Paula Abdul Simon Cowell Kara DioGuardi Randy Jackson
Winner
Kris Allen
Runner-up
Adam Lambert
Finals venue
Nokia Theatre L.A. Live
Release
Original network
Fox
Original release
January 13 (2009-01-13) – May 20, 2009 (2009-05-20)
Season chronology
← Previous Season 7
Next → Season 9
List of episodes
The eighth season of American Idol premiered on Tuesday, January 13, 2009, and concluded on May 20, 2009. Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson returned as judges, while Ryan Seacrest returned as host. This season introduced Kara DioGuardi as a permanent fourth judge.[1] This was also Paula Abdul's last season as a judge.[2] Kris Allen was announced the winner of the competition on May 20, 2009, defeating runner-up Adam Lambert after nearly 100 million votes were cast.
The eighth season saw numerous changes to the format of the show. There were 36 semifinalists instead of 24, and thirteen finalists instead of twelve: nine contestants chosen by the public and four by the judges in a Wild Card round. Another addition was the "judges' save," which allowed the judges to veto one elimination during the competition, and was used to veto Matt Giraud's elimination.
Multiple contestants from this season were signed to record deals, including Kris Allen, Adam Lambert, Danny Gokey, Allison Iraheta, Lil Rounds, Anoop Desai, and Michael Sarver.[3]
^"Songwriter Kara DioGuardi joins 'American Idol' panel". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
^Paula Abdul Leaving 'American Idol' Archived August 8, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
^"Universal Music Group Nashville". Archived from the original on March 26, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
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