And The Winner Is….

.Noah Thompson

Who the hell is Noah Thompson? And what did he win?

Noah Thompson was a construction worker from the small town of Louisa, Kentucky and he won American Idol.

He was an underdog for sure.

A very humble, sweet guy, with an adorable son who he talked about all the time and never missed an opportunity to tell us how much he missed him while on the show.

He certainly didn’t look like Idol material in his T-shirts and jeans.

And he didn’t have much stage presence. He just stood there and sang.

But boy could he tell a good story with his singing.

And, Noah had big dreams but he didn’t believe in himself.

In fact, it was a friend of his who submitted the application for American Idol because he knew his friend had something special.

Sometimes, it takes having someone who believes in you when you don’t believe in yourself.

And then he showed up week after week and keep improving little by little.

He beat out Hunter Girl.

Hunter Girl was one of the favorites from the beginning. She was always in control, had a great voice and looked like a star with her sparkling jackets, skirts, and cowboy boots. But she didn’t have a story like Noah’s.

Or, did she?

It turned out she had a great story. She worked with Veterans, and on the finale, there was a reel of her hanging out with them and they were talking about how much she changed their lives and she had tears in her eyes.

We had no idea! She had not shared it before that.

It was also the first time she did a song she wrote that was truly heartfelt.

But, it was too late.

She hadn’t been vulnerable throughout the competition until the very last show, while Noah had worn his heart on his sleeve throughout the competition.

People felt they knew him, her, not so much.And they fell in love with him.

There are some great marketing lessons here: