‘American Idol’ Winner Chayce Beckham Revealed It ‘Broke’ His Heart To Beat Willie Spence

May 31, 2021 by apost team

“American Idol” has been a pivotal show in the category of competition series since the first season aired in June 2002. The show was extremely successful during its run until April 2016, followed by a two-year hiatus. After this break, the show was revamped and returned with a new set of judges in March 2018. The show can be credited as one of the main causes of success for many performers and celebrities, including both the judges and the contestants. The judges of season 19 were singers Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie.

The competition series has helped launch the start of many careers in the music industry, including Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Phillip Phillips. While winning essentially guarantees the contestant with a record deal and a great start at a career, other contestants, like Jennifer Hudson, have been able to also find their own fame and success thanks to the popularity the show brought them. This means that even if someone doesn’t win, they still have a chance at making their dreams a reality.

On May 23, 2021, the most recent winner of the series was announced. Country singer Chayce Beckham won, narrowly beating out his fellow contestants Willie Spence and Grace Kinstler. While Beckham has plenty of reasons to celebrate, he has actually been dealing with an overwhelming amount of emotions, as it broke his heart to win over the other contestants, specifically over Spence. The two became great friends during the competition’s run, which led to Beckham’s win being bittersweet for the up-and-coming star.

And The Winner Is…

“Dim the lights and here we go,” host Ryan Seacrest said just moments before he announced the most recent winner of the competition series “American Idol” as Chayce Beckham. Beckham was a fan favorite early on because of his incredible talent and honesty. Before Seacrest announced the results, both men exchanged “I love yous.” Beckham also added, “The bond that we have, it’s gonna last forever, I already know. Either way, we’re good.”

He has also been very open about the challenges he’s faced and his past struggles with alcohol. Going on “American Idol” and winning was something he did for the first group of people that really believed in him and his talents -- his family. 

“I did it for my mom, I did it for my dad, my stepdad, my sisters and everybody… because I put them through hell,” Beckham said during an interview with Access Hollywood. “I will tell you what, I put them through hell and back and they picked up all the pieces whenever stuff got bad.” It had gotten to a point in his life where Beckham thought it would be impossible to make a name for himself. “I accepted defeat,” he said. “It’s not a good feeling… whenever you let a lot of people down.”

Thankfully, this defeatist attitude didn’t last, and Beckham shone like the star he is on “American Idol.” Coming fresh off his win on the competition series, Beckham got candid during the same interview with Access Hollywood and explained the experience of being on the show and the bittersweetness of his win. It had come down to just the final two contestants, Beckham and Spence, moments before the winner was announced. 

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“It’s such a bittersweet fine line… because Willie, that’s my man, that’s my boy right there,” Beckham said. “I love Willie. We hang out outside of competition, we’re tight.” Although the win was monumental for the country singer, it was hard for him to not feel upset for his friend.

“Watching his package while it was airing up there, seeing him standing on stage watching his mama cry while she’s hugging him -- I could not, I had to stop watching,” Beckham explained. He went on to explain how he wasn’t emotional at the time, but would have been if he had kept watching the sweet compilation video about Spence’s time on the show.

Beckham revealed that he had told Spence, “Man, I just hope you win.” Despite Beckham’s wishes, Spence was named as the runner-up to Beckham himself. “It broke my heart a little bit that it wasn’t him because, I mean, you see these people work so hard and put in so much hard work and they deserve it,” Beckham said. “They all deserve it, everybody here deserves that.”

Although Spence didn’t win the competition, Beckham has high hopes for his friend. “He’s good,” he said. “You got a few people here who I can guarantee are going to have great careers.” While country music singers and songwriters are notorious for their incredible story-telling abilities, it seems like Beckham is following suit as he officially enters the scene as an artist in that genre. He has a story that he has already begun to share with the world, but there is so much more to come.

What did you think about this “American Idol” winner’s response to his win? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your family and friends.