American Idol (season 8) American Idol (season 8) The eighth season of "American Idol" premiered on January 13, 2009, and concluded on May 20, 2009. Judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson continued to judge the show's contestants, along with Ryan Seacrest as host. The season introduced Kara DioGuardi as the fourth judge on the "Idol" panel. It was also Abdul's final season as a judge. Kris Allen, a native of Conway, Arkansas, was announced the winner of the competition on May 20, 2009, defeating runner-up Adam Lambert after nearly 100 million votes. This was the second season where both of the final
Latin American Idol (season 2) Latin American Idol (season 2) The second season of "Latin American Idol" premiered on June 13, 2007 and continued until September 27, 2007, when it was won by Guatemalan born Carlos Peña. Auditions were held in Caracas, Bogotá, Mexico City, and Buenos Aires in the spring of 2007. The concerts began on July in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the host country. For this season the judge Elizabeth Meza quit, and the Mexican singer Mimi was hired as the new "Latin American Idol" judge. At age 19, Peña is the first male and youngest person to win the competition, and second winner