The Road winner’s reward revealed: A hefty prize, a recording deal, and much more
The CBS singing competition The Road features 12 singers who get a chance to open for Keith Urban, and one who makes it to the end wins a prize of $250,000 and some other prominent rewards.
The Road premiered on Sunday, October 19, 2025 (Image via CBS)
The Road is a brand new singing show that premiered on CBS on Sunday, October 19, 2025, at 9 p.m. ET and will be available to stream on Paramount+.
The format is unique, where 12 emerging music artists, picked by executive producers and the casting team, will hit the road opening for superstar Keith Urban at different venues across Texas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.
Taylor Sheridan, Lee Metzger, David Glasser, Blake Shelton, and Urban serve as executive producers of the show, while Urban and Shelton are the main hosts and judges for the series.
The audience will decide the best performance every week, with mentors Keith Urban and Blake Shelton choosing one from the bottom three who will be eliminated.
The one who reaches the end becomes the winner of The Road, getting the $250,000 cash prize, a recording contract, a Red Bull prize package, and a performance slot at Stagecoach Country Music Festival in April 2026 in California.
CBS singing show The Road, contestants, and other details, explored
The 12 experienced country artists were selected to perform their original music on The Road, as there was no open audition process for the series.
The contestants open for Keith Urban on tours across the U.S, where they perform an opening act including one cover song and one original track.
After each performance, the live audience decides who advances to the next city.
Keith opened up on the show's uniqueness and format, expressing in a statement:
"That's what makes this show so unique is this is real world.This is what really happens, you know, and watching all of these musicians, night after night, have to choose the song, the cover song and an original song and make these decisions of how to connect with this audience night after night and hold them."
American country music singer and songwriter Gretchen Wilson is the tour manager of the series. On whether the show is scripted or not and her work as a tour manager, Gretchen opened up, saying,
"I want to be very clear that there was nothing about this show that's scripted. Everybody was exactly who they are. It's really going to come down to how much of it can they actually squeeze into the television time, I think. It's very authentic."
She further said that her role as a tour manager was more on the surface level than the regular tour managers, who have to take care of hotel rooms, busing, and logistics, as she says:
"For the sake of this show, my job was as Tour Manager, and I didn't actually have to do those jobs, the behind-the-scenes stuff. But I did do all of the essential and in-your-face tour manager stuff."
Adam Sanders, one of the contestants, said at the Nashville fan premiere of the series, that it highlights the behind-the-scenes moments and technical aspects behind touring and opening for a superstar like Keith Urban, adding that,
"We’re playing to new fans every single night at different venues. They’re going to give you an inside look at what it takes to rehearse the songs to the band, build set arrangements, song selection, all the things that it takes to go into the show."
Cassidy Daniels, another cast member, said that what sets The Road apart from other shows is that they get to perform their original music, noting that,
"Nobody in this cast is a rookie. Everyone’s very seasoned and fighting for the same chance to be a superstar."
The 12 artists participating in The Road include:
1.) Adam Sanders, 36, Lake City, Florida.
2.) Billie Jo Jones, 34, Emory, Texas.
3.) Blaine Bailey, 23, Tahlequah, Oklahoma.
4.) Briana Adams, 30, Winchester, Texas.
5.) Britnee Kellogg, 40, Anthem, Arizona.
6.) Cassidy Daniels, 25, Marion, North Carolina.
7.) Channing Wilson, 49, Lafayette, Georgia.
8.) Cody Hibbard, 32, Adair, Oklahoma.
9.) Forrest McCurren, 35, Jefferson County, Missouri.
