Who won The Road season 1, 2025? Details explored

The Road, CBS’s new music competition, wrapped up its debut season's finale on Sunday, December 21, 2025, at 9:30 pm ET on CBS, streaming on Paramount+.

Episode 10 of the hit country music competition, titled "The Road Ends Here," wrapped up 10 intense weeks of performances, travel, and audience-driven voting, crowning Adam Sanders as the winner after a star-studded showdown at Nashville's iconic Ryman Auditorium. 

The 36-year-old singer-songwriter beat out fellow finalists Cassidy Daniels and Channing Wilson, walking away with a $250,000 cash prize, a recording contract, a Red Bull prize package, and a prime performance slot at the 2026 Stagecoach Country Music Festival. 

The Road is a touring-style singing competition created by Taylor Sheridan and fronted by country music superstars Keith Urban and Blake Shelton, with Gretchen Wilson serving as tour manager throughout the season.

Unlike traditional singing shows, contestants opened for Keith Urban on real tour stops across Texas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee, with live audiences rating performances each night.

Those audience scores determined who stayed and who went home each week, including the finale.

More details about The Road season 1 finale explored

The finale of The Road opened with a group performance of The Band's "The Weight" by the top three.

They were joined by eliminated contestants like Blaine Bailey, Olivia Harms, Jon Wood, Forrest McCurren, Briana Adams, Jenny Tolman, Cody Hibbard, Billie Jo Jones, and Britnee Kellogg, who all returned to cheer from the crowd.

Blake Shelton rejoined Keith Urban, Gretchen Wilson, and Sheridan as the finalists took the stage one last time, each delivering a cover and a repeat original, judged purely by audience ratings.

Channing Wilson kicked things off with his signature stomp and-holler style. He covered David Allan Coe's "The Ride," earning praise from Urban, who said: 

"That’s good, man. That’s a good choice for him. I love Channing because that voice for him is so immediately recognizable. That stomp, beer drinkin’, hell raisin’ music is perfect at the Ryman."

His original, "Blues Comin’ On," written "on the Tennessee River one night over a quart of moonshine" while listening to Hank Jr., showed his pure country roots. Shelton raved,

"I don’t think anybody has been better, consistently, than Channing when it comes to choosing the right song." Urban added, "It’s the first time, I think, his cover went over better than the original, from a vocal standpoint. He’s knocked it out of the park every night."

Cassidy Daniels followed, taking a bold rock detour with Heart's "Crazy on You." Urban noted beforehand,

"She’s young, so that combination sometimes sees her get dangerously close to over-singing. I think if she stays grounded tonight, she’ll kill it."

Her original, "Crazy Love" from Week 1, packed vocal power. Urban quipped sarcastically,

"She just needs a little more power when she sings," drawing laughs from Shelton. But Sheridan worried, "that her first song choice wasn’t dynamic enough," with Urban agreeing it didn't fully showcase her pipes.

Adam Sanders closed strong, pivoting to emotion. His cover of Brooks & Dunn's "That Ain’t No Way to Go" highlighted his softer side. Urban called it a "great choice."

He then unleashed his high-energy original "All Summer Long," which had crushed it in Tulsa. Shelton said,

"They were waiting for someone to win them over. Adam had that moment. This guy had the entire Ryman singing along with him."

Urban smiled, "He couldn’t have done anything more than that tonight. To win tonight, we’ve gotta get an emotional reaction from Adam. That’s the thing that’s missing because he’s always working to that high energy level."

Tension built through commercial breaks before Keith Urban revealed the audience's verdict: Third place went to Cassidy Daniels, who fought tears and reflected, "I should’ve done what I knew what to do … not do two rock songs at the Ryman."

Channing Wilson emerged as the runner-up who offered wisdom:

"One thing that you have to go home with is what that audience gave you when they were up there, completely absorbed with what you bring to the stage."

Adam Sanders was ultimately crowned the winner of The Road, who was overcome with emotion, noting: 

“I worked really hard to get here and a lot of answered prayers. We did it. You lean on your faith when there’s hard days in this business. Channing and I had a talk on the bus and we said, ‘Man, it’s the guys and the gals that don’t give up on their dreams that will eventually make it.’ I have never wavered. This is the only thing I’ve wanted to do. I look back at all I’ve been through and I’m just grateful that’s all I can say.”

The original 12 singers who competed on The Road, which premiered on October 19, 2025, were:

• 23-year-old Blaine Bailey (12th)
• Olivia Harms (11th)
• Jon Wood (10th)
• Forrest McCurren (9th)
• Briana Adams (8th)
• Jenny Tolman (7th)
• Cody Hibbard (6th)
• Billie Jo Jones (5th)
• Britnee Kellogg (4th)
• Cassidy Daniels (3rd)
• Channing Wilson (2nd)
• Adam Sanders (1st)

Stay tuned for more updates.