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By Bret Federigan
Special to MSN TV
Folks, we have a winner. In the final showdown of guitar rocker vs. glam rocker, the Southern gentleman beat the singer with the guyliner. Kris Allen bested Adam Lambert for the Season 8 crown on "American Idol" Wednesday night. Kris, the 23-year-old from Conway, Ark., pulled off the ultimate upset, garnering enough of the just under 100 million votes cast to snatch victory away from Adam, a contestant many pundits and viewers had pegged as a heavy favorite. With his win, the understated and laid-back Kris now looks forward to a million-dollar record deal.
New "American Idol" single, "No Boundaries": Hear Kris Allen perform | Hear Adam Lambert perform
All season long, Adam had impressed viewers with his unique sense of style, creative onstage performances, and ungodly vocal performances. His daring brand of showmanship was unlike anything the show had seen before. And as such, he had earned the support of Simon Cowell and the rest of the judges, who time and again during the season had regarded him as a heavy favorite. But in recent weeks, upstart Kris had been generating momentum of his own, slowly growing his base of support and peeling off many "Idol" voters who were seemingly put off by Adam's glammed-up onstage persona. With his acoustic guitar-inspired fare and his soothing, cool voice, Kris offered a likable alternative to Adam's Hollywood rocker act.
Did America make the right choice? Sound off: "Idol" message board
Kris' win comes on the cusp of a hotly contested final performance showdown Tuesday night, in which both finalists sang valiantly to win over "Idol" nation. Adam certainly served up some good stuff, reprising his performance of "Mad World" (which had earned a personal standing ovation from Simon Cowell earlier in the season). But it proved not to be enough. Kris, serving up another rendition of "Ain't No Sunshine" (a song that had caught the attention of the judges some weeks ago) and throwing down an unplugged version of "What's Going On," not only kept pace with Adam, but, according to Simon, actually won a round outright. Kris was able to capitalize on a somewhat toned-down slate of song choices; Adam didn't have the opportunity to deliver any flamboyant, rock-inspired numbers.
Show producers pulled out all the stops Wednesday night during the Season 8 final results show. The top 13 contestants returned to the stage and performed numerous hits with a glittering host of guest stars, including David Cook, Queen Latifah, Jason Mraz, Keith Urban, the Black Eyed Peas, Cyndi Lauper, Lionel Richie, Kiss, Santana, Steve Martin, Rod Stewart and Queen.
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