Last night (April 7) the fifteenth and final season of American Idol came to a close. Trent Harmon was crowned the winner and La’Porsha Renae was the runner up. Each have acquired a record deal (Harmon with Big Machine Records and Renae with Motown/Big Machine) and a Ford car, of course. Harmon and Renae performed “It Takes Two” which was first performed by season one finalists Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini.
The show opened up with this season’s top 10 who performed Barry Manilow’s “One Voice.” Idol judge and pop diva Jennifer Lopez gave a riveting performance of her new single “Ain’t Your Mama.” The performance featured back up dancers, outfit changes, feather fans, glitter and a lot of dancing (and of course booty shaking, which she is famous for.) President Obama even made an appearance! In a pre-taped video Obama said American Idol “transformed television.” Ryan Seacrest’s snapchat story was a big hit with his signature “Ryan Cam” — showing behind-the-scenes footage live from the Dolby Theatre in L.A.
Former Idol contestants rocked the stage as well! Country superstar Carrie Underwood (who won season four) took the stage. After winning she went on to sell over 18 million records, a true success story from the show. Underwood and fellow country singer and Idol judge Keith Urban sang a duet of “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” by Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty. Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson gave amazing performances and wowed the crowd. Kellie Pickler, Taylor Hicks, Katharine McPhee, Constantine Maroulis, Bo Bice, Caleb Johnson, Chris Daughtry, and James Durbin took the stage to jam out to a rock medley. Kara DioGuardi, Jordin Sparks, Tamyra Gray, Allison Iraheta, Colton Dixon, Justin Guarini, Kimberly Locke, Lary Platt and Pia Toscano also celebrated the series end with a pop medley. Diana DeGarmo, Bucky Covington, Lauren Alaina, Kellie Pickler and Scotty McCreery did medley of country music hits, naturally. Colton Dixon from season 11 sang his song “Through All of It,” and Sparks returned for her hit song “No Air” with Guarini. Kimberley Locke from season two sang “8th World Wonder,” leading into Guarini, Sparks and Gray singing Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush.” Allison Iraheta from season eight sang Meghan Trainor’s “No,” into a mashup of Larry Pratt’s “Pants on the Ground” audition. Season 10’s Pia Toscano closed the set with “All By Myself” by legend Celine Dion.
Former judges Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell made a surprise appearance. They presented Ryan Seacrest with a special sign in honor of his many years of hosting. Ryan Seacrest stated at the end, “I’ve done this 14 times and the atmosphere has never been more emotionally charged than it is tonight.” Then he requested, “for the last time,” that the lights would be dimmed for the final results EVER.
Huge congrats to all of the artists who have graced us with their music through all of these years! Cheers to an amazing run!