It came down to 17-year-old, Jordin Sparks, and the beat-boxing, highlighted wonder, Blake Lewis, Wednesday night. But it was a triumph of voice over entertainment, as Sparks delivered performances that bested those of Lewis, which included more of his beat-boxing and dancing. Although, these days, losing on American Idol doesn't seem to have hurt the career of anyone who's managed to stick it out long enough to be get some irons in the fire. Unlike this guy.

The finale was probably the splashiest ever, featuring performances by past Idol winners, Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson, as well as a slew of guest musical performances by Smokey Robinson, Tony Bennett, Green Day, Gwen Stefani and Bette Midler.

In any case, congrats to both finalists, who is the youngest Idol yet in the show's history, and to Idol itself, which garnered a record 74 million votes for this season's finale.

Photos of the winner are after the jump.

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