Who Will Win 'American Idol' 2026? After Watching Every Episode, Here Are Our Predictions

After Monday night’s semifinals of American Idol, host Ryan Seacrest revealed that the Top 3 finalists heading into the finale were: Hannah Harper, Keyla Richardson and Jordan McCullough. All three have stellar voices and any one of them would be an excellent winner, but, of course, in the end, there can be only one.

After watching every episode, here are our predictions for who will win American Idol Season 24 (2026).

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Who will win American Idol Season 24 in 2026?

Hannah Harper

Hannah Harper has been a frontrunner from the get-go. During her audition, judge Carrie Underwood picked her as one of her favorites. Following Hannah’s performance of her original song “String Cheese” about postpartum depression, Carrie said, “You might be my favorite person that’s walked through those doors,” and the former Idol winner has continued to support the country singer ever since.

Also in Hannah’s favor, she has the most social media followers, and her performances also reflect her popularity with the most views on YouTube.

One final factor that could work in her favor is the fact that she is the sole country singer in the Top 3, where both Keyla and Jordan are more in the gospel/R&B lane, which could split the vote between them. But country singers have always been very popular with American Idol voters, so that’s another added factor to Hannah’s benefit.

Jordan McCullough

Jordan, a worship leader from Tennessee, has the voice of an angel and has consistently earned high praise for his performances. He is the sole Platinum Ticket holder remaining of the three that were awarded this season, and his means a lot as it was voted on by his peers, who know talent when they hear it.

In fact, Carrie told Jordan that he has one of the best voices she has ever heard following his performance of Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me, ” one of his two songs for his Top 5 performance.

The problem that Jordan may run into is that he has the smallest number of Instagram followers and YouTube views of the Top 3, which may result in fewer votes on his behalf.

Keyla Richardson

Like Jordan, Keyla has served as the praise and worship leader at her church, and her vocal choices are inspired by that, including her performance of “Circle of Life” from The Lion King during Disney week. After throwing her shoe [her highest form of praise], guest judge Jennifer Hudson complimented, “This song is testimony and you just performed it like your testimony.”

When it comes to social media, Keyla finds herself in between Hannah and Jordan, but as we mentioned earlier, the vote could be split between Jordan and Keyla, resulting in a win for Hannah.

Our Prediction

The bottom line is that who will win is Hannah Harper, but who should win is Jordan McCullough.

Tune in to American Idol on Monday, May 12 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC when the winner of Season 9 on ABC (Season 24 overall) will be revealed. Streams next day on Hulu.

Next, How to Vote on American Idol 2026: Online, Text and Social Media Voting Guide