LOS ANGELES — Arkansas resident Trent Harmon was named the 15th and final winner of American Idol, defeating La’Porsha Renae for the crown.
“I know that I have a God-given ability, but I didn’t want to take it for granted. I wanted to work so, so hard, and she pushed me to do it,” a tearful Harmon said of Renae, who stood poised and smiling by his side.
Along with the title, Harmon earns a record contract.
Harmon, 24, who described himself as just a “dude from Mississippi,” waited tables at his family’s restaurant in Amory before trying out for American Idol.
Harmon graduated from the University of Arkansas at Monticello and resides in Malvern. His girlfriend, Kathleen Couch, is an elementary-school teacher in Malvern. Several of her students, along with Harmon’s friends, attended a watch party Thursday night in the Hot Spring County town.
Renae, 22, of McComb, Miss., is a single mom who inspired viewers with her triumph over domestic abuse, as well as with a richly powerful voice.
American Idol, once a ratings powerhouse that influenced TV and music, had suffered steady audience erosion before Fox decided it would end this season.
Series executive producer Nigel Lythgoe promised the finale would celebrate its large ranks of contestants, not big-name guests as in previous years, and he stuck to that pledge.
The show opened with a harmonizing chorus of whiteclad winners and contenders including Scotty McCreery, Taylor Hicks and Diana De-Garmo.
Other familiar faces from years past popped up in solos and group numbers, including Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, David Cook, Fantasia, Ruben Studdard, Jordin Sparks and Kimberley Locke.
Judges got in on the act as well. Keith Urban and Underwood dueted, while Harry Connick Jr. saluted a music center in New Orleans’ Katrina-battered Ninth Ward by inviting a young student, Marley Fletcher, to join him on “It’s a Wonderful World.” Jennifer Lopez performed her new single.
Kelly Clarkson, who won the first Idol contest and now is expecting her second child soon, appeared in a pre-taped performance.
There was a brief nod to nostalgia, with clips from past auditions presided over by original judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson. Abdul and Jackson showed up to salute host Ryan Seacrest for his longevity.
President Barack Obama was the unexpected opening act. In apparently pre-taped remarks, Obama congratulated the show on its long run and noted that it motivated millions of young people to vote for contestants.
Then he made a pitch for Americans to demonstrate that same eagerness at the polls, calling voting the most fundamental and sacred rite of democracy. “I believe it should be almost as easy as voting on American Idol. And we’re working on that,” Obama said.