Chayce Beckham was named the winner of American Idol Season 19 Sunday night. (ABC Photo)
A week ago, Chayce Beckham was performing his new single “23” on American Idol while it sat at number one on the Apple Music country chart.
Sunday night, Chayce performed the song again. As the new American Idol.
Chayce, 24, of Apple Valley, Calif., prevailed over runner-up Willie Spence and third-place finisher Grace Kinstler.
Both displayed more vocal fireworks over the course of the show.
But it was Chayce’s earnest singer-songwriter style that won the day.
And the music charts.
On Idol, Chayce was introduced to us as a forklift driver. He was working for a heavy equipment rental company and singing lead for a punk-reggae band called Sinking Sailors that released a pair of EPs.
Chayce said it was his mother and stepdad who encouraged him to audition for the show as a way of rebounding from a period in which his life seemed to unravel.
The pandemic sidelined his band. He and his long-time girlfriend broke up, forcing him to move back home. Then came a near-fatal drunk driving crash.
“I think that they really just saw that I was kind of giving up on my dreams a little bit,” Chayce told The San Bernardino Sun of his parents. “So they strongly encouraged me to audition.”
He did. And you might say it paid off.
As for that single, “23”?
It’s a song Chayce wrote about his struggles with addiction. It’s been sitting at number one on the Apple Music country chart for more than a week now.
It also topped the site’s Top 200 singles chart for about two days. And it was still in the Top 10 as of Sunday night.
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1 Comment
Chayce Beckham, may be an accomplished song writer, but definitely not a singing superstar by any stretch of the imagination. Sure he has the slick WGWG “look,” but if the truth is being told, he’s a one trick pony – same sound song after song, with a weak voice, lazy articulation, and not even a strong rasp (so many singers better than he ever will be). Shocking that Grace was 3rd, or that Casey was 4th. Willie has the backstory, but there are better male singers than he as well. No worries though, Chayce will slip into the mediocre group of rich country singers (like Shania Twang, and Taylor Twit), who through mega marketing will get name recognition for really below average talent. People will decide whose records to buy, and the truly talented will survive, while the “it” girls/guys fade away into obscurity.