{"id":2413226,"date":"2026-05-12T12:50:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T12:50:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2413226"},"modified":"2026-05-12T12:50:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T12:50:41","slug":"american-idol-2026-recap-who-won-season-24-entertainment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/american-idol-2026-recap-who-won-season-24-entertainment\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018American Idol\u2019 2026 Recap: Who Won Season 24? | Entertainment"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Before the results, based off of viewer votes, were read, though, the night was jam-packed with performances from the finalists, celebrity guests, and other contestants from the season. Judges Carrie Underwood<\/a>, Luke Bryan<\/a>, and Lionel Richie<\/a> also hit the stage. WARNING: Spoilers for the\u00a0American Idol<\/em> finale ahead!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Scroll down for updates from throughout the finale and to find out who won.<\/p>\n

Hannah Harper<\/h2>\n

For the first round, the contestants sang songs by mentor Alicia Keys<\/a>. Hannah picked \u201cNo One, but added a \u201cfolksy\/bluegrass\u201d twist, which she still hoped would honor the original version.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

ABC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Richie kicked off the commentary, telling Hannah, \u201cYou\u2019ve taken an Alicia Keys song and turned it into your song so fast, only because you have that identifiable voice that we\u2019ve all come to love. You now own that stage. You look so comfortable, and you took the advice. Just make it all about you and your voice and your career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Underwood said that Hannah\u2019s voice makes everything \u201csound beautiful and tender and like a lullaby,\u201d while Bryan raved, \u201cYour voice is like walking in the outdoors. It\u2019s like walking through a beautiful garden. You\u2019re true artist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keyla Richardson<\/h2>\n

Keyla was up next with a rendition of Keys\u2019 \u201cUnthinkable.\u201d She chose the song because it spoke to her journey on the show.<\/p>\n

\"Keyla<\/p>\n

ABC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThat was such a wonderful choice of song for you. You are ready. You are ready for whatever amazing things are going to come next for you,\u201d Underwood promised.<\/p>\n

Bryan noted how Keyla has always focused \u201cwith drive and determination\u201d throughout the competition. \u201cYou\u2019ve won in our eyes,\u201d he added. \u201cJust watching you seize every moment has been so inspiring to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jordan McCullough<\/h2>\n

Closing out the first round was Jordan, who selected \u201cIf I Ain\u2019t Got You\u201d from Keys\u2019 catalog to sing. During rehearsals, she helped him get comfortable away from the mic stand so the movement could help tell the story.<\/p>\n

\"Jordan<\/p>\n

ABC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so proud of your confidence on that,\u201d Bryan raved. \u201cYou were like \u2026 this is my stage, I\u2019m this confident, I\u2019ve come this far, I\u2019ve worked this hard. It was so great to watch you have all that swagger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richie agreed, adding, \u201cI think Alicia said it best. Alicia said, \u2018That was money.\u2019 That was not only money, but your career, my friend. That was amazing.\u201d Underwood jumped in to continue, \u201cAnd that career\u2019s gonna make him some money!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hannah Harper<\/h2>\n

To being the second round, Hannah returned to the stage with an original song called \u201cMarried Into This Town,\u201d which she dedicated to her hometown and husband.<\/p>\n

\"Hannah<\/p>\n

ABC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cCongratulations on songwriting, congratulations about being that authentic person,\u201d Richie applauded, while also pointing out how much he loves watching Hannah with her family.<\/p>\n

Underwood was in tears. \u201cI love that you started your journey on\u00a0American Idol<\/em> with an original song, and I love that you\u2019re ending it that way, as well, taking us home,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Keyla Richardson<\/h2>\n

For her hometown performance dedicated to Pensacola, Florida, Keyla sang \u201cI Love the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Keyla<\/p>\n

ABC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI love this show so, so much,\u201d Underwood said, through tears. \u201cI love that you took this opportunity to sing to the Lord. It just shows your heart, girl. It was beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bryan said he was \u201cso happy\u201d to look back at Keyla\u2019s audition and see how far she\u2019s come. \u201cIt\u2019s one of my best journeys on this show,\u201d he admitted. Richie added, \u201cWhy did God give you that gift? It\u2019s very obvious. You\u2019re here to inspire us all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jordan McCullough<\/h2>\n

Closing out the second round with a performance dedicated to his Tennessee hometown was Jordan, who sang \u201cDear God.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jordan<\/p>\n

ABC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The judges all raved over Jordan\u2019s performance, and\u00a0 Underwood asked if there could be a \u201cthree-way tie\u201d because of how good all the finalists are. \u201cYou should be so proud, Jordan, you\u2019re so good,\u201d she promised.<\/p>\n

Who came in third place?<\/h2>\n

After the first two rounds of competition, the artist with the lowest amount of votes was sent home. Jordan and Hannah made the Top 2, which meant that Keyla Richardson finished in third place.<\/p>\n

Fans then had a chance to continue voting for Jordan and Hannah throughout the rest of the night, while being entertained<\/a> by various contestants from the season and celebrity guests.<\/p>\n

Hannah Harper<\/h2>\n

For the final round of competition, Hannah and Jordan got to sing their audition songs. For Hannah, that meant a callback to her viral original song \u201cString Cheese.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Hannah<\/p>\n

ABC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Jordan McCullough<\/h2>\n

Then, Jordan came back to sing his audition song \u201cGoodness of God,\u201d and he earned another standing ovation from the judges, just like he did during the auditions.<\/p>\n

\"Jordan<\/p>\n

ABC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Who won American Idol<\/em> 2026?<\/h2>\n

Finally, it was time to find out the winner. Viewers were able to cast their votes through the last commercial break, and then Ryan Seacrest gathered Jordan and Hannah to announce who was taking home the title.<\/p>\n

The winner of\u00a0American Idol<\/em> Season 24 is\u2026Hannah Harper<\/strong>, which means that Jordan McCullough<\/strong>\u00a0finished as the runner-up!<\/p>\n

More Headlines:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.gjsentinel.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Before the results, based off of viewer votes, were read, though, the night was jam-packed with performances from the finalists, celebrity guests, and other contestants from the season. Judges Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie also hit the stage. WARNING: Spoilers for the\u00a0American Idol finale ahead! Scroll down for updates from throughout the finale […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2413227,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[27820,472228,21738,21902,362664,362668,350827,472229,137882,137883,314870],"class_list":["post-2413226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-american-idol","tag-music-television-series","tag-news","tag-ntvb_media","tag-reality-television-series","tag-reality-television-series-franchises","tag-reality-television-shows","tag-singing-talent-shows-franchises","tag-syndicate","tag-syndicate-news","tag-television-series"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/\u2018American-Idol-2026-Recap-Who-Won-Season-24-Entertainment.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2413226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2413226"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2413226\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2413228,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2413226\/revisions\/2413228"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2413227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2413226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2413226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2413226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}