The Road has its first ever champion. On Dec. 21, after 12 artists battled it out over weeks on the road opening up for Keith Urban, the very first winner of the CBS competition series was named.
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Going into the finale, three artists were set to battle it out at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium: Cassidy Daniels, Adam Sanders, and Channing Wilson.
The festivities got underway with a rousing performance of “Stay Country or Die Tryin’” from the show’s executive producer, Blake Shelton.
With Urban, executive producer Taylor Sheridan, all of The Road‘s eliminated contestants, and the finalists’ friends and family in the crowd, Daniels, Sanders, Wilson were ready for their big moment.
“I can feel it in my bones that’s it’s my time,” Daniels said ahead of the biggest show of her career, while Wilson noted, “I’m here to win this thing, but I’m also not a fool. I know Cassidy and Adam are as good as me or better than me.”
Sanders was all too aware of Wilson’s point, noting, “It’s gonna take something pretty special to feel like this person has arrived… The plan for me is to turn the heat up.”
The Road‘s Finale Performances
The three finalists took the stage together first, performing The Band’s 1968 track, “The Weight.”
Afterwards, Wilson performed the first solo set of the night. First, he covered David Allan Cole’s “The Road,” which Urban dubbed a good choice. Urban shared the same sentiment for Wilson’s original song choice, “Blues Comin’ On.”
Daniels was up next, opting to cover Heart’s “Crazy On You.” Sheridan was unsure about that choice, noting that the track wasn’t as dynamic as Wilson’s cover. Daniels’ original song, “Crazy Love,” was more well-received. In fact, after her time on stage, Shelton stated, “She’s gonna win ain’t she?”
With Sanders set to take the stage next, Urban expressed the importance of the singer displaying emotion during his performance. Sanders managed to do just that when he covered Brooks & Dunn’s “That Ain’t No Way To Go” and perform his own “All Summer Long.” Afterwards, Urban noted that Sanders couldn’t have done any more to win the competition.
The Winner of The Road Is Revealed
After Urban’s performance, the results were finally revealed. In third place was Daniels, which came as a shock to Wilson who stated, “I didn’t expect that. Cassidy’s one of the best singers I’ve ever heard in my life.”
Daniels wasn’t all that shocked by the result, though, as she lamented, ” I should’ve done what I knew to do, not do two rock songs at the Ryman.”
With just two contestants remaining, Urban revealed the audience-voted winner of The Road to be Sanders. The reveal left Sanders in tears.
“You lean on your faith when there’s hard days in this business. Channing and I had a talk on the bus. We said, ‘Man, it’s the guys and girls that don’t give up on their dreams are the ones that’ll eventually make it,’” he said. “I’ve never wavered. This is the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do in my life. I look back at all that I’ve been through and I’m just grateful. That’s all I can say.”
With his big win, Sanders has been awarded a set a Stagecoach, a recording contract, and $250,000.
“I think that the little boy in me that started this dream at such a young age would be proud right now,” he said. “You think you know your dreams, but when it becomes a reality it’s bigger and better than you can imagine. If I do nothing else in my career, I’ve made it.”
Photo by Connie Chornuk ©2025 CBS Broadcasting Inc.
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