Kicking off the season finale, host Ryan Seacrest first reveals that Dillon James, Jonny West, Arthur Gunn, Francisco Martin and Justin Sam are among the Top 5.
- May 18, 2020
AceShowbiz - "American Idol" aired its season 18 finale on Sunday, May 17. Host Ryan Seacrest first revealed that Dillon James, Jonny West, Arthur Gunn, Francisco Martin and Justin Sam were among the Top 5, which meant that Louis Knight and Julia Gargano were eliminated.
Dillon was the first performer to sing that night, performing "Change The World" by Eric Clapton. The judges, Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie, loved it as they deemed that one of his best performances of the season.
Following up was Francisco who opted to sing Harry Styles' "Adore You" with his guitar. He was praised for his growing confidence. As for Sam, she showed of her skills by belting out Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger" which earned her rave reviews.
Later, Arthur sang "I Don't Wanna Be" by Gavin DeGraw. Concluding the round one was Jonny. He entertained everyone with an amazing performance of "You Can't Keep a Good Man Down".
Dillon opened the second round with a performance of Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin' ". Next up was Francisco, singing Maggie Rogers' "Alaska" which he also performed during his audition.
As for Sam, she belted out "Rise Up" by Andra Day. Meanwhile, Arthur picked his audition song "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" for the second round. Lastly, Jonny performed an original song titled "Makin' Love" which was also his audition song.
Prior to the winner revelation, the judges and some special guests offered fun performances. Luke sang his newest song "One Margarita" before Rascal Flatts and former contestant Doug Kiker joined forces for "Bess the Broken Road".
Lauren Daigle was also among the performers, singing "You Say" with Just Sam. Meanwhile, Katy debuted her new single "Daisie" with Cynthia Erivo joining artists from this season to perform a stunning tribute to Aretha Franklin.
Finally, it's time to announce the winner. Ryan then named Just Sam as the winner of the current season 18!
