Eastern Kentucky’s Country Music Highway produced another superstar in Noah Thompson, winner of American Idol’s 20th season. The Louisa, Kentucky native sang his way into Sunday night’s top-three finale, where his performances earned enough of America’s vote to award him the American Idol record deal and $250K prize.
The 20-year-old former construction worker performed three songs during the three-hour finale. First, Thompson sang “I’m on Fire” in the Bruce Springsteen round, followed by an original song titled, “One Day Tonight.”
For the encore round, Thompson wore a suit for the second time in his life (the other was Lawrence County prom) as he again sang Rihanna’s “Stay” for the audience.