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. Kris Allen is the only married winner of the competition at the time of his victory. This was the second season where both of the final two contestants had been in the bottom three or two at least once before the finale, with the first being
season three.