‘American Idol’: Will another country singer upset the presumed front-runner like Laine Hardy in Season 17?

Denton Davidson
·3 min read
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Could an upset be brewing on Season 21 of “American Idol”? All year fans have been forecasting Iam Tongi would take home the top prize, but he may not be the sure bet we’ve assumed. This season closely resembles a similar lineup up finalists from Season 17 when 18-year old country crooner Laine Hardy took down fan favorite Alejandro Aranda, who, like Iam, had become a viral sensation since his first audition.

This time around it’s 18-year old Mississippi native Colin Stough who has progressively grown his fanbase each week, delivering honky-tonk renditions of some of music’s most popular tunes. Like Laine, he was barely a blip on viewers’ radar in early rounds, but as judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie have pointed out, his star continues to rise.

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Megan Danielle is this season’s third finalist, but seems least likely to take the crown. Once again, comparisons can be drawn to Season 17 when that space was occupied by another female vocalist, Madison VanDenburg. Each delivered powerful performances throughout the season and garnered enough love to reach the finale, but never quite seemed like legitimate threats to win.

There has long been a correlation of “American Idol” winners hailing from the South. The original O.G. herself, Kelly Clarkson, was straight outta Burleson, Texas. Since then, winners have come from Alabama (Ruben Studdard, Taylor Hicks), North Carolina (Fantasia Barrino, Scotty McCreery, Caleb Johnson), Oklahoma (Carrie Underwood), Arizona (Jordin Sparks), Missouri (David Cook), Arkansas (Kris Allen), Illinois (Lee DeWyze), Georgia (Phillip Phillips), South Carolina (Candice Glover), Connecticut (Nick Fradiani), Mississippi (Trent Harmon), Iowa (Maddie Poppe), Louisiana (Laine Hardy), New York (Just Sam), California (Chayce Beckham) and West Virginia (Noah Thompson).

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The vast majority of champs have Southern roots, far from Iam’s home state of Hawaii. Still, Megan may have more of an impact this season than Madison had on Season 17. She is from Georgia and, like Colin, relies on votes from country music fans. Will her place in the finale derail Colin’s chances for an upset? We won’t find out until host Ryan Seacrest reads those final results on Sunday, May 21, but this competition is anything but over!

Be sure to make your predictions to influence our reality TV racetrack odds. You can keep changing your predictions until just before the next episode airs on ABC. You’ll compete to win eternal bragging rights and a spot on our “American Idol 21” leaderboard. See our contest rules and sound off with other fans in our reality TV forum. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.

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