Poppe Wins ABC’s ‘American Idol’

• Nineteen-year-old Iowa-born Maddie Poppe was named the winner of American Idol on Monday night, wrapping up the show’s inaugural season on ABC. As reported by TheWrap.com, the finale, predictably, padded out its two-hour run time with a bunch of performances by judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan — accompanied by a number of this season’s finalists — as well as guest appearances by Bebe Rexha, Darius Rucker, Gary Clark Jr., Nick Jonas, Patti LaBelle and Yolanda Adams.

The top three finalists — Poppe, Caleb Lee Hutchinson and Gabby Barrett — were revealed on Sunday night as they performed their “winners singles” on the show. As the winner, Poppe’s single, “Going Going Gone” was just released on Disney’s Hollywood Records.

ABC recently announced it has renewed Idol for next season and is bringing back all three judges and host Ryan Seacrest. The show’s top seven finalists — Poppe, Hutchinson and Barrett, along with Cade Foehner, Catie Turner, Jurnee and Michael J. Woodard — are set to embark on a national tour beginning July 11 in Redding, CA. They will be joined by Idol‘s Season 8 winner Kris Allen and on select dates by Hollywood Records’ own In Real Life.