TV

In the highly-anticipated episode, Grace Kinstler, Willie Spence and Chayce Beckham perform for one last time before one of them is named as the winner of the current season.

• May 24, 2021

AceShowbiz - "American Idol" returned with its grand finale for season 19 on Sunday, May 23. In the highly-anticipated outing, the Top 3, Grace Kinstler, Willie Spence and Chayce Beckham, performed for one last time before one of them would be named as the winner of the current season.

The first one to perform that night was Grace, who opted to sing "All by Myself" by Celine Dion and she nailed it. "To be on the finale and to deliver that this time, it was truly amazing. We picked that song and you took it to another level than the song was actually originally done, it was amazing," judge Luke Bryan said.

Following it up was Willie Spence, who belted out "Georgia on My Mind" by Ray Charles. Lionel Richie loved the performance as he commented, "You are a religious experience, you do it every time. I could sit down and watch the whole show, you move it, you build it, that was a great performance."

Later, Chayce Beckham took the stage to sing "Blackbird" by The Beatles. Of the performance, Luke said, "You have an identifiable voice to the point that I was wondering how you were going to pull this off. Where was going to be your punch, at the end of that song you gave us that identity, sound of yours with that wonderful raspy voice of life. I am so proud of you." Katy Perry, meanwhile, loved his rendition of the classic.

It was then time for Hometown Song with Grace kicking it off by performing Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing". "By the grace of God, I don't know, the vote is so tight. If you think your favorites are safe, think again. Grace just sang her heart out, vote right now," Katy raved following the performance. Lionel, meanwhile, dubbed it an "amazing performance."

Willie opted to sing "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke for his Hometown Song. Luke noted that Willie's rendition of the song sounded refreshing despite the fact it was performed several times already on the show. "We are so proud of you, seeing you with your mother melted my heart, I love you," Katy added.

Chayce sang "Fire Away" by Chris Stapleton. Lionel loved Chayce's song choice, saying, "What a great song for your voice, for your whole demeanor. When we first met you, you said you are not sure, we are sure. The grit that you have is undeniable."

Later, it was time to reveal the results. Host Ryan Seacrest announced that Willie Spence was the first contestant to move forward. And the one who will go against Willie was Chayce Beckham. Grace Kinstler, unfortunately, was eliminated.

For the final battle, Chayce performed "Afterglow" by Ed Sheeran, while Willie hoped to win the competition with his performance of "Stand Up" by Cynthia Erivo. Both slayed their performance, but there's only one winner and that was Chayce Beckham!