American Idol crowns 15th and final winner in star-studded series finale

(Image credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

last updated 8 April 2016

American Idol went out in a blaze of cameos on Thursday night, ending its 15-year run with performances from famous alumni like Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Fantasia, Ruben Studdard, Kimberley Locke, Taylor Hicks, and more infamously, William Hung. First winner Kelly Clarkson appeared in a pre-taped segment, as did President Obama. The original judges — Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson — reunited, as did host Ryan Seacrest and his first-season co-host Brian Dunkleman. Harry Connick Jr. sang "What a Wonderful World" with a girl from New Orleans' Ninth Ward, Marley Fletcher, and Jennifer Lopez debuted a new single, "Ain't Your Mama."

But host Ryan Seacrest unveiled the final surprise, the 15th and final Idol:

Trent Harmon, 25, the show's last winner, beat fellow Mississippi native La'Porsha Renae, and that was "the biggest shocker" of the night, says Amy Reiter at the Los Angeles Times. Harmon is a "25-year-old Mississippi farm boy and waiter at his family restaurant, the earnest fellow who trained himself not to make silly faces when he sang and wrote every word the judges ever told him down in a tattered leather-bound journal, the guy who suffered through Hollywood Week sweating and struggling with mono and still managed to make all the way to the finale, crossed the finish line to snatch the crown away from the distinctive head of La'Porsha Renae."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.