Editing American Idol (section)

====Season 8 (2009)====
{{Main|American Idol season 8{{!}}''American Idol'' season 8}}
[[File:Kris Allen in New York City.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Kris Allen]], the [[American Idol season 8|eighth season]] winner]]
The eighth season premiered on January 13, 2009. Ryan Seacrest returned as host, and Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, and Simon Cowell returned as judges. This season featured the first major change to the judging panel; a fourth judge, Kara DioGuardi, was introduced. [[Mike Darnell]], the president of alternative programming for Fox, stated that the season would focus more on the contestants' personal life.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hazlett |first=Courtney |date=August 18, 2010 |title='Idol's' emotional focus will highlight Abdul |work=Today.com |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/idols-emotional-focus-will-highlight-abdul-wbna28002633 |access-date=August 25, 2010}}</ref>

This was also the first season without executive producer [[Nigel Lythgoe]] who left to focus on the international versions of his show ''[[So You Think You Can Dance]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Nigel Lythgoe leaving 'American Idol' |url=https://ew.com/article/2008/08/06/nigel-lythgoe-leaving-american-idol/ |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=November 23, 2019}}</ref> The Hollywood round was moved to the Kodak Theatre for 2009 and was also extended to two weeks. ''Idol Gives Back'' was canceled for this season due to the [[Late-2000s recession|global recession]] at the time.

There were 13 finalists this season, but two were eliminated in the first result show of the finals. A new feature introduced was the "Judges' Save", and [[Matt Giraud]] was saved from elimination at the top seven by the judges when he received the fewest votes. The next week, [[Lil Rounds]] and [[Anoop Desai]] were eliminated.

The two finalists were [[Kris Allen]] and [[Adam Lambert]], both of whom had previously landed in the bottom three at the top five. Allen won the contest in the most controversial voting result since the second season. It was claimed,<ref>{{cite web |date=May 21, 2009 |title=Report: Kris Allen's home state cast 38&nbsp;million 'American Idol' votes |url=http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/report-kris-allen-home-state-cast-38-million-american-idol-votes-9015.php |access-date=February 24, 2011 |publisher=Realitytvworld.com}}</ref> and then later retracted,<ref>{{cite web |title=Conway reacts to Kris' win |url=http://www.fox16.com/news/local/story/Conway-reacts-to-Kris-win/sv8BNSsGY0G8GRZWSr0fRw.cspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711022202/http://www.fox16.com/news/local/story/Conway-reacts-to-Kris-win/sv8BNSsGY0G8GRZWSr0fRw.cspx |archive-date=July 11, 2011 |access-date=February 24, 2011 |publisher=Fox16.com}}</ref> that 38&nbsp;million of the 100&nbsp;million votes cast on the night came from Allen's home state of Arkansas alone, and that AT&T employees unfairly influenced the votes by giving lessons on power-texting at viewing parties in Arkansas.<ref name="textgate">{{cite news |last=Wyatt |first=Edward |date=May 27, 2009 |title="Idol" producers stand by outcome |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/business/media/28idol.html}}</ref>

Both Allen and Lambert released the coronation song, "[[No Boundaries (song)|No Boundaries]]" which was co-written by DioGuardi. This is the first season in which the winner failed to achieve gold album status.<ref>{{cite book |last=Barrie Gunter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jdkxBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA35 |title=I Want to Change My Life: Can Reality TV Competition Shows Trigger Lasting Career Success? |date=July 24, 2014 |isbn=9781443864749 |pages=34–35| publisher=Cambridge Scholars }}</ref>