American Idol‘s bumpy season 19 is now in the books, as the show named a new winner during its latest finale.
The ABC singing series had three remaining contestants—Chayce Beckham, Grace Kinstler and Willie Spence—heading into the three-hour episode on Sunday, May 23. Grace landed in third place and said goodbye midway through the finale.
In the end, Ryan Seacrest announced that Chayce bested Willie as the winner, and the 24-year-old country singer closed out the show by performing his single, “23.” Chayce added just following the performance, “Thank you guys so much.”
After Grace’s departure, judge Lionel Richie tweeted, “@GraceKinstler we are sad to see your #AmericanIdol journey end, but we have every faith that this is only the beginning!”
The evening included a star-studded list of performers to celebrate the completion of another season. Those included Alessia Cara, Luke Combs, Mickey Guyton, Sheryl Crow, Macklemore, Fall Out Boy, Chaka Khan, Leona Lewis and rock legend Lindsey Buckingham.