Kris Allen
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Wow. Just... wow!

Perhaps we underestimated him, even as he reached the finals, but we were shocked by tonight's announcement:

Kris Allen is the new American Idol!

Allen overcame Adam Lambert in the final pairing, as Kris' recent renditions of "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Heartless" likely propeled him to victory.

But enough from us. Were you happy with the outcome?

Click on the pics above to enlarge photos of the season eight American Idol champion.

Sorry, Danny Gokey fans.

But next week's American Idol finale simply has to come down to Kris Allen versus Adam Lambert.

Gokey was solid on his two songs this week - "“Dance Little Sister" and "You Are So Beautiful" - but he doesn't blow us away at this point.

Lambert, conversely, was his usual, amazing self on "One" and "Cryin," as Kara summed it up simply with her assessment: "We'll see you at the finals."

As for Allen... wow! The following rendition of "Heartless" was easily our favorite non-Lambert performance of the season:

Look, we could praise Adam Lambert after every single audition this season.

The singer is as talented and as original as any singer in the history of American Idol.

For the sake of not boring our readers, though, we're simply gonna acknowledge another terrific performance by Lambert last night for his rendition of "Play That Funky Music" and move on to the other top crooner of the week:

Kris Allen.

While Danny Gokey and Allison Iraheta were also solid, Allen's arragement of "Ain't No Sunshine" was easily his best of the season. Watch it for yourself:

Who was your favorite this week?

Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta and Kris Allen are officially American Idol finalists. Congrats to the trio!

Here are excerpts of interviews each singer gave this week to TV Guide:

Adam Lambert on...

... his first musical theater role: "It was a production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. I was 10 years old, and I played Linus. It was downtown San Diego, and it was pretty wild!"

... fear of country music: "Range-wise, there isn't anything I'd be scared to attempt. But as for styles, country week would be a stretch for me."

Allison Iraheta on...

... American Idol aspirations: "I've been wanting to audition since [age] 9! I had my face against the TV screen, wishing I was on the show."

... Simon's critiques: "He doesn't know me. He says I'm boring, but honestly I'm not. I'll just chill a little bit more because the nerves got to me a little [this week]."

Kris Allen on...

... a theme he'd embrace: "Doing The Beatles would be so amazing. I feel like you can do a lot with their songs. That would be the coolest thing ever."

... tackling Michael Jackson: "I decided on ["Man in the Mirror"] a while back, so it was a little scary. But I was really confident in what I was dong. I was just happy I didn't get any compared to him."

Six down, six to go.

Three more finalists were named on American Idol last night, as Allison Iraheta, Adam Lambert and Kris Allen received the most viewer votes.

Who is your favorite new finalist?

They join the first trio of singers to move on to the show's round of 12: Danny Gokey, Alexis Grace and Michael Sarver.

Next Tuesday, a dozen more semifinalists will compete for three spots in the competition's final round.

After they have been chosen, the judges will pick the last three finalists after a special wild card round.