American Idol (season 7) American Idol (season 7) The seventh season of "American Idol", the annual reality show and singing competition, began on January 15, 2008 and concluded on May 21, 2008. Ryan Seacrest continued to host the show with Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson returning as judges. David Cook was announced the winner of the competition on May 21, 2008, defeating runner-up David Archuleta by a margin of roughly 12 million votes out of over 97 million, which was at that time the highest recorded vote total ever recorded in the show's history. The split was 56% to 44%. The seventh
American Idol: Greatest Moments American Idol: Greatest Moments American Idol: Greatest Moments is the first "American Idol" soundtrack, with music from the first season of "American Idol". It contains two cover songs from both Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini, the winner and runner-up of the original season, one song from the remaining eight finalists, one song by all the finalists, and Clarkson's two songs from her debut single as bonus tracks. It is the only "American Idol" album that endorses the winner's single. The album was released on October 1, 2002. The album debuted at number four on the US "Billboard" 200 album chart