'American Idol' Winner Caleb Johnson Escorts Runner-Up Jena Irene Asciutto to Her Prom

The finalists make a splash in Michigan before heading out on tour next month

Photo: Courtesy Jena Irene

Forget being a sore loser. American Idol season 13 runner-up Jena Irene Asciutto had way too much fun spending time with eventual winner Caleb Johnson that she didn’t want it to end with the finale.

Instead, the Michigan high school senior asked him to escort her to the prom.

“He’s an awesome guy. We’ve been best friends for a couple months now. To bring him to meet all my friends is pretty cool,” she said outside the North Farmington High School prom Wednesday evening, according to WWJ CBS radio in Detroit.

The platonic pair stayed true to their personal style at the soiree: Asciutto, 17, looked stylish and sweet in a strapless cream-colored gown, while rocker Johnson, 23 – who declared himself "probably the antithesis" of previous American Idol winners – eschewed the traditional tuxedo in favor of a button-down shirt, black pants and a leather jacket.

Asciutto explained the duo simply bonded during their intensive time together on the show, and the prom idea was hatched well before Ryan Seacrest announced a winner.

“It was a joke at first. My mom was joking about it and I was like, ‘Huh, that could be fun.’ And then we ended up being the last two so I’m like, ‘Do you want to just go to prom together,’ and he’s like, ‘All right, let’s do it,’ and it happened,” she said.

Johnson squeezed in the friendly date before heading back to Los Angeles later this week to work on his first album. The pair will then reunite for the American Idol tour when it kicks off June 24 in Binghamton, New York.

Until then, Asciutto will prepare to graduate next month – and spend a little time as a regular teenager.

“Throughout these next couple of weeks, I’m excited to just kind of hang out and chill with my friends and definitely rest and watch a lot of Netflix before tour,” she said. “It’s going to be an awesome summer.”