Earnest Connecticut rocker Nick Fradiani was crowned "American Idol" 2015 winner Wednesday night, besting Tennessee soul singer and season-long frontrunner Clark Beckham for the season 14 trophy.
Fradiani is the ninth male singer -- and seventh in the past eight seasons -- to prevail on the program, and the first-ever northeastern contestant to win.
Upon the announcement, the 29-year-old bar frontman stood dumbfounded before he was mobbed by his fellow contestants.
"I can't even think right now," Fradiani said. "This is the best day of my life."
He began to cry while he was singing and ran over to hug his family as confetti rained down.
He struggled with his stage presence early on, and exhibited some poor song choices in Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone" and Avicii's "Wake Me Up." But around the Top 6, a switch seemed to flip in Fradiani's mind and he began to turn in strong, textured rock performances week after week.
He hit highs with Tom Petty's "American Girl" and "Because The Night" by Bruce Springsteen, and in Tuesday's finale, the judges raved over his renditions of Matchbox Twenty's "Bright Lights" and Jason Mraz's "I Won't Give Up." And his coronation song/new single "Beautiful Life" was much stronger than Beckham's "Champion." But that was more luck than skill, considering the song was written for him.
Fradiani's newfound followers earned him a recording contract with Big Machine Records, the Nashville label that manages pop deity Taylor Swift.
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