'The Road's' Season 1 Winner Adam Sanders Is Ready for an A-List Career in Country Music
"I don't think I've had my true moment," he said at the start of the season.
Published Dec. 24 2025, 10:10 a.m. ET
Just when you thought there are enough singing competition shows, CBS proved that to be wrong with The Road, a show that is a little different than one where contestants sing on-stage for a panel of judges. And, after singer Adam Sanders won Season 1 of The Road, he set the bar high for not only future singers, but also future seasons of the show.
The Road follows 12 singers and songwriters while they travel with Keith Urban across the country and perform for crowds who, along with some guests along the way, choose which contestants continue on in the journey. Unlike some music competition reality shows, The Road has a focus on country music specifically, which is a good thing, since that's Adam's bread and butter. In fact, it was for a long time, well before the singing reality show came along.
Adam Sanders is 'The Road's winner for Season 1.
Before Adam was chosen as a contestant on The Road, and before he won the entire first season, he was recording and writing music on his own. The show, however, gave him a way to share his talent with a much wider audience and in a way that could put him on the map. Early on in the season, he admits that he doesn't think he has had his "true moment" with his career. Hopefully, he feels differently now that he is the first winner of the CBS reality show.
In 2022, Adam came out with his own original album called "'90s Kid." Before he started rubbing elbows with the likes of Keith Urban, though, he already had a foot in the door with some modern-day country music greats. According to his website, Adam has written music for Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton, and Dierks Bentley.
Country music has always been an important part of Adam's life. In May 2025, he made an Instagram post in tribute to Alan Jackson. He even included a photo of a younger version of himself with his family when they apparently met the country singer.
In the caption, Adam wrote, "Last night I got to pay my respects to the man that shaped my childhood and planted a dream like a seed in my little 3-year-old heart."
After he won The Road, Adam spoke with TV Insider about what that win means to him. He admitted that, at the time of the finale's air date in December 2025, he didn't have concrete plans to immediately release a full-length original album. But he did already know he wanted to make it happen in 2026.
Adam Sanders had music out before he went on 'The Road.'
Although Adam's album "90's Kid" isn't a full-length album, it features some of Adam's own original work. It's unclear if that's why producers were interested in him as an addition to The Road's first season, but his music has been available to stream on Spotify for quite a while. He also already had a social media following before he won the show.
With the title of winner on The Road comes a record deal, $250,000, and a spot at Stagecoach in 2026. After hoofing it himself for a while without these opportunities in place, it's safe to say that Adam has finally had his "true moment."