SHOCKING: Did American Idol’s John Foster Sneak a Peek at Ryan Seacrest’s Card? Find Out If He Knew the Winner’s Name Before the Big Reveal! Uncover the jaw-dropping truth behind the scenes of the iconic show in this exclusive bombshell interview!

John Foster may not have won American Idol season 23, but he’s now revealing if he knew the results ahead of time. John easily sailed into the finale after becoming one of the frontrunners early on in the competition. During the American Idol season 23 finale, he sang “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” and “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” which helped him land in the Top 2 alongside Jamal Roberts, which meant Breanna Nix was eliminated in third place. John then sang “Tell That Angel I Love Her” but lost to Jamal in the end.

American Idol’s John Foster revealed whether he saw the winner’s name on Ryan Seacrest’s card just before the big announcement.

TV Insider asked John whether he saw the winner’s name on Ryan Seacrest’s card just before the host announced the 2025 champion. “I was in a total blur. I knew I was at peace with being runner-up. Jamal is such an incredible performer. I was at peace. I really was. It’s a true honor to be runner-up.” Since he said he was in a “blur,” it sounds like he might not have registered that Jamal’s name was on the card, though he acknowledged he “barely” saw the name. Multiple fans on social media were convinced he was spoiled.

What John Foster Looking Over At Card Means For American Idol

John Foster Isn’t The Only Idol Finalist To Be Spoiled

With the camera on John and Jamal as Ryan made his typically dramatic pause right before announcing the winner, viewers could see that John looked over at the card, then looked over at Jamal’s face when the latter’s name was finally revealed. Even though John claimed he “barely” registered the name on the card, the slight change in his expression did make it seem like he saw Jamal’s name. There have been times in the past when one of the Top 2 finalists has seen the winner’s card ahead of time, either in those seconds before it’s announced or backstage.

The most famous moment when a finalist was spoiled happened during the American Idol season 2 finale when Ryan had the winner’s card in his dressing room and Clay Aiken saw that Ruben Studdard would soon be declared the new American Idol. When Clay and Ruben were waiting on stage for the big reveal, Clay purposefully stared at Ruben because he wanted to see the Alabama resident’s face when he was crowned the champion. There were some instances after that when Ryan had no name written on the card in order to prevent any contestant from being spoiled.

Our Take On How Ryan Seacrest Holds Winner’s Envelope

Ryan Seacrest Needs A Better Solution

Ryan is one of the best hosts in the industry, so it’s surprising he still hasn’t learned how to hold the card during his dramatic pause. Either he should directly face the American Idol finalists so there’s no chance they can see, or he needs to stand farther apart from the contestants instead of directly next to them. After this latest debacle, it seems Ryan needs to go back to those years when there was no name written on the card and he was fed the winner’s name through his earpiece. That way, no one is spoiled on American Idol.