This was not one of those times.
On Sunday night, the long-running competition series crowned 24-year-old Chayce Beckham the champion of Season 19. The race was pretty close this year, as runner-up Willie Spence and third-place finisher Grace Kinstler were also deemed frontrunners at various times. But during the penultimate episode, Beckham made a strategic move that all but ensured his victory: He doubled down on country, returning to the genre he started out with on the show, and sang an original song that wound up topping the iTunes country chart.
As fans know, contestants can never go wrong by turning to country music, a genre that is historically a favorite among singing competition viewers - and generally the only format that continues to regularly provide a road to success, from Season 4 s Carrie Underwood to Season 16 s Gabby Barrett.
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This season of American Idol was a close competition - until one very strategic move by the winner
Emily Yahr, The Washington Post
May 24, 2021
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This was not one of those times.
On Sunday night, the long-running competition series crowned 24-year-old Chayce Beckham the champion of Season 19. The race was pretty close this year, as runner-up Willie Spence and third-place finisher Grace Kinstler were also deemed frontrunners at various times. But during the penultimate episode, Beckham made a strategic move that all but ensured his victory: He doubled down on country, returning to the genre he started out with on the show, and sang an original song that wound up topping the iTunes country chart.
I m here and I m doing this : An interview with American Idol hopeful Chayce Beckham
High Desert native talks music, family and what s next
Victorville Daily Press
“American Idol” singer and High Desert native Chayce Beckham recalls being a young boy when he first laid eyes on an old guitar at his grandmother’s home.
“I was 3 years old when I started messing with it, so that was my earliest memory of music,” said Beckham, who’s currently vying to win season 19 of ABC s singing competition. “I’ve been playing guitar ever since.”
Beckham, 24, has become a favorite among the show s fans and country singer Luke Bryan, one of its three judges. The gritty-voiced singer took time this past week to speak with the Daily Press about music, life’s challenges, desert sunsets and life beyond “Idol.”