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
The All Ireland Talent Show (series 1) The All Ireland Talent Show (series 1) The first series of "The All Ireland Talent Show" was announced in November 2008 and commenced broadcasting on 4 January 2009, completing its first series on 15 March 2009. Modelled on "Britain's Got Talent", it was produced by Tyrone Productions. Airing on RTÉ One, it was hosted by Gráinne Seoige. Auditions took place in five locations across Ireland in November and December 2008. The auditions were divided into five regions with contestants competing only in their region of origin. The regions are Ulster, Connacht, Munster, Dublin and non-Dublin Leinster. The auditions commenced airing