EXCLUSIVE: ‘The Road’ Winner Adam Sanders Talks Faith, Focus, & The Future
on Dec 22, 2025
Adam Sanders Wins Inaugural Season Of The Road
Country music’s newest reality show, The Road, followed twelve aspiring artists as they experienced the “gritty and unforgiving life of a touring musician.” Blake Shelton and Keith Urban partnered with Yellowstone’s Taylor Sheridan to search for the next country music star in the docu-series-style show.
After ten weeks of competition and visiting a new city each week, the end of The Road brought the finalists to the historic Ryman Auditorium for a climactic finale on December 21st. Known as the “Mother Church of Country Music,” the Ryman has been the venue for some of country music’s most iconic moments.
In the end, a champion was crowned, determined 100% by live audience votes. Adam Sanders was named the winner of the inaugural season of The Road!
“This Isn’t The End, This Is The Beginning”
Adam Sanders sat down with Country Rebel in the wake of the momentous win to talk focus, faith, and the future. Unlike other competitive singing shows, the entirety of The Road was filmed before the first episode premiered. Sanders says keeping news of his victory quiet over the last few months was “the hardest secret of his life.”
The Florida native has been pursuing music in Nashville for more than a decade. After signing his first publishing deal in 2011, he found success as a songwriter, with his songs being cut by artists such as Luke Bryan, Cole Swindell, Dustin Lynch, and others.
However, it was a pattern of dead ends and feeling like he had reached a “lull” in his career that motivated the musician to take a different approach. He recalls:
“Just when things would be starting to trend up, and it was going to be my launch point for my career, something would always suppress it.”
When the opportunity came about to try out for The Road, he says, “something about it just felt right in my heart and my spirit.”
After feeling overlooked by labels in Nashville for many years, Sanders saw the show as a chance to revitalize his career and break free from the mold he was stuck in. By proving himself as a performer, he hoped to get this message across:
“You haven’t been a believer, but I’m about to make you believe.”
The 37-year-old admits he was surprised by the amount of focus it took to be successful on the show. While making memories and creating relationships with the other contestants were important, it was not Sanders’ ultimate motivation.
“I went into this laser-focused with one goal in mind, which was to win it… It had to be all or nothing.”
The Role His Faith Played In The Journey
Nashville is often referred to as a “ten-year town,” and Sanders has experienced that firsthand. After more than a decade of striving, he admits:
“There were times in my career when I didn’t know if I was ever going to achieve goals like playing the Ryman.”
About a year before his journey on The Road began, Sanders says he “gave it all up to God” after realizing that he could not reach his dreams by his own strength alone.
“I said, ‘God, you know how hard I work, you know my heart, you know my dreams and my aspirations. At some point, you have to open doors for me that I can’t open myself.”
After that, all of the pieces began to fall into place. It was not long after that he received the call to be in the competition. He recalls from throughout the season:
“Every night, when I would walk out onto the stage, my prayer was ‘Lord, you know why I am here is to win this. But if I go home right now, whatever your will is for my life, you take it.'”
At the moment his name was announced as the winner, Sanders says he was filled with immense gratitude. He remembers:
“It felt like finally someone picked me and said, ‘You’re the guy.'”
Hilarious Words From Keith Urban Following The Finale
Sanders recalls the one thing that Keith Urban said to him after the show had wrapped at the Ryman that “floored him.” The country music veteran told him:
“You played this like a f****ng fiddle.”
Sanders recognizes how the coaches could see his strategic approach throughout the competition. He learned how to tailor his song selection and play to the crowd. He relied on his years of hard work and lessons learned to carry him through this journey.
“I knew that if I got in this position, all of my experience would help me in that environment.”
What’s next for Adam Sanders?
The newly-crowned champion confirmed that he has been in the studio working on new music. He has recorded seven songs so far, and his goal is to record seven more to complete an album.
“My goal is to wake up and keep doing what I’ve been doing and get back to work.”
With his win comes performance spots at California’s Stagecoach Festival in April and Red Bull’s Jukebox at The Pinnacle in Nashville later in 2026. Besides that, he admits he “has no idea” where this journey will take him.
“It would be very easy for me to want to get back in the driver’s seat of my career when I gave it to God a year ago, but I am just a passenger from here on out.”
Congratulations, Adam Sanders! Watch his winning performance from The Road finale below.
