A 20-year-old woman who continually put her faith centre-stage throughout the 18th season of American Idol was voted this year's winner, to which she exclaimed, "thank you, Jesus!"

Samantha Diaz, a 20-year-old from New York who performs under the stage name Just Sam, first made headlines when she broke down crying during her audition and asked to pray with the judges. Diaz prayed with the judges, saying "Lord, make my life brand-new. Right here, right now."

Diaz shared how she and her sister were abandoned by their mother as children. Their grandmother adopted both of them. At the time of her audition, her grandmother said "I believe with all my heart that she is going to make it."

Diaz was crowned the champion on Sunday evening. The show had adapted to being physically distant with contestants and judges recording apart.

In her audition she performed Lauren Daigle's hit song 'You Say.' Daigle joined Diaz on Sunday evening, and the two performed the song together. Before the performance, Diaz told Daigle, "'You Say' seriously speaks to my heart and I feel like that’s what brought me to tears at my audition."