Introduction:
American Idol finalist John Foster stuck to his country roots for his finale performances Sunday night, and included a nod to legendary singers, Toby Keith and John Denver.
John Foster has been this season’s country frontrunner. He got a slow start with an audition that had Luke Bryan wondering if the 18-year-old had what it takes to advance through the many rounds of competition. But, Bryan admitted he was wrong after Foster’s Top 8 performance of George Strait’s “I Cross My Heart.”
John stayed strong and consistent throughout the competition, earning the love and support of country music fans who voted him through week after week. A huge turning point in the competition for Foster came when he performed “Tell That Angel I Love Her,” an emotional tune he wrote in honor of two friends he lost in a tragic car accident on New Year’s Eve 2022.
The song led Luke Bryan to tell the singer that his performance of the tribute song removed any doubt Luke had that John belonged there.
Carrie Underwood was John Foster’s biggest cheerleader. “He’s so sweet and fresh faced and he’s one of those people that I feel like… don’t even really know how good you are kind of thing,” Underwood told PEOPLE of the singer.
“Week to week, we have watched him progress so much,” she added. “We were talking after his performance, me, Luke, and Lionel, and we were just saying he’s probably the one that has grown the most since he’s been here.”
America agreed and voted John Foster through to the finale.
Foster chose to “dance with the one who brung ya’” and give his fans what they wanted to hear in the finale. His love for country music and incredible covers throughout the season are what landed him in the finale, so he stayed true in hopes that country music fans would vote him as this season’s winner.
John will sing three country covers on Sunday night. He performed Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” and later in the show will cover “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver solo. He will also join Luke Bryan to sing Randy Travis’s “Deeper Than The Holler.”