Noah Thompson wins American Idol Season 20

Noah Thompson wins AMERICAN IDOL (Season 20 Photo: (ABC/Eric McCandless)

American Idol held their Season finale on Sunday. The Top 3 contestants hit the stage for the final time with hopes of being named the winner. Noah Thompson was named the winner. HunterGirl was the runner up and Leah Marlene finished in third. 16 million votes were casted.

Thompson is a 20 year old construction worker from Louisa, Kentucky. His best friend and coworker was the one who signed him up to audition for the show. He performed three songs for the finale. “I’m on Fire” for the Bruce Springsteen round, his original song “One Day Tonight” and “Stay” by Rihanna for favorite performance round.

Right before being announced the winner, Thompson said he will “think about the experience and everything he gained from doing this, growing and learning everything I can take in from this experience for this”.

“Oh my God … my heart is beating out of my chest, this is crazy,” Thompson said after learning the news of his win live on stage from host Ryan Seacrest.

Other performances during the finale included:

HunterGirl – “Dancing In the Dark” + “Red Bird” + “Riot”

Leah Marlene – “Cover Me” + “Flowers”

Noah Thompson – “I’m On Fire” + “One Day Tonight” + “Stay”

Guest performances tonight included:

Flo Rida + Top 10 Contestants – “Good Feeling”

Earth, Wind & Fire + Jay Copeland – “Shining Star,” “Let’s Groove,” “September” Medley

Deana Carter + Mike Parker – “Strawberry Wine”

Ben Platt + Lady K – “Take Me To The Pilot”

Gabby Barrett + Emyrson Flora – “Pick Me Up,” “The Good Ones” Medley

Tai Verdes + Mike Parker, Emyrson Flora, Jay Copeland, Lady K, Christian – “A-O-K”

Sara Bareilles + Nicolina Bozzo – “She Used To Be Mine”