It’s been a week now since Lee DeWyze was crowned the winner of American Idol Season 9, and we still can’t get out of our head how happy and pure of full joy the former paint salesman looked upon hearing Ryan Seacrest announce his name. Lee’s unrestrained reaction was everything we wanted in an emotional, cathartic TV-viewing experience. But how does his winning moment stack up against Idols past?
We’re jumping back in time to rate the reactions of all nine Idol champs upon discovering they were the next American Idol. Points will be awarded to each victorious contestant depending on a) how many tears were shed, b) their inability to form a coherent thought, and c) how much they acknowledged the runner-up standing beside them. (Selflessness counts!) Jump below to find out whose winning moment still makes us cry, and which Idol champion could barely crack a smile after winning the biggest reality competition in the world.
Kris Allen – Season 8 (at 1:15)
Crying Factor: 0. Not one freakin’ tear! And besides the brief O-face Kris made at hearing his name called out, the man acts like he just found an extra beer in the fridge when he thought they were all out. Dude, you just won American Idol, and barely anybody thought you would. Would it have killed you to look excited?!
Acknowledging Runner-Up: 5. Adam hugs and shakes Kris, who just stands there like a log.
Inability To Speak Clearly: 8. At least Kris is so speechless, he can barely say anything.
Overall Score: 13
Jordin Sparks – Season 6
Crying Factor: 4. She sheds a few tears, but she mostly pulls together. Boring!
Acknowledging Runner-Up: 6. Jordin holds onto Blake for dear life as he bounces her up and down.
Inability To Speak Clearly: 4. She’s incredibly well-composed the whole time and manages to speak clearly. For a 17-year old, she’s keeping things very mature and professional. But where’s the blubbering?!
Overall Score: 14
Ruben Studdard – Season 2
Crying Factor: 3. Unlike Kris, we can tell Ruben is definitely happy to win the competition. It’s just that he is so calm and dumbfounded that makes us feel jilted out of a perfect Idol Winner’s moment.
Acknowledging Runner-Up: 7. He gives Clay one big, albeit calm, bear hug.
Inability To Speak Clearly: 7. Besides “thank you,” Ruben barely says a word.
Overall Score: 17
Kelly Clarkson – Season 1
Crying Factor: 6. She says she’s crying, but we can barely see a wet spot on her smiley face… until she starts singing. Here come the waterworks!
Acknowledging Runner-Up: 6. Justin and Kelly embrace for awhile, probably sharing their grief at now having to make From Justin to Kelly.
Inability To Speak Clearly: 5. Kelly gives a cute little squeak, proving how speechless she really is.
Overall Score: 19
Taylor Hicks – Season 5 ( at 1:14)
Crying Factor: 6. Taylor doubles over in tears at hearing his name.
Acknowledging Runner-Up: 5. He gives Katharine a brief hug before going back into his patented “woo!”-ing, then takes her hand once again so the audience can applaud her.
Inability To Speak Clearly: 9. He can’t get anything out besides screaming “SOUL PATROOOOL!!!”
Overall Score: 20
Lee DeWyze – Season 9
Crying Factor: 8. He immediately doubles over and scrambles all over the stage in tears.
Acknowledging Runner-Up: 3. Lee lets Crystal hang there while he’s off in his own world, freaking out.
Inability To Speak Clearly: 10. Lee is ramblin’ like a river, not finishing any of his sentences. That’s how we like it! A real, raw emotional moment.
Overall Score: 21
Carrie Underwood – Season 4 (at 2:20)
Crying Factor: 7. Carrie immediately starts sobbing, right on cue!
Acknowledging Runner-Up: 6. Her and Bo embrace… and then everyone else swarms the country singer for a hug.
Inability To Speak Clearly: 9. Carrie can’t get anything out except “thank you” through her happy weeping.
Overall Score: 22
David Cook – Season 7 (at :36)
Crying Factor: 9. It starts off slow and reserved, but as the applause goes on, Cook breaks down and can barely face front he’s so emotional.
Acknowledging Runner-Up: 8. The first thing Cook does is give Archie a long, brotherly hug.
Inability To Speak Clearly: 8. He starts off like he’s going to make a well thought-out speech, but as soon as he sees his mom standing beside him, he can’t get any words out.
Overall Score: 25
Fantasia Barrino – Season 3 (2:30)
Crying Factor: 10. Fantasia looks like she is crying even before hearing her name called. And then she explodes in sobs! We’re seriously tearing up just rewatching this.
Acknowledging Runner-Up: 10. The woman looks like she’s going to faint on top of Diana DeGarmo.
Inability To Speak Clearly: 10. The first words out of her mouth after thanking her fans? “I broke my shoe!” Perfect, nonsensical blubbering.
Overall Score: 30. Everything an American Idol Winner moment should be.
Think one of these Idol winners should have been rated higher? And is it possible for any contestant in Idol‘s future to ever beat Fantasia’s spectacular tear-jerking victory sob? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
Ill give it to Rubben Studdard on this one because that was probably thee most climatic finale to date it was two odd balls- vocally & visually – in the final two with two very different sounds and personalties going toe to toe and he was the victor very nice and genuinely humbling display.
-Post Idol- Fantasia, When shes not coming across as a hot mess she seems like a real sweet girl.
Wait, I distinctly remember Lee saying “Crystal, I love you!” and running to her for a big hug. How does that not count?
I think Kris saying, “Adam deserves this…” should give him a ten when it comes to acknowledging the runner-up. And, he did cry when he got the trophy, but he wiped it away…
I forgot… Kris said later that the first thing he thought of when they announced his name was that he was going to have to sing “No Boundaries” again. No wonder he didn’t look excited. He should at least get some sympathy points for that!!
Haha, VERY good point. He was probably filled with dread.
David Cook winning is #1 for me. He’s so emotional, and when he says it’s all his brother’s fault, so sweet!
Really shocked you didn’t give Kris Allen a 10 for saying ‘Adam deserves this’. What greater acknowledgment of the runner-up could there be? He also recognized all of the Top 10 as well as the viewers. I see best friends Adam and Kris hugging each other in that clip. Yep, that rates a 0.
Crying? The man had already stated in his hometown visit he’s not a crier. Yet, he tears up and wipes it away just before having to sing that godawful song.
Oh, forgot to mention that I’d give the advantage to David Cook over Fantasia Barrino … but it would be close.
Oh, Cook totally had the “winningest” moment all around. So emotional. Hugging Archie, then saying, “Give it up for David Archuleta!” Then the family, then singing Time of My Life exuding total passion and pure joy, hugging everyone he touched, full mouth laugh as confetti falls, then closing creds with his brother tearfully mouthing “That’s my brother.” Man, oh man, that’s great TV right there. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer, more talented guy either. :-)
Kris’s winning moment was the worst one of all the seasons and I could never watch it again. Kris is a nice guy but Adam was season 8 and, as Kris said, he deserved it.
Kris should have the highest ranking of all the past winners for acknowledging his runner-up. He essentially said he shouldn’t have won, that Adam deserved it. Speaking later, he managed to say that they both deserved it, but in the moment, he gave Adam full recognition and co-winner status.
I would also increase Lee’s ranking for acknowledging his runner-up, because when he was done stumbling around the stage and started talking, he did tell Crystal that he loved her (which could increase his incoherence ranking too, if he wasn’t already at the full 10!)
Yeah he did that!! It was really sweet I think he should get like a 9 or 10 there
The David Cook winning moment was one of the all time greatest tv moments ever. The way his head fell back when his name was announced, immediately turning his attention to Archie, hugging him, his hand over his face, bending at the waist while shaking with sobs, turning and walking to the back of the stage with his fist clinched in his mouth, trying to hold it in, then bending forward again, finally coming up with a smile, wiping his eyes, all while the audience hooped and hollered and roared like I’ve never heard before. Then he tries to speak, cannot, then starts a little thank you speech, his mom and brother join him, he makes that little moan. He summons all the idols to the stage to stand with him and knocks that song out of the park as the sparks fall over him hugging Archie. Finally Michael Johns, his best friend whispers something to him as he laughs while the camera spans the beautiful other idols. And finally his brother mouths tearfully “that’s my brother”. WOW, it just does not get better than that!
Archie recently said on a blog tha,t when David hugged him after the announcement, he whispered in his ear “I love you Bud”. Just thought I would add this. Of course, no one heard it at the time.
David Cook for the win, and then Kelly and Carrie. I wouldn’t put Kris at the bottom – his look of shock is definitely most memorable.
Best part was watching Ryan’s hair change over the years
Awww.. David Cook! I love this guy!
LOL, I love this. This is a totally different and fun kind of ranking for Idols, and rather emotional because it brought back how I felt when Cook won. I was really pulling for him. One can’t get annoyed at these rankings if one understands that your own personal attachment to your favorite idol is going to dictate your reaction. So for me, not only was Cooks win the best Idol moment, it was one of my favorite TV moments in recent memory, period (just like Catherine Ann Hale – hi Cathy!). That said, I wasn’t watching when Fantasia won and when you look at the clips, you can see how she would be ranked at the top. Both showed tremendous humility. Thanks for posting all of this. It’s fun to relive the moments that changed these young singers’ lives forever.
I agree about Kris. I think it was pure shock. He simply could not believe that Adam didn’t win. I honestly think he thought he heard wrong for a second, or that they made a mistake. He almost had a “What? no way!” look about him. But for emotion and fan investment, I don’t know that he should be much higher on the list. I still think people voted “against” Adam more than they voted “for” Kris. Ironically, Kris has turned out to be a wonderufl AI champ (not talking album sales or stats – talking how he conducts himself and the quality of his post-Idol work & commitment).
Agree… The first words that came out of Kris’ mouth was acknowledging the runner up !
re: acknowledging the runner-up
First think Cook does is hug Archie, then proceeds to clap for him and says “give it up for David Archuleta” while continuing to clap– if that didn’t get a 10 nothing should lol
Clearly, Cook’s winning moment is my absolute favorite and I still can’t watch it without tearing up lol. Later I found out his now deceased brother, Adam, was up in the stands and you can see Cook look up towards the area while singing, very poignant moment. Wish a longer video was posted, now will just have to go search YT.
David Cook’s winning moment gets me every single time. First and foremost, turning and hugging David Archuleta, then clapping for him, AND THEN, breaking down and crying. Also, having all the other contestants around him as he sang the coronation song. The look of absolute joy on his face was really moving. And, of course, his brother Andrew saying ‘That’s my Brother’, to the camera.
Absolutely the #1 finale for me.
Seems some of these rankings are a bit off. Yes, David Cook’s was the best! What a TV moment that was! Kris deserves a higher rating. Clay already told Ruben he thought he won, so Ruben’s seems too high. But it is good to have these memories. I hope next year will be a good one.
KELLY, KELLY, KELLY, gets me every time. There’s nothing like the first time.
Agree!!
No contest – David Cook, Season 7 finale…
I still have the finale recorded…he is a truly good guy and is still very humble and loyal to his fans…can’t wait to see what his “sophomore” album is like…
Still, David Cook’s winning moment! First of all, Archie was hard to beat but he made it through, thanks God that his talent got in the way. I think he was the first idol winner who, not only acknowledged his runner up but he also insisted on calling the other contestants to share the stage with him. I am still in tears everytime I watch this.
This is worse than Betty White on her wedd night.