Kris Allen beat hot favourite Adam Lambert to win the title of “American Idol” on Wednesday, causing yet another “Idol” upset.

“I’m sorry, I don’t even know what to feel right now. This is crazy,” said a stunned Allen.

“Idol” judges made it clear who they thought would win the competition this year after the final performance show, and that may have been what put the heartthrob over the top on Wednesday.

Host Ryan Seacrest said more than 100 million votes were cast after Tuesday’s singing showdown between Lambert and Allen. A record-setting 624 million votes were cast over the season.

Allen, 23, was off to a good start on Tuesday, reprising his rendition of “Ain’t No Sunshine” on piano.

The married college student from Conway, Arkansas, felt that that was his best performance that evening, and so did “Idol” judge Simon Cowell, who declared Allen the “winner” of the first round.

However, 27-year-old Lambert fought back in Round 2 with a strong performance of the Sam Cooke classic “A Change Is Gonna Come”, which flaunted his vocal range and theatrical delivery. Allen, on the other hand, played it safe with “What’s Going On”. Cowell felt that Allen’s performance was too “laid back for a night like this”. Round 2 went to Lambert.

In the third and final round, Allen struggled to stay in tune on “No Boundaries,” a new ballad co-written by fourth “Idol” judge, Kara DioGuardi, while the flamboyant Lambert capably rose to the high notes.

Though Cowell made no declaration of a winner for the final round, the judges were visibly deflated following Allen’s performance.

Last year, Cowell declared David Archuleta’s finale performance as a “knockout” over David Cook but the rocker eventually won the title by more than 12 million votes.

Related posts:

1. Adam Lambert’s ‘One’ is ‘brilliant’ for Simon on ‘American Idol’ Adam Lambert up next on “American Idol”, singing for his...
2. Hady is handy for the return of Idol-mania The success of “Singapore Idol” can only be spelt in...
3. A Big Ding-Dong In The Offing American Idol Season 8 Top 03 Last week, we had...
4. Poor Kelly Poon in tears as she gets insulted by harsh Taiwan judges Are overseas judges too harsh, wonders STOMPer Stefanie. In...
5. Susan Boyle in Japan for NYE music gala Susan Boyle, the Scottish singer whose talent show performance catapulted...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.