Season #1 : Kelly Clarkson

Kelly defeated Justin Guarini to be the first ever American Idol. She performed the ballad A Moment Like This which appeared in her debut album, Thankful. The single was able to reach the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100. Here’s Kelly with her final Idol performance :

Season #2 : Ruben Studdard
He went up against Clay Aiken in the finals of American Idol season 2. I don’t know why, but it seems the people behind the show decided not to come up with an original song for the finalists that season. Ruben instead sung 3 songs that night : A House is not a Home by Luther Vandross, Imagine by John Lennon and Flying Without Wings by Westlife.

Season #3 : Fantasia Barrino
Fantasia’s winning piece is the original song I Believe which she and opponent, Diana DeGarmo, both sang during the finals. It later became her debut single and the song debuted at the number one spot of the Billboard Hot 100.

Season #4 : Carrie Underwood
I would have to say that Carrie is my favorite Idol winner. She defeated Bo Bice in the finals and went to become the first idol ever to sweep all three major music awards (American Music, Billboard and Grammy Award). This is her winning piece, Inside Your Heaven.

Season #5 : Taylor Hicks
In this season, winner Taylor Hicks went up against Katharine McPhee. He was 29 years old when he won the contest making him the oldest contestant to win the competition. This is his performance in the season finale with the song, Do I Make You Proud.

Season #6 : Jordin Sparks
Jordin is another one of my favorite idols. She won against Blake Lewis with the song This Is My Now. At 17, she’s the youngest contestant to win the contest. She is one of the idols who has managed to produce several hits, most notable of which are No Air, Tatoo, S.O.S. (Let the Music Play) and Battlefield.

Season #7 : David Cook
David VS David, this is the headline for the American Idol season 7 finale, where David Cook pitted against a fellow David, David Archuleta. His winning song is the single The Time of My Life which debuted at Billboard Number 3 spot.

Season #8 : Kris Allen
This is the season when Kara DioGuardi was introduced as the fourth judge for the competition. She later co-wrote the official song used for that season’s finale, No Boundaries. Both finalists, Kris and runner-up Adam Lambert, performed the song during the finals night.

So that’s it, the complete list of American Idol winners and their winning performance. Who’s gonna occupy the 9th slot? We’ll just have to wait and see.