Season 8 of the hit FOX reality show American Idol is history and after a record 100 million votes were cast, Kris Allen was named the winner of the wildly popular singing competition.
Judges favorite Adam Lambert, 27, appeared to the a shoe-in to take the crown but in the end, it was the 23 year old married college student from Arkansas with the ‘guy next door’ persona who garnered the most votes and was named champion.
The two hour finale was filled with star power. Music legends Queen, Lionel Richie, Kiss, Rod Stewart, Black Eyed Peas, Carlos Santana, Jason Mrag, Cyndi Lauper, Steve Martin and country star Keith Urban all hit the stage to perform, many with Idol finalists.
Kris and Urban teamed up to sing Kiss A Girl (see below), Lil Rounds sang with Queen Latifah, Allison Iraheta performed Time After Time with Cyndi Lauper and Danny Gokey teamed up with Lionel Richie.
Just prior to the final announcement, Lambert and Allen performed a rousing version of We Are The Champions with Queen – check it out below.
Another SHOCKER on the show was when judge Kara DioGuardi appeared on stage to sing with Katrina Darrell aka Bikini Girl. She wailed a hot version of Vision of Love and then stripped open her dress front to reveal a very sexy little black string bikini.
The Top 10 American Idol finalists will embark on a summer tour that runs from July 5 to September 15, 2009.
Performance video from the finale below.
Top Photo: WENN