The Road just crowned Adam Sanders the winner of the inaugural season. Sanders was already a seasoned singer-songwriter when he agreed to compete on The Road. The show had aspiring artists open for Keith Urban, trying to win over his fanbase. Now that Sanders has done that, and also earned the praise of both Urban and the show’s creator and executive producer, Blake Shelton, Sanders is eager to just get back to work.
“Obviously, we’re still in the very early stages of what the next chapter of my career will look like,” Sanders tells Parade. “But I think that I just want to focus on the things that I can control right now, which is trying to continue to write and find the best songs and trying to grow my audience as much as I can from the fire that the show has lit.”
Sanders has written songs for artists like Cole Swindell, Dierks Bentley, Dustin Lynch, Luke Bryan, and others. If anything, adding winning The Road to his list of accomplishments only makes him want to work even harder than before.
“I think that we all know that it’s good to celebrate the victories in our own individual careers,” Sanders says. “But you can’t stop. You can’t say, ‘Oh, I’ve made it now.’ I think this is where the real work begins. And to be able to try to capitalize as much as we can off of these moments and this exposure that we’re getting, whether that’s through recording new songs, writing, or social media content, it never ends.”
Adam Sanders Speaks Out About His Win
After being crowned the winner of The Road, Sanders spoke out about his win, in a video shared on social media.
“When I was three or four years old, I grew up practicing acceptance speeches to Entertainers of the Year that I was one day going to win,” Sanders says. “And so, when I see a lot of artists get up at an awards show, for example, and they say, ‘Man, I never thought I would be here,’ I don’t identify with that. I have always visualized and dreamed of moments like this. But what I can tell you is, I never had being a part of a singing competition show and winning it on my bingo card.
“I never thought …I thought it would maybe be through the traditional songwriting route, or just grinding it out,” he adds. “I had no idea that my path and my journey was going to take me to this moment right here. I’m so incredibly grateful for this opportunity. What a cool experience, top to bottom.”
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What Adam Sanders Says Contributed to His Success On ‘The Road’
Sanders, along with the other 11 contestants, worked hard at each show, while having to adhere to certain rules, like shortening a song’s length, and performing both an original and a cover song. Because Sanders is no stranger to country music, he believes in many ways his entire career was leading him to The Road.
“There’s an old saying, ‘You don’t have to get ready if you stay ready,'” Sanders says on SiriusXM’s The Highway. “And I feel like my whole career path and all the hats I’ve had to wear through the years prepared me for that moment. And so, when I was asked to go and open for Keith in these club venues, I knew my experience was really going to help me in those environments. And little things that you don’t think about.
“Like we were doing cutdowns of songs because of time restrictions, and being able to make changes on the fly, and knowing how to grab an audience in a three-minute section instead of having 30 minutes to do so, was very important,” he adds. “I’m so grateful and humbled, and what a wild ride.”
As the winner of The Road, Sanders receives $250,000, a recording contract, and a performance slot at Stagecoach in 2026.
Photo Credit: CBS / Connie Chornuk