Lee DeWyze is the winner of American Idol! He beat front-runner Crystal Bowersox.
When asked by host Ryan Seacrest how he felt, Lee said, "I don’t know. It’s amazing, thank you, guys, so much … I love you. Crystal, I love you."
There was just a 2% voting gap between the final two contestants, Ryan said.
The finale also marked the last episode for judge Simon Cowell. Previous Idol winners and contestants united in song to pay tribute to Simon. Paula Abdul also showed up to honor her former costar.
Simon told the audience, "I didn’t think I was going to be this emotional and I genuinely am. … Everybody asks who’s going to replace me, who going to be the next judge. The truth is you guys are the judge of this show and you’ve done an incredible job over the years."
The finale also featured performances by Bret Michaels, Janet Jackson and Christina Aguilera.
