Adam Sanders may have walked away the winner of The Road, but for the rising country artist, the real prize might have been the moment it all ended.
After the finale aired on Sunday (Dec. 21), Sanders opened up about what life felt like once the competition was finally over.
While he’s deeply grateful for the experience, Sanders admitted the pressure of competing took its toll.
“I was just so focused on what I had to do,” he told SiriusXM’s Highway Mornings host Cody Alan, noting that he was laser-focused on doing well throughout the entire season.
Read More: What Does the Winner of ‘The Road’ Get? CBS Singing Competition Prize Revealed
After weeks of rehearsals, performances, and high-stakes judging, a weight was lifted on finale day.
“That was the relief — ahhh, I can actually breathe again and not be so locked into what’s ahead of me,” he said, adding that the biggest reward might be the freedom to relax and reconnect with himself: “I feel like I can be myself more.”
Sanders Came to Win
From the very start, Sanders made it clear he wasn’t just there for the ride: “I sort of said the entire time, ‘I want everyone to do well, but I’m here to win this thing.’”
And he did — beating out fellow finalists Cassidy Daniels and Channing Wilson during the finale at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium.
Read More: Blake Shelton’s Stepson Zuma Watches Him Perform on ‘The Road’ Finale [Video]
Each finalist performed a cover and a previously performed original, and it was Sanders’ renditions of Brooks & Dunn’s “That Ain’t No Way to Go” and his own “All Summer Long” that sealed the deal.
Keith Urban’s Whispered Reaction
Following his win, Sanders received congratulatory messages from the show’s judges — including Blake Shelton and Keith Urban.
Shelton kept it cool and simple. Urban, on the other hand, leaned in with something a little more memorable. “You played this thing like a f–king fiddle,” the country superstar whispered in Sanders’ ear on stage at the Ryman.
Full Keith Urban energy, and honestly, we’re here for it.
A Big Win + a Bigger Future
Sanders’ victory earned him $250,000, a record deal, and a performance slot on the main stage at Stagecoach.
But for the artist who’s spent years grinding behind the scenes, getting back to his true self might be the biggest win of all.
The Top 10 Country Albums of 2025
The top country albums of 2025 prove the genre has room for all kinds of artists — as long as they’re authentically themselves.
The Top 3 albums on this list are so different from one another that they almost shouldn’t be in competition at all. A traditionalist, a genre outsider and a pop-country duo represent some of the very best country music released this year, and the one thing they have in common is that each leaned fully into their strengths.
Staff opinion and reader input made up the bulk of Taste of Country’s Top 10 list, with streaming numbers, sales data and chart performance rounding out our decisions.
Gallery Credit: Carena Liptak
