A Construction Worker From Kentucky Has Won Season 20 of American Idol

American Idol has a history of making nameless people super famous when it comes to singing. Just look at what the sow did for Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson and so many more!

Now in it’s 20th season, American Idol has yet another winner: A 20-year-old construction worker from Louisa, Kentucky named Noah Thompson. Being from such a small town, Thompson is actually feeling quite overwhelmed by the win, which has led him to being whisked away on cars, planes, and the like. He actually hadn’t even been on a plane since before auditioning for the show—so you an imagine how life has changed quite a bit for the singer.

“Honestly, dude, I was just kind of numb,” Thompson said in an interview with USA TODAY, which took place just an hour after the show’s finale as he enjoyed pizza in the car (see what we mean?). “It blew me away. I just didn’t know how to feel. Anybody could have won this show, you know what I mean? I just didn’t think that it was me.”

Before the show, Thompson was just you’re regular Joe, working a “simple life” of raising his one-year-old son, Walker, and doing construction for clients. He only wound up on the show after his friend, Arthur, signed him up without him even knowing. Once he was on, he had zero confidence in ever making it to multiple rounds, let alone winning the entire thing.

“I just got shoved into this competition basically by my buddy, but I’m grateful for it,” he says. “I just didn’t expect this outcome at all. After Top 3 was when it really hit me.”

Though clearly Thompson has some mega talent, he actually never warms up before performances—and gets somewhat peeved when other singers have done it.

“I don’t like all the noises people make when they warm up,” he says. “I don’t really do that. I feel weird when I do it, but I’m learning. I’m trying to take everything I can in from this whole process.”

“I’m not trying to be somebody, you know what I mean? I’m just trying to be myself,” he continued. “I didn’t wanna change for nobody or no one. I wanted to be who I was, and hopefully that was good enough.”

Well, apparently that was plenty!

So what’s life post winning American Idol going to do for Noah? After recently visiting Los Angeles, Noah says that he’ll probably go to Nashville for the start of his career. “I need trees, you know what I mean?” he says.

To see the moment when Thompson won this season’s show, and what others had to say about it, check out the video below.

What do you think of Thompson’s voice?