Popular vote takes Allen Stone to fifth in 'American Song Contest': South Hill singer wins hearts of fellow musicians, but fans choose AleXa

May 10—"American Song Contest" is apparently the antithesis of the presidential election.

Allen Stone and his song "A Bit of Both" won the equivalent of the electoral college of the NBC talent competition. However, the popular vote sank the South Hill singer-songwriter.

Stone, 35, finished first among the 10 finalists with jury points from musicians thanks to winning regions such as New England, Midwest, Mountain, Mid-Atlantic, Pacific West and Southwest.

However, the national fan vote, which carries the most weight, catapulted AleXa of Oklahoma from fifth to first place during the initial run of the reality-TV music contest.

NBC tweeted: "The legendary first-ever winner of #AmericanSongContest is AleXa. Wow, a 21-year-old has gone from an unknown to legend in two months. Only in American reality-show land!"

But the laid-back Stone is a good sport.

"Congratulations to AleXa and all the incredible artists who performed," Stone said Monday evening via text. "Mad good songwriters in the United States and super stoked to have represented Washington state."

Stone, who is originally from Chewelah, scored admiration from co-host Snoop Dogg, who appeared genuinely moved by the Washington contestant during an interview between the two on Monday night's broadcast.

"If I won, my mom would be the happiest," Stone said. "My mom is my No. 1 fan. My mom's been battling cancer for the last two years.

"When I took the show, I told Mom that I was going to have to be calm, and I didn't need to be on the show if she needed me to be around," Stone added. "She said, 'Don't even think about it. You go. Share your music.' So, she would be really pumped if I was chosen."

Stone won the juried vote, but the fan vote put him behind AleXa, Colorado's Riker Lynch, Kentucky's Jordan Smith and Texas's Grant Knoche.

And one final message from Stone.

"Come hang at Stone Family Field Trip 2022," he wrote. "The local festival that I throw every year at Zephyr Lodge in Liberty Lake."

Tickets are available at stonefamilyfieldtrip.com.