Who Won ‘American Idol’ Season 21? Grand Finale Recap

AMERICAN IDOL – “601 (Auditions)” - With help from superstar judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, viewers embark on a nationwide search across New Orleans, Las Vegas and Nashville to find the next singing sensation. Emmy® Award-winning host and producer Ryan Seacrest hosts. SUNDAY, FEB. 19 (8:00-10:00 p.m.), on ABC. (ABC/Eric McCandless) LIONEL RICHIE, KATY PERRY, LUKE BRYAN — Image Credit: ABC

AMERICAN IDOL – “617 (Disney Night)” – Celebrate the magic of Disney as the Top 5 perform Disney classics LIVE and America votes for the Top 3. Sofia Carson mentors the contestants at Disneyland Resort and Halle Bailey performs. SUNDAY, MAY 14 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT/5:00-7:00 p.m. PDT), on ABC. (ABC/Eric McCandless) LIONEL RICHIE, LUKE BRYAN, KATY PERRY — Image Credit: ABC

American Idol is closing the chapter on its milestone 21st season with an epic grand finale. America has chosen Iam Tongi, Megan Danielle, and Colin Stough to be season 21’s top 3, and only one will walk away the winner at the end of the May 21 finale. Before the results, the top 3 will take the stage with superstar guests.

The show kicks off the finale with Pitbull and Lil Jon taking the stage for an electric and enthusiastic performance of “Jumpin,” followed by “Give Me Everything” with the American Idol top 12 contestants. The top 12 have a blast on stage getting the audience hyped up for the rest of the show.

Former Idol judge Keith Urban has returned to mentor the top 3 for the finale. The Christian singer performs first and sings Keith’s “God Whispered Your Name” during the finale. “As far as I’m concerned, we have three number ones,” Lionel declares. Luke adds that he hasn’t heard Megan make “one bad vocal decision this season,” and it’s been “inspiring to watch her grow.”

Iam takes the stage next and performs a stunning rendition of Keith’s “Making Memories of Us,” a song that meant a lot to his parents. “You just have a natural gift from God to create emotion, to tell the story,” Luke says before adding that it was “one of my favorite performances of the year” from him. Lionel raves over how great of a storyteller Iam has become. “You have a great delivery, and that’s what going to make your career shine forevermore,” Lionel tells Iam.

Colin croons out a sweet rendition of Keith’s “Stupid Boy.” Luke has to point out how much Colin has evolved since his audition.”You’ve come so far,” he says. Katy calls Colin’s performance “so sweet” and knows Colin is going to be a force to be reckoned with when he’s out in the real world.

For her second performance, Megan sings a pitch-perfect rendition of “Faithfully” by Journey. Katy points out that the end of the performance was “phenomenal.” A tearful Luke agrees and says it was “one of the best things I’ve seen all season.”

Iam shows his love for Hawaii with a performance of Kolohe Kai’s “Cool Down.” Katy recalls Iam telling the judges that he was “priced out of paradise.” She doesn’t think that’s going to be the case for much longer. “Welcome to paradise, my friend,” she says. Keep following along for live updates!