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
American Idol (season 5) Ninth-place finisher Mandisa's "True Beauty" album earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album in 2007. Season five is the season from the first ten seasons of "American Idol" with the most number of finalists who have made it onto the Billboard charts. The compilation album for this season was performed by the top twelve finalists. In 2006, American Idol also became the most nominated unscripted show ever, and has several nominations in the 2006 Emmy Awards for season five: American Idol (season 5) The fifth season of reality television singing competition "American Idol" began on January 17,