American Idol 2019: Who Can Actually Win? [Analysis]

It’s hard to believe, but we are only weeks away from seeing the American Idol 2019 winner crowned. So it’s not too early to ask who is going to win American Idol?

And based on so many season’s outcomes, including last year’s, it’s still really anybody’s game. But let’s take a closer look.

Right now, the clear frontrunner is Laine Hardy. He is catching all the judge’s praise, he is leading in all the polls and he has the biggest social media following (he has 41.3K Twitter followers; that’s about 30K more than any of the other finalists). And he also has been around for two years now. That gives him a huge edge over the other contestants that didn’t make it pretty far in the first season. On top of all those things, he’s got a lot of star power. He spent the past year polishing up on his look, his voice and his stage presence, and it’s paying off. So he’s the clear frontrunner, but is his win definite? Absolutely not. And if you think so, Adam Lambert says hi.

So if Laine is at the front, then right behind him is Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon. He is the best vocalist in the competition, so if we were looking at only that, he’d be the obvious champion this season. But he’s a crooner, and there’s a place for that in music for sure. He’s just not a showstopper, necessarily. But he still has flawless performances every week and either tops polls or comes close every time. He and Laine could easily go head to head at the end.

But. There’s definitely a but here. Laci Kaye Booth is that dark horse who is coming from behind. She is actually just about ready to pass Jeremiah currently in popularity polls, but will her momentum last? Can she pass both the guys to become the frontrunner? A lot can happen in two and a half weeks, so we’ll see.

Madison is the long shot here. While she’s an incredible singer that the judges have likened to Kelly Clarkson, I’m not sure she’ll have the same Idol success as Kelly. But again, anything is possible. I think it’s pretty safe to say Alejandro, who was once a frontrunner is no longer even close to that position. And Wade Cota will likely be the next singer out.

So I think if we are to definitively answer the question, who can win American Idol 2019, our answer would be Laine, Jeremiah or Laci. And it really can be either one of them. Last year at this point in the game, Gabby Barrett was hands-down going to win the season. And then when it seemed she was slipping, we all thought, oh, Caleb Lee Hutchinson is going to win. But nope. The singer-songwriter Maddie Poppe, who like Jeremiah is far from a showstopper won. So don’t count Jeremiah out. And definitely don’t count Laci out. If the country-music voters step up their game like that have many times in the past, we could see her walk away with the title.

Who do you think can win American Idol 2019?

 

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