After two hours of duets, surprise guests, a few ghosts of auditions past and plenty of good cheer—not to mention 16 weeks of sweat, tears and song—a new American Idol was crowned Wednesday to cap off the eighth season of the most-watched show on TV.
On one side, we had 27-year-old Adam Lambert, the polished (and we don't just mean his nails), mascara'd, perfectly poised arena-ready rocker with the infinite range.
And on the other, 23-year-old Kris Allen, somewhat of a dark-horse contestant, despite his universally appealing cutie-pie looks and radio-friendly warble.
But even though history has shown us that both guys are probably due for bigger and less clichéd things, only one ended up in that solo spotlight tonight, clutching the brand-new Idol microphone trophy.
And after a record 100 million votes were cast, it was Kris Allen who was left standing in open-mouthed shock 'n' awe because he had found out he was the next American Idol.
"It feels good, man, but Adam deserves this," the Conway, Ark., native protested. "I don't know what to feel right now, this is crazy."
So that's what utter disbelief sounds like.
"Ah, I don't even know," Allen stuttered as Ryan Seacrest handed over the championship trophy. "Thank you—you guys are the reason that all of us are here," he told the audience.
The still-smiling Lambert, the consummate pro already, stepped up to give his compatriot a congratulatory hug, as Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Kara DioGuardi applauded in, well, surprise. (By the way, they stood up. Simon Cowell didn't.)
But before we leave you to hash this out among yourselves, here's a quick rundown of some of the high points from the eighth-season finale:
• Adam and Kris dueting on Queen's "We Are the Champions." 'Cause, really, they are, aren't they?
• Megan Joy and Michael Sarver singing the Steve Martin-penned "Pretty Flowers," accompanied by Martin and his banjo. 'Nuff said. When asked by Ryan who he thought was going to win, Martin said, "I know it's a long shot, but I'm hoping I do."
• A subdued David Cook stopping by to perform "Permanent," from his self-titled debut album, which the emotional rocker sang "to honor not only [his] brother, but everybody who has had to deal with something like this." Cook's older brother, Adam, lost his battle with brain cancer earlier this month. The video of the performance will be available on iTunes, with all proceeds going to cancer-research charity ABC2 (Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure).
• Danny Gokey being paired with Lionel Richie. Sure, Danny was saddled with "Hello," which was one of Cook's shining moments last year. But at least it sounded really good.
• Kris and Keith Urban. That's about right.
And some of the lows:
• The Top 13 reuniting for Pink's "So What" in those all-white outfits the dozen (this year, a baker's dozen) have to wear each season. This is what the gates of heaven must be like when you're being informed that you took a wrong turn at the celestial escalator.
• Just when we thought the mass "na-na-na-na na-na-na" was freaky enough, there were the top seven guys—all clad in Reservoir Dog suits— coming at us, inquiring "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy." (The eventual arrival of Rod Stewart to sing "Maggie May" helped a bit.)
• Adam (sporting some studded, wire-wing epaulet-thingies) getting matched with Kiss for his big duet. Where's Bowie when you need him?
• The Top 13 reuniting yet again for "Smooth," which it wasn't. We tried to focus on Santana's guitar playing in the meantime.
A tie for both high and low:
• A bikini (and shirt-dress)-clad Kara joining Katrina "Bikini Girl" Darrell on Mariah Carey's "Vision of Love." Yes, Kara can hold her own in a bikini. But wouldn't it have better proved Kara's point if the two had never made peace?
What a season, eh? Could you be more surprised? Or did you know that Kris had it in him all along?
Booo!
No, we aren't protesting which deserving-in-his-own-way finalist ultimately won. We're just bummed that American Idol is over for the year.
(Originally published May 20, 2009, at 7:15 p.m. PT)
More Idol coverage! Get the backstage reaction from Kris and Adam and take a look at our finale photo gallery.