"American Idol" season 14 came to a sensational conclusion last night, especially for 29-year-old Nick Fradiani, who was crowned the winner over 22-year-old Clark Beckham.
The star studded two-hour finale also featured this season's Top 10 performing duets with Jamie Foxx, Andy Grammer, The Jacksons, Vance Joy, Janelle Monae, New Kids On The Block, Echosmith, Fall Out Boy, Ricky Martin, Michael McDonald, Pitbull, Nile Rodgers & Chic, Prince Royce, Chris Brown and Steven Tyler, in addition to performances by the three "American Idol" judges.
Following the announcement, mentor and the head of Big Machine Records, Scott Borchetta, told reporters, "Honestly both Clark and Nick are fantastic. Nick winning takes nothing away from Clark's talent. America voted. Nick's ready, so I'm going to take him back to Nashville. He's the newest member of the Big Machine Record family and he is your new American Idol."
To his word, Brochetta will give Fradiani that coveted spot on the Big Machine Artist Roster Wall, as previously reported by Headlines & Global News.
"We're going to make a big deal out of hanging that picture," Borchetta said. "So we're going to have Nick come in and place it up and we'll make sure all of you see it."
There will be no down time for Fradiani who will get to work immediately on a non-stop media blitz to promote his new single "Beautiful Life." He will then release his first album as soon as the right material is in place.
"It's about the music first," Borchetta said.
Fradiani could hardly find the words when he addressed the media after the show, still in too much shock to articulate exactly how he felt.
"It's hard to put into words, my brain is just a cloud right now," the Connecticut native joked. "It's the best day of my life. I never once thought that this was going to happen. I kind of was just up there trying my best and to be here, it's really incredible. It's crazy."
As for Beckham, the runner-up has no hard feelings.
"I just believe with all my heart that I'm exactly where I need to be," the Tennessee native said. "I think I showed who I want to be on the show accurately and hopefully people like it. I'm excited to go home and eat some real fried chicken and have some sweet tea. So I'm OK."
Read the whole interview with Season 14 winner Nick Fradiani below.
What was the best part of the Idol experience?
Nick: The best part was probably seeing growth in myself as a musician and as a performer. I don't think I was ever pegged as a frontrunner or anything like that. A lot of people probably thought, 'Oh, he's the oldest contestant. You're not going to see any growth. You're going to get what you get.' But I learned a lot from the show. It took me out of my comfort zone and what happened towards the end was really cool for me to see.
Scott Borchetta says he's going to put you to work. Are you ready?
Nick: Absolutely! I've been grinding at music for over a decade now. Since I was 18, I decided that this is what I wanted to do. It's not an easy thing. When you start getting [to age] 25, 26, people are like, 'Oh, you're a musician huh? That's what you're gonna do? When are you going to get a real job?' I never gave up. I really just felt that I could do this. I really did. But I'm ready to work. They can get me up whenever they want, work me as long as they want. This is what I've always wanted and to have this happen is crazy.
Did music always feel like a real job? And does it feel like a real job now?
Nick: No. It still doesn't. I feel like I'm the luckiest person right now. I feel like I don't know how this is happening to me. I never envisioned anything like this. My whole life I just wanted to make a career in music, whatever that meant - whether it was a songwriter. I wanted to be able to support myself only playing music and never anything like this. This is beyond words.
How do you see your life going forward?
Nick: I guess I see what I've always wanted to see - playing music. It's what I love to do. It's really all I'm good at. It's what I was born to do. Being on the show was tough for me in terms of - it was hard for me. I wasn't used to playing cover songs. I've written my own. I've had a lot of albums out with my band. I was used to connecting to my own songs that I wrote. It took me a while to get used to playing other people's music and getting used to the cameras. "Sing to the red dot?" I was used to just jamming out with people. In the beginning you could look and I was trying to find the cameras.
At what point did it click that you could win 'American Idol?'
Nick: I think when I went to Top 3, I said, 'Wow. I guess you have a legitimate shot.' I was really unhappy with myself from about Top 12 down to 8. I wasn't liking what I was doing as a performer. I would go back and think, 'That is not you.' My band mates would call me and be like, 'What are you doing man? You look so uptight up there. You don't look like yourself.' I came to this realization that I was treating it like a competition. I was worried about other people. I was worried about, 'Can I sing like this person? No, I can't hit that note that he's doing. I can't do what she's doing.' And finally, it was actually the 'Teenage Dream' performance. It wasn't the best vocal that I did but for some reason I just broke loose and my friends called me [to say], 'Alright. That looked like you. Now go do your thing man." I started to wake up. That's when I felt like I was moving in the right direction.
How was that confetti moment with your dad tonight?
Nick: He was crying pretty hard. I was surprised by it. Everybody was crying. I saw them having this big group hug and I was like, "I gotta get in there" so I just ran down the stairs and got involved in it.
Big Machine and Scott will develop where you go as an artist. If they make you a solo artist, will you still make time for the band or will that always be a side project for you?
Nick: [My band] Beach Avenue is the only reason that I'm here. Without them, I'm not here. I live with them. They are my roommates. They are my best friends and they are as talented as can be. So regardless of what happens, I know that I will be putting out an album as myself but I'll always know I'm in a band. And I think Scott knows the connection that I have with my drummer and my guitar player. So I'm hoping that they'll be able to come along on the journey. They're ready for it. Talent wise, they're there. They can play. When I'm with them, I'm so much more comfortable. When I went home and we got to play, we hadn't played in like 6 months and it just felt like home. We killed it. It was so much fun.
You've always admired judge Keith Urban. How is it to know that he's a fan of yours now?
Nick: It was funny. Yesterday he was doing his rehearsal and I snuck in. I snuck through and they had some of the stand-ins on stage. I knew all the words to his new single and he saw me out there. I think it stunned him because I was just jamming out with him. I've been a legitimate fan of Keith Urban for a long time and have been to a bunch of his concerts. It was cool. At first, he wasn't always behind me as a judge. Well, not that he wasn't behind me. I think he saw something and he thought I could do more.
He's a great dude. We can't talk to them much outside of the show. What you see on the show is the amount of time we have with them. I'm happy to be able to talk with him because he's a crazy good musician.
What is the biggest thing that you gained from the whole 'Idol' experience?
Nick: There are so many things I could take from this. That's what you try to do when you get here. You're around the best of everything. Everybody is the best at what they do and you have to just be like a sponge. I've tried to just absorb everything that's been thrown at me. It's pretty crazy. You get everybody telling you different things. I've tried to take a little bit of everything and it's really helped me. I've gained a ton of knowledge about the industry, about music in general and about performing that I'll never be the same musician now. They up your game here for sure.
Will Scott ever let you duet with Taylor Swift?
Nick: I hope so! That would be pretty awesome. That would be incredible. Keep saying that to him.
"American Idol" will return for its 15th and final season in January 2016.
