American Idol has crowned its season 16 champion!
The singing competition show wrapped up its epic first season on ABC on Monday, as host Ryan Seacrest announced Maddie Poppe as the latest winner.
The 20-year-old Clarksville, Iowa, native sang a "Rainbow Connection" duet with Kermit the Frog himself during the epic, two-hour Idol finale, but had an even more special performance moment with the season's runner-up, Caleb Lee Hutchinson, as the two performed a "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" medley after announcing that they had begun dating during the season. The performance brought Seacrest to tears, just before the host announced that both Hutchinson and Poppe had won trips to Hawaii for placing in Idol's top two!
Poppe certainly had the stamp of approval from one of this season's Idol judges, Katy Perry, who pulled out her phone and voted for the young singer following her performance of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide" during the season's penultimate episode on Sunday.
"Katy Perry, I think, influenced this a lot," Poppe told ET's Lauren Zima following her win. "I really have to say thank you to her too, because I know that she tweeted and she was a really big advocate for me. She really believed in me, you know, when a lot of people were going for the more mainstream artist, and she really saw something in me that I couldn't believe."
The singer also opened up about revealing her relationship with Hutchinson on the national stage, admitting, "I guess we were just kind of playing it by ear, but we really wished that this could happen... I'm just so happy, so on top of the world, that I can't even believe that this is my life. It's pretty amazing."
ET also caught up with Perry -- along with her fellow judges, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie -- following the finale, where she opened up about her support for the Idol champ and what advice she has for Hoppe as she begins to navigate her musical career.
"Just trust her intuition, because that's what got you here," Perry said. "Make smart choices and know that your voice matters and speak up if you feel uncomfortable, speak up if it doesn't resonate with you. And always trust that, because you're meant to be where you are."
Prior to Monday's finale, Idol season 15 champion Trent Harmon opened up to ET during a Facebook Live chat, where he revealed the recommendations he had for the season 16 finalists and winner.
"I don't have a lot of words of advice for you, nobody had any for me," he admitted. "I mean... what do you tell somebody? You tell 'em, 'Go do your best!' Everybody knows you can sing."
"What I told them is, 'This is all gonna be over in a week. It's all gonna be over. Whether you win or lose, you need to have a plan for the morning after the show.' Every song idea that comes into your head is a potential cut on your record that you're gonna put out one day. That conversation's coming. So be ready the day after your show, whether you win or lose."
See more in the video below!
RELATED CONTENT:
