‘American Idol’ Crowns Final Champion — Find Out Who Won!

“American
Idol” crowned its final winner amid a sea of memories.

(Spoiler
Alert! The following reveals who won “American Idol.” Bookmark this link to come back to later if you haven’t watched.)

Trent Harmon
took the title over La’Porsha Renae during Thursday night’s grand finale, but
the announcement was just the closing moment of a more than two-hour spectacle
that looked back on the reality competition’s 15 seasons.

American-Idol-Crowns-Final-Champion-Find-Out-Who-Won
(Getty Images)

“Idol”
figures of past and present graced the Dolby Theatre stage in Hollywood to pay
respect to the series, which has served as a cultural landmark and sparked a
host of successors since its 2002 debut. 

The show
demonstrated its reach and influence in the opening moments of its swan song,
as President Barack Obama kicked things off with a special address. 

Thanking
“Idol” for inspiring millions of viewers to vote for their favorite
contestants over the years, the President also took time to hint that it would
be nice if voting in elections were just as easy.

“Not all of us can sing like Kelly
Clarkson,” he continued, referencing the inaugural “Idol”
champ, “but all of our voices matter.”

Throughout the episode, Kelly and her fellow winners
treated the “Idol” audience to a variety of performances – many of
which also featured a slew of the show’s memorable non-winners, including Chris
Daughtry, Katharine McPhee, Clay Aiken and Tamyra Gray.

“Idol” judges also got in on the action, as Keith
Urban joined Season 4 victor Carrie Underwood for a rocking country duet,
Jennifer Lopez debuted the first live performance of her new single “Ain’t
Your Mama,” and Harry Connick Jr. sang Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful
World” with Ellis Marsalis Center for Music student and
fellow New Orleans native Marley Fletcher. 

Original
judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul joined host Ryan Seacrest onstage for a
mini reunion, only to be surprised when their third Musketeer, Simon Cowell,
appeared to show off his trademark acerbic wit for the first time on the
“Idol” stage since he left the show after Season 9.

“I
thought this would be a great opportunity for Randy to apologize … for being so mean to the contestants,” the Brit deadpanned, before
referring to his former co-judges as his “best friends.”

Although Simon had previously said he’d be out of the
country for “Idol’s” big send-off, it seems he couldn’t resist saying
goodbye after all. 

Ryan enjoyed
his own blast from the past, as his Season 1 co-host Brian Dunkleman teamed
back up with the media mogul for some friendly banter.

“Looks
like after tonight, you’re going to be out of a job,” he joked, before
congratulating Ryan for doing “an amazing job hosting this show all these
years.”

But the
night belonged to Trent, who was visibly overcome as he let his victory – the
last in “Idol” history — sink in.

“I know
I have a God-given ability, but I didn’t want to take it for granted,” he
said. “I wanted to work so, so hard.”

He added that he
couldn’t have stayed the course without La’Porsha’s encouragement.

“She
pushed me to do it,” Trent said, nodding  to the 22-year-old runner-up and fellow Mississippi native. 

Erin Biglow

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