Fritz Hager Wins American Idol Encore Contest
Top 5 finisher Fritz Hager has won the American Idol Encore competition and will perform on Live with Kelly & Ryan on Friday, May 27. The ABC talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest has run the contest every year since American Idol moved to the network in 2018. Previous winners include Cade Foehner from season 16, Madison VanDenburg from season 16, Julia Gargano from season 18, and Grace Kinstler from season 19. Seacrest, who hosts American Idol and Live with Kelly & Ryan, has bridged the gap between the two shows with the contest.
On season 20 of American Idol, Fritz quickly became a fan favorite after charming the judges during his audition and Hollywood week. Though judge Luke Bryan gave him a «no» during his initial audition, Fritz subsequently proved him wrong and worked his way into the top 24, where America voted for him week after week until his journey came to a shocking end during top 5 week. Fritz performed an array of original songs during the competition, and the EP that he released before the show climbed the charts while the season was going on.
Related: Katy Perry’s Funniest American Idol Season 20 Moments
On Wednesday's episode of Live with Kelly & Ryan, Ryan announced that Fritz had won the American Idol Encore contest and earned the chance to perform on the talk show. The American Idol star expressed his gratitude to his fans for voting for him in a tweet, and Fritz also announced that he would be performing an original single, «Hearts Align.» Every contestant in the top 10 was eligible for the contest except the top two—Noah Thompson and HunterGirl. However, Fritz was the artist who came out on top. Ryan took the opportunity at the end of Wednesday's episode of Live with Kelly & Ryan to «dim
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