America has its sixth "American Idol," and its first from Arizona.
Glendale's Jordin Sparks was chosen Wednesday night as the winner of the sixth season of Fox's mega-popular "American Idol" singing competition.
At 17, Sparks is also the youngest victor in the reality show's history.
At the tail end of a typically drawn-out final results show — with two hours of awkwardly eclectic performances ranging from legendary crooner Tony Bennett to '80s rapper Doug E. Fresh — show host Ryan Seacrest proclaimed that Sparks won more of Tuesday night's "world record" 74 million viewer votes than fellow finalist Blake Lewis.
"Thank you so much for everything," said a visibly jubilant Sparks, moments after her win. The daughter of retired professional football player Phillippi Sparks, she specifically thanked her parents.
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As is customary for "Idol" winners, she then launched into a vocal victory lap. The song was "This Is My Now," which was written for the two finalists to sing and will be Sparks' first commercially released single.
Her win was forecast by two-thirds of the show's judging panel. Randy Jackson and the famously critical Simon Cowell both picked Sparks, but the perennially genial Paula Abdul simply said she was "proud of both of them.
The three songs that Sparks sang on Tuesday night's final night of voting showed the kind of range that endeared her to viewers.
She went from contemporary pop/R&B with "Fighter," originally sung by Christina Aguilera, to "A Broken Wing" by country artist Martina McBride. Both finalists also sang "This is My Now."
Lewis, the runner-up, was considered by the show's judges to be the superior performer but inferior singer. His major hook was his "beatboxing" ability, which he used to his advantage in performances like "You Give Love A Bad Name" by Bon Jovi.
Perhaps the biggest story of "American Idol" this season wasn't either of the finalists, but the "so bad it's good" performances from seventh-place Sanjaya Malakar.
Along with the rest of the top 12 finalists, Malakar was back on Wednesday night, and performed "You Really Got Me" by the Kinks, accompanied by Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry.
Along with this season's top 12, four past winners of "American Idol" — Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Carrie Underwood and Taylor Hicks — performed on Wednesday's show. Season three winner Fantasia Barrino was otherwise occupied in the musical version of "The Color Purple" on Broadway.
Other performers included Bette Midler, Gwen Stefani and Green Day.
This win puts Arizona on the reality show map. Arizonans competed in USANetwork's "Nashville Star" and NBC's "The Apprentice" this year, but both were eliminated early. We've had folks on "Survivor" and "The Real World," but an "American Idol" winner is undoubtedly the crown reality-show TV jewel.
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