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
Idol (Swedish TV series) spot in its first week, making Bergendahl the only season five "Idol" contestant to achieve a chart-topping album. The record was certified gold for Swedish sales of over 20,000 copies. Season six of "Idol" premiered on September 8, 2009 with Peter Jihde once again returning to host the show, along with judges Laila Bagge, Anders Bagge and Andreas Carlsson. An "Idol" record of 11,000 people auditioned for the series, which included an 'audition tour' around Sweden by judge Anders Bagge in order to find talent outside the most densely populated areas. The series marked a new change to the format