According to US Magazine, Luke Bryan approached Carter after the win with a special message.

“He came up to me [after the finale] and he was like, ‘I think this is the first time the person we thought was gonna be the winner actually was,” 

Carter exclusively relayed to the magazine. “And I was like, I can’t believe that just in that first audition, they had the idea of me and that amount of high hopes, I guess.”

The Indio native told Access Hollywood that she felt “numb” and “happy” and as if she was “having an out-of-body experience. 

I mean, obviously so honored. There’s really just not words to describe how that feels.”

Carter won Season 22 of the popular singing competition television series Sunday night. She became the first female “Idol” winner since 2020.

The 21-year-old Carter took the crown over runners-up Will Moseley from Hazelhurst, Ga. and Jack Blocker from Dallas, Texas.

Carter, who previously sang hits from Taylor Swift and Fall Out Boy throughout the season, also took the stage multiple times Sunday night. She performed Bon Jovi’s “Bed of Roses” and “Somewhere” from “West Side Story” as part of the competition, the latter as a tribute to Indio, as well as an original single, “This Isn’t Over,” which was released last Friday on Spotify and other outlets.

Carter also collaborated with singer Bishop Briggs on her track “River” and, after the voting results were announced, sang the Oscar-winning song “What Was I Made For” from Barbie, originally performed by Billie Eilish, and which was her audition track.

Carter returned for a hometown visit last week, including a parade, concert and key to the city presentation.

“It was crazy to go back to my hometown,” Carter told Entertainment Tuesday evening after the show. “If I was a little kid looking up to somebody from my hometown that came back on `American Idol,’ I would have been so driven to do what I wanted to do, it would have made me feel like it was achievable.”

City of Indio public information officer Jessica Mediano told City News Service that Indio is “definitely going to host something” to celebrate the victory but still needs to coordinate with Carter’s management team.

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Source: New York Post