‘American Idol’ Alum Colin Stough Arrested For Alleged DUI, Underage Drinking After Single-Vehicle Crash

Former American Idol finalist Colin Stough was arrested over the weekend and charged with DUI, underage consumption of alcohol and failure to exercise due care. According to AL.com, the Tennessee Highway Patrol took the 20-year-old singer into custody on Friday after he reportedly crashed his car outside of Nashville.

The site reported that highway patrol officers found Stough at 1:24 a.m. on Friday morning while responding to a report of a single-vehicle crash. “Following an investigation, the driver, Colin Stough, was arrested and charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI), Underage Consumption of Alcohol, and Failure to Exercise Due Care,” Tennessee Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security spokesperson Jason Pack told AL.com; at press time a spokesperson for the Tennessee Highway Patrol had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment on the arrest.

TMZ was first to report on the incident, which it said included the Mississippi native being transported to the hospital before his charging, though it was unclear at press time if Stough had been injured in the accident. The site also reported that Stough bailed out after the incident.

At press time it did not appear that Stough had released an official statement about the arrest, but he did post a video on his Instagram page over the weekend that read “Never let anyone hold you down for not being a certain way” alongside a video for his new single, “Long Gone,” with the on-screen caption reading, “I’m not perfect and will never claim to be. But I will admit when I’m wrong and that’s a fact.”

Stough appeared on season 21 of Idol in 2023, where he came in third behind winner Iam Tongi and runner-up Megan Danielle. Last year Sough released the contemplative country ballad “Sober,” on which he sings, “I could hang out all night, I could drink this bottle dry/ I’m trying to get me gone, and I ain’t getting any closer/ Without your love, I’m sober.”