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
Philippine Idol first episode. Early reviews compared the show with "American Idol", which was shown locally on ABC. Entertainment writers said that the local "Idol" franchise was not as glossy as its American counterpart, but it was able to succeed because of promising elements such as human interest, talent, and proper casting of judges and host. Meanwhile, reviews during the Finale were mixed, with Nestor Torre of the "Philippine Daily Inquirer" commenting that the Performance Show was phlegmatic and anticlimactic as the Final Three failed to rise up to the challenge and instead played safe, while Results Show was stretched out with