Maddie Poppe

Poppe independently released her first album, Songs from the Basement, on June 20, 2016. That same month, Poppe opened for Diamond Rio at the Butler County Fair.[6]

Prior to Idol, she auditioned for the tenth season of The Voice in 2016.[7][8] The program aired on February 29, 2016 where she sang "Dog Days Are Over" from Florence and the Machine, but none of the judges (who were Adam Levine, Pharrell Williams, Christina Aguilera, and Blake Shelton) turned their chairs, thus being eliminated.[9] Despite her elimination, Clarksville honored her with a city event at the Clarksville Library.

In an audition held in New York, Poppe sang "Rainbow Connection" from The Muppet Movie. Judge Lionel Richie said she had a "storytelling voice" and that "we need you in this show". Katy Perry said she had a "distinctive quality in your voice" and Luke Bryan said "I'm not critiquing you, 'cause you got me, I'm saying yes." After singing her original song "Don't Ever Let Your Children Grow Up," Perry said Poppe reminded her of herself as they "write a little bit of the same style."[10]

Before her Top 24 performance, Poppe admitted that she didn't expect to win American Idol, planning to make it to Top 24 and get eliminated at some point. "This sounds terrible, but I don't want to go into things with super high hopes because then, obviously, I would be super let down if it doesn't work out," she told Bobby Bones. Poppe also admitted she has stage fright. "I remember times when I'd gotten up on stage and it totally just flopped. I fear that every time I walk on stage, I worry that it's going to happen again."

In her Top 14, Poppe sang "Homeward Bound" by Simon & Garfunkel, sparking Katy Perry to remark, "I closed my eyes and I thought I was listening to Joni Mitchell," while Luke Bryan labeled the interweaving of her modal voice and falsetto as "seasoned" and "big-time pro."[10]

Prior to the May 20 finale, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds declared May 20, 2018 to be "Maddie Poppe Day".[11] During the finale, she performed her winners' single "Going Going Gone", which was originally written by Mitch Allan, Lindy Robbins and Julia Michaels.[12] At the end of the show, after Poppe performed "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac, Katy Perry revealed she would be voting for her.[13]

On the results show broadcast on May 21, Poppe was declared the winner, with Caleb Lee Hutchinson as runner-up and Gabby Barrett in third. Prior to the results being revealed, Hutchinson announced that he and Poppe were dating. Poppe was also the first female winner since Candice Glover in the twelfth season and the first Caucasian female winner since Carrie Underwood in the fourth season.

On May 17, 2019, Poppe released her first studio album, Whirlwind. She appeared on the seventeenth season of American Idol on April 21 to advertise her new album; however, the show cut to commercial before she was able to mention it. She also appeared on the finale episode of the seventeenth season. Whirlwind's third single "Made You Miss" debuted at number 39 on the US Adult Top 40 chart, later peaking at number 21. In total, the single spent 16 weeks on the chart.[14][15] Whirlwind's fourth single "Not Losing You" debuted at number 37 on the US Adult Top 40 on October 12 and peaked at number 26, spending 17 weeks on the chart.[16][17]

Poppe joined Ingrid Michaelson on the Dramatic Tour in the United States from October 3 to 29, 2019.[18] On November 20, 2020, Poppe independently released her holiday EP, Christmas From Home. She went on the Maddie Poppe's Acoustic Christmas tour in Iowa from December 4 to 19, 2020.[19]

Poppe departed from her "folk/Americana" roots with her single "One That Got Away", which released on April 29, 2022.[20][21] The music video, which released on May 24, 2022, featured Poppe as an escaped convict and Hutchinson as a detective.[20] Poppe was a surprise celebrity guest on The Masked Singer Tour, in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 28, 2022.[22] Poppe released "Peace of Mind", a drum- and guitar-backed ballad, on August 12, 2022.[23] She released "Screw You a Little Bit", which she described as more honest than her album Whirlwind, on March 31, 2023.[24]