'American Idol' Season 14: Nick Fradiani is Crowned Second to Last Idol as Show Hits New Viewership Low

And the winner of "American Idol" Season 14 is Nick Fradiani!

While always considered a consistent performer throughout the season, Fradiani was never judged as a frontrunner. He expressed surprise and shock when he ended up taking the title.

"I've only slept about 40 minutes," Fradiani told EW of how he's spent his time since being crowned the winner of the competition. "It was crazy. I've been in a state of disbelief, but it's amazing."

"Everybody was saying I was king of the underdog, and I think that's true," he said. "Nobody had me pegged as the winner. I wasn't doing anything that was really impressing people. Then something clicked the last six weeks or so. I just got hot at the right time."

The final choice came down to Fradiani and Clark Bechham, a multi-instrumentalist from Nashville who had been touted as a top contender from the start. "I always thought it would be Clark or Jax. I never once thought it coud be me, up until my last song two nights ago, admitted Fradiani. "Then I thought, 'Wow, you might have a shot at this.' It was the first time it came to me that I could possibly win."

What made winning this year extra special to Fradiani was that it came amid headlines that "American Idol" would be cancelled after next year's 15th season. Fradiani, at 29, just barely made the audition cut-off, which was 30.

"I just made it," he said. "If I'd gotten cut earlier, I could never have auditioned again."

Fradiani said he's happy he was able to be a part of the show before it ends. "It's had a hell of a run. There will never be another 'American Idol', which produced so many credible superstars over the years. It was a phenomenon in pop culture. It changed music."

Next for Fradiani will be the "American Idol" tour, then getting into the studio to put out his solo record, with Machine Records founder and producer Scott Borchetta, who was the show's mentor this year.

Fradiani's first single "Beautiful Life" is already available on iTunes and will be the theme song for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, which commences on June 6 in Canada. "It's so cool," he said. "I saw the video for the first time last night, right before I got my 40 minutes of sleep in."

The "American Idol" finale, which featured performances from New Kids on the Block, Pitbull and all three judges, brought in only 7.7 million viewers, which was a new low for the show. This was 38 percent lower than last season's finale. Moreover, it was even lower than the 11 million who watched Season 14's premiere. If the finale is compared with the viewership of "American Idol" at its peak, when over 38 million people watched the Season 2 finale where Ruben Studdard beat out Clay Aiken, then the audience for the May 13, 2015 final show of Season 14 was barely a fifth of what the show commanded during its heyday.

The cancellation news of "American Idol" then doesn't come as a surprise. Not only is the viewership and ratings suffering, each new "Idol" is finding it increasingly difficult to sell albums and chart hit singles. Even the nationwide tour after each season has seen a drop in ticket sales. Merchandise sales have also decreased.