Alejandro Aranda.
