American Idol the winner determined by American viewers using phones, Internet, and SMS text voting. The winners of the first sixteen seasons, as chosen by viewers, are Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee DeWyze, Scotty McCreery, Phillip Phillips, Candice Glover, Caleb Johnson, Nick Fradiani, Trent Harmon, and Maddie Poppe, respectively. "American Idol" employs a panel of vocal judges who critique the contestants' performances. The original judges, for the first through eighth seasons, were record producer and music manager Randy Jackson, singer and choreographer Paula Abdul, and music executive and manager Simon
American Idol controversies judge Simon Cowell. On the April 21, 2010 "Idol Gives Back" special, the show went over its scheduled 2-hour slot to 10:24 PM EST. Seacrest did warn viewers at the end of the previous night's performance show that the episode would run overtime. Due to this, Tim Urban, the contestant that was eliminated that night, did not get to sing his final song. Immediately after winning "American Idol" on September 4, 2002, Kelly Clarkson was arranged to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" by her then management company, 19 Entertainment, at a special commemoration the following week for the first anniversary of