Pakistan, May 14 -- Hannah Harper has been crowned the winner of American Idol 2026 following a live three-hour finale that concluded the programme's 24th season.

The 25-year-old singer defeated finalists Jordan McCullough and Keyla Richardson during the ABC broadcast after emerging as one of the season's most popular contestants.

Harper, a stay-at-home mother of three from Willow Springs, Missouri, first attracted national attention with her audition performance of "String Cheese", an original bluegrass gospel song inspired by postpartum depression.

The audition became one of the most-watched clips in the show's history, reportedly gaining more than 120 million views across platforms. Judge Carrie Underwood described the song as "the ...