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*Caution: Spoilers ahead!*<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n After weeks of heated competition, themed musical nights, emotional backstories and surprising departures, <\/span>American Idol<\/em><\/a> has crowned a new winner!<\/span><\/p>\n Sunday’s Season 22 finale<\/a> all came down to the season’s top three — Jack Blocker, Abi Carter, and Will Moseley. But after a fierce and star-studded extravaganza, there could only be one winner.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After all the votes were cast, the new <\/span>American Idol<\/span><\/em> champion is…<\/span><\/p>\n … <\/span>Abi Carter!!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Meanwhile, Will is this season’s runner-up, with Jack coming in third.<\/span><\/p>\n Abi performed several times during Sunday’s show, but really cemented her win with her final performance, in which she sang her original tune, as well as her performance of Bon Jovi’s “Bed of Roses.”<\/span><\/p>\n Carter spoke with ET’s Denny Directo on the red carpet after Sunday’s finale, and the new champion said she was still wrapping her head around the big win.<\/span><\/p>\n “I think I didn’t feel real until coming on this carpet and then talking with people has made me feel real again,” Carter said. “This has meant the world to me.”<\/span><\/p>\n For the singer, one of the most amazing moments from her time on the show came when she got a chance to visit her hometown elementary school in Indio, California, and speak to the kids.<\/span><\/p>\n “It was crazy to go back to my hometown and to see all these little kids in the school I went to… and I thought to myself, I was like, ‘Oh my god!'” Carter recalled. “If I was a little kid looking up to someone from my hometown that came back on <\/span>American Idol<\/span><\/em>, I would have been so driven to do what I wanted to do. And it would have made me feel like it was achievable. And it was so amazing to be that for a little kid.”<\/span><\/p>\n She also shared some love with judge Katy Perry, who took a special shine to Carter all the way back during her audition.<\/span><\/p>\n “Katy Perry has just taken me under her wing in a little way, and I felt so honored,” Carter said. ‘She’s such a legend and to have somebody that has so much experience in this industry be able to look at me and be like, ‘I have faith in you,’ that’s amazing!”<\/span><\/p>\n Sunday’s finale was an all-star affair with performances and duets from Jon Bon Jovi, as well as Jason Mraz, Seal,\u00a0James Bay, Bishop Briggs, New Kids on the Block, Hootie & the Blowfish, Wynonna Judd and a special appearance by\u00a0Fantasia Barrino.<\/span><\/p>\n Additionally, all three of the judges took the stage to perform as well, with <\/span>Luke Bryan<\/a> belting out his hit single “Love You, Miss You, Mean It,” followed by <\/span>Lionel Richie<\/a> performing with country crooner Cody Johnson.<\/span><\/p>\n Meanwhile,\u00a0Perry celebrated her final episode of <\/span>Idol<\/span><\/em> when she took the stage with Jack — after he was announced as the third-place finalist — for a stunning duet of her single “What Makes a Woman.”<\/span><\/p>\n Congrats to the new <\/span>American Idol<\/em><\/a> champion!<\/span><\/p>\n