Matt Breitzke

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Biography

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 2 contestants had been in the bottom 3 or 2 at least once before the finale, with the first being American Idol (season 3)|season 3 .

The eighth season saw numerous changes to the format of the show. There were 36 semi-finalists 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 "save," which was used on the top seven results show to veto Matt Giraud 's elimination.

The winner Kris Allen was then signed to 19 Entertainment / Jive Records . In addition to Allen, Adam Lambert , Danny Gokey , Allison Iraheta , Lil Rounds and Michael Sarver all signed record deals. Anoop Desai signed an independent record deal.

Changes from Season 7

Several changes were planned for season 8. Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly (executive)|Kevin Reilly stated that Idol would feature fewer " William Hung -like" contestants and "funny auditions," and would quickly move its focus to the potential singers during the earlier stages of the competition, thus moving the season at a faster pace. Mike Darnell , president of Fox's alternative programming, said the contestants would be more emotional and that viewers would learn more about them and their pasts than they had in the American Idol (season 7)|previous season .
Songwriter and record producer Kara DioGuardi was added as a fourth judge on the panel. She had previously collaborated with Celine Dion , Hilary Duff , Enrique Iglesias , Leona Lewis and Christina Aguilera , and produced several American Top 40|Top 40 hits. As a songwriter, she had already worked with several American Idol alumni and winners, including Kelly Clarkson , Carrie Underwood , David Archuleta and David Cook (singer)|David Cook . Meanwhile, Ken Warwick became the new executive producer, as Nigel Lythgoe had left the show to focus on So You Think You Can Dance (US)|So You Think You Can Dance and his new show with Simon Fuller, Superstars of Dance .
Idol Gives Back was canceled for season 8, as the Global financial crisis of 2008-2009|ongoing economic crisis and recession , left Idol officials uncomfortable asking financially struggling viewers to donate.
The semifinals saw the biggest change as the wild card round returned for the first time since the American Idol (season 3)|third season . After voters picked three finalists from each of three groups of 12 semi-finalists, the judges selected eight of the previously eliminated 27 semifinalists to return and perform a song on the March 5, 2009, show. They were judged by the panel, instead of a vote by the viewers, with four advancing to the finals. Although the finals had been billed from the beginning of the season as a set of 12 contestants, the judges announced at the last minute that they would be advancing a fourth wild card/thirteenth contestant, Anoop Desai , as well.

Judges' Save

Another change in the Idol format is judges' save, an element previously used in France's Nouvelle Star ( French Idol ). The judges were given the power to exercise a veto on one eliminated contestant in the finals and spare them from elimination for that particular week. This can only be invoked up until the Final 5. The following week two contestants will be eliminated if the save is used because nobody is eliminated on the week that the save is used, except in American Idol (season 11)|season 11 where one only contestant was eliminated,. The save can only be used once and it must be unanimous. The new format change was revealed on March 11, 2009. The first recipient of the Judges' Save is Matt Giraud .

Regional auditions

Auditions began July 17 the previous year, and were held in the following cities:

Episode Air Date	Audition City	Date	First Audition Venue	Callback Date	Callback Venue	Golden Tickets
January 13, 2009	Phoenix, Arizona	July 25, 2008	Glendale	September 2008	Scottsdale	27
January 14, 2009	Kansas City, Missouri	August 8, 2008	Kemper Arena	October 5, 2008		27
January 20, 2009	San Francisco, California	July 17, 2008	Cow Palace Release says San Francisco ; arena is actually in Daly City, though part of its property is in San Francisco.	September 13, 2008	Westin St. Francis	12
January 21, 2009	Louisville, Kentucky	July 21, 2008	Freedom Hall	September 7-8, 2008	Churchill Downs	19
January 27, 2009	Jacksonville, Florida	August 13, 2008	Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena	September 3, 2008	Amelia Island Plantation	16
January 28, 2009	Salt Lake City, Utah	July 29, 2008	EnergySolutions Arena	September 18-19, 2008	Wells Fargo Center	13
January 29, 2009	New York, New York	August 19, 2008	East Rutherford	August 26, 2008	Chelsea Piers , New York	26
January 29, 2009	San Juan, Puerto Rico	August 2, 2008	Coliseo de Puerto Rico	September 2008	Conrad San Juan Condado Plaza	9
Total Tickets to Hollywood						149

Contestants were required to be between the ages 16 and 28 on July 15, 2008 and eligible to work in the United States . Contestants were ineligible if they had previously reached the semifinal in Season 1-3 and 7, or the top 44 from season 4 and 5, or top 40 from season 6. They were also ineligible if they held then current recording or management contracts or if they were not U.S. citizens or landed immigrants (i.e. temporary residents).

One auditioner who received widespread publicity was Katrina Darrell , also known as "Bikini Girl", for auditioning in her bikini. She reached the Hollywood stage but was cut in the group round.

Hollywood week

For this season, the Hollywood round moved from the Orpheum Theatre (Los Angeles)|Orpheum Theatre to the Kodak Theatre , which was previously used for the finale in seasons 1 and 3–6. In addition, the Hollywood round was extended to two weeks.

In the first round, the 147 contestants each sang a short solo a cappella performance of any song. The next round had the remaining 107 contestants performing in groups of three or four. Group rounds had returned since season 6. The 72 contestants that passed group day performed one more solo song, this time accompanied by a band, before being narrowed down to 54. The final 54 then went to the "judges' mansion" in Los Angeles for the final results, and the Top 36 were announced. Some contestants had a sing-off to determine who would enter the top 36. Lacey Brown, who lost in a sing-off with 9th placer Megan Joy, later made the following season's Top 12 where she became the first finalist voted out.

Semi-finals

The top 36 were announced in a special two-hour broadcast on Wednesday, February 11, 2009.

All 36 contestants, performing in three groups of twelve, sang songs that were Billboard Hot 100 Hits .

Below are the three semi-final groups with contestants listed in their performance order. In each group, three people advanced to the next round, based on votes by the viewers. The top male and female recipient advanced, along with the next highest vote recipient of the remaining ten contestants in each group. Each week two males advanced however it was never revealed who was the highest voted and which advanced through the non-gender specific slot. Following those nine singers advancing, eight of the remaining 27 semi-finalists were selected by the judges to compete in the Wild Card round. Following another performance by each Wild Card contender, the judges selected four contestants to advance to the final group of 13.

Semi-Final Group 1 – Billboard Hot 100 hits

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Semi-Final Group 2 – Billboard Hot 100 hits

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

: Mitchell performed his song as his alter ego "Norman Gentle".

Semi-Final Group 3 – Billboard Hot 100 hits

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

: Barton was initially eliminated prior to the semifinals. However, after the disqualification of Joanna Pacitti , she was invited back into the competition.

Wild Card Round – Billboard Hot 100 hits

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Finalists

Kris Allen (born June 21, 1985 in Jacksonville, Arkansas|Jacksonville , Arkansas , 23 years at the time of the show) is from Conway, Arkansas|Conway , Arkansas and auditioned in Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville , Kentucky with Leon Russell 's A Song For You . Allen's interest in music began at an early age; he taught himself how to play guitar at the age of 13, as well as numerous other instruments. Prior to Idol , he worked as a worship leader at New Life Church in Maumelle, Arkansas, and is a member of Chi Alpha Campus Ministries at the University of Central Arkansas, where he is a business major. Allen was announced the winner of the eighth season of American Idol on May 20, 2009. He went on to release his first official single, No Boundaries (song)|No Boundaries , which was written by Idol judge Kara DioGuardi. As a part of winning Idol, Allen was signed by Jive Records and 19 Entertainment. His first official album under the new label released November 17, 2009.

Adam Lambert (born January 29, 1982 in Indianapolis, Indiana , 26 years at the time of his audition) is from San Diego , California and auditioned in San Francisco , California with Queen (band)|Queen 's Bohemian Rhapsody . Lambert grew up in Rancho Peñasquitos, San Diego, California and attended Deer Canyon Elementary School, Mesa Verde Middle School (Rancho Peñasquitos)|Mesa Verde Middle School , and Mt. Carmel High School (San Diego, California)|Mt. Carmel High School , where he was in theater, choir, and also performed with the school's jazz band. Lambert has been a stage actor since the age of ten, performing in such productions as You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown , and Wicked (musical)|Wicked . He joined a band The Citizen Vein briefly. He also worked as a demo singer and his recordings was released after his appearance on American Idol in an album Take One (album)|Take One . Lambert roomed with Kris Allen during the show. Lambert was announced as the runner-up for the eighth season of American Idol on May 20, 2009. He was signed to RCA Records after the show and released his debut album For Your Entertainment (album)|For Your Entertainment .

Danny Gokey (born April 24, 1980, 28 years at the time of his audition) is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin|Milwaukee , Wisconsin and auditioned in Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City , Missouri . Gokey first began singing in church with his family, and has been a worship leader for his church in Milwaukee, Faith Builders International Ministries, for several years. Associated Press via WNCT, February 20, 2009. Four weeks before Gokey auditioned for American Idol, in July 2008, his wife Sophia underwent surgery due to congenital heart disease . She later died from complications regarding the extensive surgery. by Tim Cuprisin, Feb. 13, 2009, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Jill Serjeant, Feb 19, 2009, Reuters. He was eliminated from the Top 3 on May 13, 2009.

Allison Iraheta (born April 27, 1992 in Glendale, California|Glendale , California , 16 years at the time of her audition) is from Los Angeles and auditioned in San Francisco , California . Iraheta began singing at an early age, performing at small venues for her family and friends. In 2006, Iraheta won the Telemundo television series Quinceañera , where she won $50,000 and a recording contract, where only the prize money was granted. She was eliminated from the Top 4 on May 6, 2009. She has been the youngest finalist as a 16 year-old turning 17 during Top 5 week. Her debut album, Just Like You (Allison Iraheta album)|Just Like You was released on December 1, 2009 to positive reviews, with the single Friday I'll Be Over U .

Matt Giraud (born May 11, 1985 in Dearborn, Michigan|Dearborn , Michigan , 23 years at his time of the show) is from Kalamazoo, Michigan|Kalamazoo , Michigan and auditioned in Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville , Kentucky with Gavin DeGraw 's " I Don't Want to Be ". Giraud grew up in Ypsilanti, Michigan|Ypsilanti , Michigan , where he graduated from Lincoln High School in 2003. Initially eliminated from the Top 13, Giraud was chosen by the judges to rejoin the competition during the Wild Card round. Giraud was the lowest vote-getter during the Top 7, but was saved by the judges and eventually eliminated in Top 5. He released an album called Perspective in 2003 and another in 2006 called Mind Body and Soul .

Anoop Desai (born December 20, 1986 in Cary, North Carolina|Cary , North Carolina , 22 years at the time of the show) is from Chapel Hill, North Carolina|Chapel Hill , North Carolina and auditioned in Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City , Missouri . Desai is an only child , whose father was born in India and mother was born in South Africa . Beginning his career as an actor for the television station WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh in a local television series entitled " CentralXpress.com ", and played the character "Raj." Desai attended Carnage Middle School and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools|Phillips Middle School , then later went on to attend East Chapel Hill High School , graduating in 2004. Desai’s performance as a soloist on the song “She Has No Time” was included on the 2007 iteration of the annual BOCA (Best of College A Cappella) compilation album. Desai has credited his decision to audition for American Idol to the death of a friend, Murder of Eve Carson|Eve Carson , who was murdered. Initially eliminated from the Top 13, he was chosen by the judges to rejoin the competition during the Wild Card round. His advancement to the finals made American Idol history, making it a top 13.

Lil Rounds (born October 20, 1984, 24 years at the time of the show) is from Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis , Tennessee and auditioned in Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City , Missouri with Stevie Wonder 's " Hotter than July|All I Do " . Shortly before her audition on Idol , a tornado 2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak#Memphis area tornado|hit Memphis , forcing Rounds to temporarily live in a motel . http://weblogs.newsday.com/entertainment/music/idol/blog/2009/03/lil_rounds_makes_us_feel_great.html Her grandfather once worked with the music legend B.B. King . http://www.etonline.com/news/2009/03/71473/ Her performance of Dolly Parton 's " I Will Always Love You " in the Hollywood round impressed the judges, however she failed to impress the judges in the finals and was eliminated in joint-seventh place with Anoop Desai.

Scott MacIntyre (born June 22, 1985, 23 years at the time of the show) is from Scottsdale, Arizona|Scottsdale , Arizona and auditioned in Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix , Arizona . MacIntyre is the first legally blind person to audition for American Idol. MacIntyre began practicing music at the age of six. Home-schooled until the age of fourteen, he later attended Arizona State University's Barrett Honors College and Herberger College of the Arts soon afterwards. In 2005, USA Today named him one of its twenty College Academic All-Stars. He obtained his masters degree at Royal Holloway , University of London and the Royal College of Music , where he studied on a Marshall Scholarship . MacIntyre produced his first CD when he was eleven, and has recorded five more CDs since then. He was accepted to both Oxford University and Cambridge University for further graduate-level education.

Megan Joy (born September 18, 1985, 23 years at the time of the show) is a single mother from Sandy, Utah|Sandy , Utah and auditioned in Salt Lake City , Utah with Helen Morgan 's " Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man ". Initially eliminated from the Top 13, Joy was chosen by the judges to rejoin the competition during the Wild Card round. In high school, Joy unsuccessfully tried out for numerous performance groups, including choir , and never had any singing lessons before her audition on Idol . Joy graduated from Taylorsville High School in Taylorsville, Utah|Taylorsville , Utah in 2003. She has one son named Ryder. (Idol Chatter blog)

Michael Sarver (born March 28, 1981 in Sulphur, Louisiana|Sulphur , Louisiana , 27 years at the time of the show) is from Jasper, Texas|Jasper , Texas and auditioned in Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix , Arizona with Boyz II Men 's " Thank You (Boyz II Men song)|Thank You ". Sarver, an Oil platform|oil rig worker, began singing at the age of twelve, and has written over 890 songs for himself since that time. Sarver graduated from Sulphur High School (Louisiana)|Sulphur High School in 1998. Sarver is married to his wife Tiffany, and has two children.

Alexis Grace (born June 9, 1987, 21 years at the time of the show) is from Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis , Tennessee and auditioned in Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City , Missouri with Aretha Franklin 's Dr Feelgood . She gave birth to her daughter when she was nineteen. Grace began singing at an early age . She performed Aretha Franklin's "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" and Carrie Underwood 's " Before He Cheats " in the Hollywood rounds.

Jorge Núñez (born October 1, 1987 in Cidra, Puerto Rico|Cidra , Puerto Rico , 21 years at the time of the show) is from Carolina, Puerto Rico|Carolina , Puerto Rico and auditioned in San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan , Puerto Rico . For the audition he sang My Way (song)|My Way in Spanish and Louis Armstrong 's What a Wonderful World in English. Núñez speaks three languages fluently, English, Spanish and French. http://weblogs.newsday.com/entertainment/music/idol/blog/2009/03/jorge_nunez.html After he sang during the third semi-finals week, many people were amazed by his big voice including, Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez , who had stated they wanted to perform with him. He performed Jon Secada 's "Angel" during the Hollywood round. Of the Top 13, Núñez was the only contestant who auditioned in Puerto Rico. He was the eliminated from the Top 13 in the first week of the finals, along with Jasmine Murray .

Jasmine Murray (born March 14, 1992, in Columbus, Mississippi|Columbus , Mississippi , 16 years at the time of the show) is from Starkville, Mississippi|Starkville , Mississippi and auditioned in Jacksonville, Florida|Jacksonville , Florida . Initially eliminated from the Top 13, Murray was chosen by the judges to rejoin the competition during the Wild Card round. In addition to competing on Idol , she also competed in the Miss America's Outstanding Teen pageant in 2007. She was eliminated from the Top 13 in the first week of the finals, along with Jorge Núñez.

Finals

Top 13 – Michael Jackson

This episode was re-aired on June 29, 2009, in a tribute to the death of Michael Jackson on June 25. This makes it the only episode of the show to be re-aired by Fox.

Order !!Contestant !!Song (original artist when applicable) !!Result
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13²

Note 1: It was never revealed, between Jasmine Murray and Jorge Núñez, who received the lowest amount of votes even though Jasmine was eliminated first.

Note 2: See IDOLS-13 controversy below.

Top 11 – Grand Ole Opry

Mentor : Randy Travis

Order !! Contestant !! Song (original artist) !! Result
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

Top 10 – Motown

Mentor : Smokey Robinson

Order !! Contestant !! Song (original artist) !! Result
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Top 9 – Popular iTunes Downloads

Order !! Contestant !! Song (original artist) !! Result
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Top 8 – Year They Were Born

Order !! Contestant !! Song (original artist) !! Result
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Top 7 (first week) – Songs of the Cinema

Mentor : Quentin Tarantino

Order !! Contestant !! Song (original artist) — Film !! Result
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Note 1: Matt Giraud received the lowest number of votes but the judges decided to use their save on him and was not eliminated.

Top 7 (second week) – Disco

Order !! Contestant !! Song (original artist) !! Result
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Note 1: With no elimination the previous week, there was a second "Top 7" week and two people were eliminated. It was never revealed who, between Anoop Desai and Lil Rounds, received the lowest amount of votes, however Rounds's elimination was announced first with Desai being the second eliminee.

Top 5 – Rat Pack Standard (music)|Standards

Mentor : Jamie Foxx

Order !! Contestant !! Song (original artist) !! Result
1
2
3
4
5

Top 4 – Rock music

Mentor : Slash (musician)|Slash

Each contestant sang one solo and one duet with a fellow contestant.

Order !! Contestant !! Song (original artist) !! Result
1
2
3
4
5
6

Top 3 – Judges' choice and Contestants' choice

Each contestant sang two songs.

Order !! Contestant !! Song (original artist) — Judge !! Result
1
2
3
4
5
6

Top 2 – Contestant’s choice, Simon Fuller ’s choice & the winner’s single

Each contestant sang three songs.

Order !! Contestant !! Song (original artist) !! Result
1
2
3
4
5
6

Elimination chart

Female

Male

Top 36

Wild Card

Top 13

Winner

Did Not Perform

Safe

Safe First

Safe Last

Eliminated

Place	Contestant	Result
Stage:		Semi Finals			nowrap	Finals
Week:		2/ 18	2/ 26 ¹	3/ 4	3/ 5	3/ 11 ²	3/ 18	3/ 26 ³	4/ 1	4/ 8	4/ 15 ⁴	4/ 22 ⁵	4/ 29	5/ 6 ⁶	5/ 13	5/ 20
1	Kris Allen	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	Top 13	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"								nowrap			Winner
2	Adam Lambert	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	Top 13	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"								Bottom 2			nowrap
3	Danny Gokey	Top 13	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"										Elim	bgcolor="#919191"
4	Allison Iraheta	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	Top 13	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"		Bottom 3		Bottom 3			nowrap		Elim	bgcolor="#919191" colspan="2"
5	Matt Giraud	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	nowrap	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	nowrap			nowrap			Saved		Elim	bgcolor="#919191" colspan="3"
nowrap	Anoop Desai	nowrap	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	Top 13				nowrap	nowrap	Bottom 3	Elim	bgcolor="#919191" colspan="4" rowspan=2
nowrap	Lil Rounds	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	Top 13	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"					Bottom 3	nowrap	Elim
8	Scott MacIntyre	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	Top 13	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"			Bottom 3		Elim	bgcolor="#919191" colspan="6"
9	Megan Joy	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	Wild Card	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	Top 13				Elim	bgcolor="#919191" colspan="7"
10	Michael Sarver	Top 13	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"		nowrap	Elim	bgcolor="#919191" colspan="8"
11	Alexis Grace	Top 13	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"		Elim	bgcolor="#919191" colspan="9"
nowrap	Jorge Núñez	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	Top 13	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	Elim	bgcolor="#919191" colspan="10" rowspan=2
nowrap	Jasmine Murray	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	Wild Card	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	Top 13	Elim
Wild Card	Ricky Braddy	Wild Card	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	Elim	bgcolor="#919191" colspan=11 rowspan="4"
	Tatiana Del Toro	Wild Card	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"
	Jesse Langseth	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	Wild Card	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"
	Von Smith	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	nowrap
Semi- Final 3	Arianna Afsar	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	Elim	bgcolor="#919191" colspan=12 rowspan="8"
	Felicia Barton	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"
	Kendall Beard	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"
	Ju'Not Joyner	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"
	Nathaniel Marshall	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"
	Kristen McNamara	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"
	Taylor Vaifanua	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"
	nowrap	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"
Semi- Final 2	Matt Breitzke	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"	Elim	bgcolor="#919191" colspan=13 rowspan="5"
	Mishavonna Henson	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"
	Kai Kalama	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"
	Nick Mitchell	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"
	Jeanine Vailes	bgcolor="#FFEBCD"
Semi- Final 1	Ann Marie Boskovich	Elim	bgcolor="#919191" colspan=14 rowspan="6"
	Casey Carlson
	Stephen Fowler
	Brent Keith
	Jackie Tohn
	Stevie Wright

¹ Due to the Barack Obama speech to joint session of Congress, 2009|2009 Speech to the Joint Session of the United States Congress on Tuesday, February 24, 2009, the performance show was moved to Wednesday, February 25 and the results show was moved to Thursday, February 26.

² Ryan never specifically said who the bottom three or four was, but Megan Joy was brought up with Jasmine Murray and Anoop Desai with Jorge Nuñez for dramatic effect. Jasmine Murray was announced as the first to leave, followed by Jorge Nuñez.

³ Due to the White House Press Conference on Tuesday, March 24, 2009, the performance show was moved to Wednesday, March 25 and the results show was moved to Thursday, March 26.

⁴ Due to the judges using their one save, in order to save Matt Giraud , the Top 7 remained intact for another week.

⁵ The bottom two were eliminated on April 22. It was never announced who received the lowest number of votes, although Lil Rounds was announced as the first to leave, followed by Anoop Desai.

⁶ It was only announced that Allison Iraheta received the lowest number of votes this week. The other member(s) of the bottom two or three were never revealed, and the safe contestants were announced in random order.

Other performances

Group song

Top 36/Group 1: " I'm Yours (Jason Mraz song)|I'm Yours " by Jason Mraz

Top 36/Group 2: " Closer (Ne-Yo song)|Closer " by Ne-Yo

Top 36/Group 3: " Hot n Cold " by Katy Perry

Top 13: " I Want You Back / ABC (song)|ABC Medley" by The Jackson 5

Top 11: " T-R-O-U-B-L-E " by Travis Tritt

Top 10: " Motown " Medley: " You Keep Me Hangin' On " by The Supremes /" You're All I Need to Get By " by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell /" Ain't No Mountain High Enough " by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell

Top 9: " Don't Stop Believin' " by Journey (band)|Journey

Top 8: " Can't Get You out of My Head " by Kylie Minogue

Top 7 (week 1): " Maniac (song)|Maniac " by Michael Sembello from Flashdance

Top 7 (week 2): " Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground) " by The Jackson 5|The Jacksons ; choreographed by Paula Abdul

Top 5: " It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) " and " I Got Rhythm "

Top 4: " School's Out (song)|School's Out " by Alice Cooper

Top 3: The Top 3 did not perform a group routine.

Top 2: Top 13 performed " So What (Pink song)|So What " by Pink (singer)|Pink and Top 2 performed Queen (band)|Queen's " We Are The Champions " who were guest performers

Guest performances

In addition, songs are played during the elimination night to promote an artist, single, album, or the show itself. Included is a list of those songs with their Billboard (magazine)|Billboard Billboard Hot 100|Hot 100 and Hot Digital Songs reactions.

Week
Top 36/ Group 1
Top 36/ Group 2
Top 36/ Group 3
Top 13
	Kelly Clarkson
Top 11
	Carrie Underwood Randy Travis
Top 10
	Smokey Robinson Joss Stone
	Stevie Wonder
Top 9
	Lady GaGa
Top 8
	Flo Rida Wynter Gordon
	Kellie Pickler
Top 7 (week 1)
	Miley Cyrus
Top 7 (week 2)
	Freda Payne Thelma Houston Harry Wayne Casey>KC
Top 5
	Taylor Hicks
	Jamie Foxx
Top 4
	No Doubt
	Daughtry (band)>Daughtry
Top 3
	Jordin Sparks
	Katy Perry
Top 2

Finale

The finale took place at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live|Nokia Theatre on May 20, 2009.

Musical Performances:

"So What" (Pink) - Top 13

"Permanent" (David Cook) - David Cook

"Cue the Rain" (Queen Latifa) - Queen Latifa & Lil Rounds

"I'm Yours" (Jason Mraz) - Jason Mraz, Anoop Desai & Alexis Grace (the rest of the top 13 minus Kris & Adam joined at the end of the song)

"Kiss a Girl"(Keith Urban) - Keith Urban & Kris Allen

"Glamorous" (Fergie) - Top 13 girls (Alison Iraheta, Lil Rounds, Megan Joy, Alexis Grace & Jasmine Murray)

"Big Girls Don't Cry" (Fergie) - Fergie with Top 13 girls

"Boom Boom Pow" (Black-Eyed Peas) - Black-Eyed Peas

"Time After Time" (Cyndi Lauper) - Cyndi Lauper & Alison Iraheta

"Hello" (Lionel Richie) - Danny Gokey

"Just Go" (Lionel Richie) - Lionel Richie & Danny Gokey

"All Night Long" (Lionel Richie) - Lionel Richie & Danny Gokey

"Beth" (KISS) - Adam Lambert

"Detroit Rock City" (KISS) - KISS & Adam Lambert

"Rock and Roll All Night" (KISS) - KISS & Adam Lambert

"Black Magic Woman" (Santana) - Carlos Santana & Matt Giraud

"Smooth" (Santana) - Carlos Santana & Top 13

"Pretty Flowers" (Steve Martin) - Megan Joy, Michael Sarver with Steve Martin playing banjo

"Do You Think I'm Sexy" (Rod Stewart) - Top 13 guys (Kris Allen, Adam Lambert, Danny Gokey, Matt Giraud, Annop Desai, Scott MacIntyre, Michael Sarver, Jorge Nunez)

"Maggie May" (Rod Stewart) - Rod Stewart

"We Are the Champions" (Queen) - Queen, Kris Allen & Adam Lambert (later joined by the rest of the top 13)

"No Boundries" (Kris Allen) - Kris Allen

Idol Awards:

Outstanding Male - Nick Mitchell (as Norman Gentle) "And I'm Not Going" (Dreamgirls)

Best Attitude Katrina Derrel (bikini girl) "Vision of Love" with Kara DioGuardi

Outstanding Female - Tatiana Del Toro "Saving All My Love"

Contestants who appeared on other shows

American Idol American Idol (season 9)|season 9 finalist Lacey Brown originally auditioned for this season, but she was cut in a singoff with Megan Joy in the green mile round.

American Idol American Idol (season 10)|season 10 finalist James Durbin (singer)|James Durbin originally auditioned for this season, but was not chosen.

Jamar Rogers, who was cut in the green mile round in this season of American Idol , was a contestant on the The Voice (U.S. season 2)|second season of NBC 's The Voice (U.S.)|The Voice and made it to the Semi-Final round before being eliminated.

Controversies

Joanna Pacitti

Joanna Pacitti , who was originally selected as a semi-finalist, created controversy due to her being previously signed to A& M and Geffen Records. Later, she was found to have been having a "private relationship" with 19 Management. She was later disqualified and replaced by Felicia Barton.

Telephone number

In the Top 13, the expected phone number for contestant Alexis Grace, 1-866-IDOLS-13, was not owned by American Idol, but by a company called Intimate Encounters, who used it as a phone sex line. Although host Ryan Seacrest mentioned the replacement phone number, 1-866-IDOLS-36, several times, some commentators feared that the phone number confusion could lead to Grace being inadvertently voted off the show. However, Grace was not voted off that week.

Overtime broadcast

On the April 7 (Top 8) performance episode, Idol ran nearly eight minutes past its set ending time, such that viewers who recorded the program on digital video recorders completely missed the final performance, Adam Lambert 's performance of "Mad World" which received a standing ovation from judge Simon Cowell . The show attempted to prevent running over time the following week by having only two judges, either Randy and Kara or Paula and Simon, critique each performance; however, the episode still ended two minutes over the time slot.

Lip-syncing

After the Top 11 program, Justin Guarini , while hosting Idol Wrap on TV Guide channel, asserted that the show's group performances were being lip-sync ed. Soon after Guarini's assertion was aired, a spokesperson for the producers of American Idol said, "The Idols don't lip-sync, period." The following day, the same spokesperson said that "due to extensive choreography and to balance their voices with open mics against a screaming audience, the Idols do sing along to their own prerecorded vocal track during the group performances only." The spokesperson maintained that the performers sing their solo songs live, but their performances available to download through iTunes are recorded prior to airing.

Finale vote

Kris Allen's win over Adam Lambert resulted in speculation about cheating|voter manipulation , a Christian voting bloc, and as many as "38 million" votes coming from Arkansas , Kris's home state, a state with only 2.8 million people. There were also allegations that AT& T may have influenced the results. Fox Network|Fox had previously denied these claims as baseless stating that the network has no preference on who the winner might be. AT& T meanwhile said in a statement that the vote tally above was based on incorrect information and apologized by saying that "AT& T does not divulge or confirm how many votes were cast in any state." On May 27, 2009, the producers of the show stated that they "stand by the outcome" and are "absolutely certain" that "without a doubt Kris Allen is the American Idol."

Awards and nominations

Primetime Emmy Awards

Year	Category		Episode	Result
2009
	Outstanding Directing For a Variety, Music Or Comedy Special
	Outstanding Host for a Reality-Competition Program

Teen Choice Awards

Year	Category	Nominee(s)	Result
2009
	Adam Lambert
	Choice Summer Tour

US Nielsen ratings

Season 8 of American Idol was the top show for the 2008-9 broadcast prime-time season and took the top two spots for its Tuesday and Wednesday episodes. The viewers number for the Wednesday episodes averaged 25.527 million, while the Tuesday episodes averaged 24.741 million. The ratings were down from Season 7, with the finale dropping 13% in the 18-49 demo and 9% in total viewers number.

Episode list

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Show	Episode	Air date	Week rank	Rating/ Share	18-49 rating/ Share	Viewers (millions)
1	"Phoenix Auditions"	January 13, 2009	2	15.8 / 23	11.7 / 28	30.424
2	"Kansas City Auditions"	January 14, 2009	3	16.4 / 25	11.8 / 30	30.322
3	"San Francisco Auditions"	January 20, 2009	2	12.1 / 18	9.0 / 22	22.773
4	"Louisville Auditions"	January 21, 2009	1	14.3 / 22	9.8 / 24	25.897
5	"Jacksonville Auditions"	January 27, 2009	4	13.7 / 20	9.6 / 24	25.539
6	"Salt Lake City Auditions"	January 28, 2009	3	15.0 / 23	10.1 / 25	27.364
7	"New York & San Juan Auditions"	January 29, 2009	5	13.6 / 21	9.3 / 25	24.613
8	"Hollywood Round, Part 1"	February 3, 2009	1	14.7 / 22	10.0 / 25	26.601
9	"Hollywood Round, Part 2"	February 4, 2009	2	14.8 / 23	9.9 / 27	26.384
10	"Hollywood Round, Part 3"	February 10, 2009	2	13.9 / 21	9.2	24.941
11	"Hollywood Round, Part 4"	February 11, 2009	1	14.0 / 22	9.5	24.825
12	"Group 1 Semi-finalists Perform"	February 17, 2009	2	14.3 / 21	9.6	25.374
13	"Group 1 Results Show"	February 18, 2009	3	14.1 / 22	9.0 / 24	24.790
14	"Group 2 Semi-finalists Perform"	February 25, 2009	1	13.8 / 21	9.1	24.541
15	"Group 2 Results Show"	February 26, 2009	2	11.9 / 19	7.1 / 19	20.889
16	"Group 3 Semi-finalists Perform"	March 3, 2009	1	13.8 / 21	9.0	24.309
17	"Group 3 Results Show"	March 4, 2009	2	13.1 / 21	7.8 / 22	22.776
18	"Wild Card Round"	March 5, 2009	3	12.2 / 19	7.6 / 20	21.498
19	"Top 13 Perform"	March 10, 2009	1	14.6 / 23	9.5	25.767
20	"Top 13 Results""	March 11, 2009	2	14.6 / 22	9.1 / 22	25.547
21	"Top 11 Perform"	March 17, 2009	2	12.3 / 19	8.1 / 21	21.886
22	"Top 11 Results"	March 18, 2009	1	13.7 / 21	8.7	23.705
23	"Top 10 Perform"	March 25, 2009	1	14.7 / 23	9.3	26.025
24	"Top 10 Results"	March 26, 2009	2	13.2 / 21	7.7	23.102
25	"Top 9 Perform"	March 31, 2009	1	13.7 / 21	8.9	24.410
26	"Top 9 Results"	April 1, 2009	2	14.2 / 22	8.4 / 20	24.342
27	"Top 8 Perform"	April 7, 2009	2	13.1 / 21	8.1 / 22	22.813
28	"Top 8 Results"	April 8, 2009	1	13.4 / 21	8.0 / 20	22.976
29	"Top 7 Perform"	April 14, 2009	1	13.8 / 21	8.2 / 23	24.378
30	"Top 7 Results"	April 15, 2009	2	14.0 / 22	8.0 / 20	24.114
31	"Top 7 Redux"	April 21, 2009	1	13.9 / 22	8.2	23.963
32	"Top 7 Redux Results"	April 22, 2009	2	14.0 / 22	8.3	23.947
33	"Top 5 Perform"	April 28, 2009	1	13.5 / 21	8.1	23.261
34	"Top 5 Results"	April 29, 2009	2	13.2 / 20	7.7 / 19	22.369
35	"Top 4 Perform"	May 5, 2009	1	13.4 / 21	8.3	23.414
36	"Top 4 Results"	May 6, 2009	2	13.7 / 21	8.3 / 20	23.574
37	"Top 3 Perform"	May 12, 2009	2	13.0 / 22	8.0	22.712
38	"Top 3 Results"	May 13, 2009	1	14.0 / 21	8.7 / 21	24.670
39	"Top 2 Perform"	May 19, 2009	2	13.5 / 21	8.6	23.822
40	"Season 8 Finale"	May 20, 2009	1	16.1 / 27	10.0	28.838

|}

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