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The eighth season of American Idol premiered on Tuesday, January 13, 2009, and concluded on May 20, 2009. Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson returned as judges, while Ryan Seacrest returned as host. This season introduced Kara DioGuardi as a permanent fourth judge. This was also Paula Abdul's last season as a judge. Kris Allen was announced the winner of the competition on May 20, 2009, defeating runner-up Adam Lambert after nearly 100 million votes were cast. The eighth season saw numerous changes to the format of the show. There were 36 semifinalists instead of 24, and thirteen finalists instead of twelve: nine contestants chosen by the public and four by the judges in a Wild Card round. Another addition was the "judges' save," which allowed the judges to veto one elimination during the competition, and was used to veto Matt Giraud's elimination. Multiple contestants from this season were signed to record deals, including Kris Allen, Adam Lambert, Danny Gokey, Allison Iraheta, Lil Rounds, Anoop Desai, and Michael Sarver. Changes from previous seasons Several changes were planned for the eighth season. Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly stated that Idol would feature fewer "William Hung-like" contestants and "funny auditions," and would quickly move its focus to the potential singers during the earlier stages of the competition, thus moving the season at a faster pace. Mike Darnell, president of Fox's alternative programming, said the contestants would be more emotional and that viewers would learn more about them and their pasts than they had in the previous season. Songwriter and record producer Kara DioGuardi was added as a permanent fourth judge. She had previously collaborated with Celine Dion, Hilary Duff, Britney Spears, Enrique Iglesias, Leona Lewis and Christina Aguilera, and produced several Top 40 hits. As a songwriter, she had already worked with several American Idol alumni and winners, including Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, David Archuleta, and David Cook. Meanwhile, Ken Warwick became the new executive producer, as Nigel Lythgoe had left the show to focus on So You Think You Can Dance and his new show with Simon Fuller, Superstars of Dance. Idol Gives Back was canceled for the eighth season, as the economic crisis and recession left Idol officials uncomfortable about asking financially struggling viewers to donate. The semifinals saw the biggest change as the Wild Card round returned for the first time since the third season. After voters picked three finalists from each of three groups of 12 semifinalists, the judges selected eight of the previously eliminated 27 semifinalists to return and perform on the March 5 show. They were judged by the panel, instead of a vote by the viewers, with four advancing to the finals. Although the finals had been billed from the beginning of the season as a set of 12 contestants, the judges announced at the last minute that they would be advancing a fourth Wild Card contestant, resulting in 13 singers advancing to the finals. Judges' save Another change to the Idol format was the judges' save, an element previously used in France's Nouvelle Star. The judges were given the power to veto one elimination in the finals for that particular week. This could only be used until the top 5. The following week, two contestants would be eliminated if the judges' save were used. The save could only be used once per season and must be a unanimous decision. The new format change was revealed on March 11, 2009. The first recipient of the judges' save was Matt Giraud. Regional auditions Auditions began July 17, 2008, and were held in the following cities: Contestants were required to be between the ages of 16 and 28 on July 15, 2008, and eligible to work in the United States. Those ineligible included former contestants who had previously reached the semifinals of the first through third seasons, or the last phase of the Hollywood round of the fourth through seventh seasons, those holding recording or management contracts, or those who were not U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Hollywood week The Hollywood round moved from the Orpheum Theatre to the Kodak Theatre, which had previously been used for the finales in the first and third through sixth seasons. In the first round, the 147 contestants each sang a short solo a cappella performance of any song. The next round had the remaining 107 contestants performing in groups of three or four. The 72 contestants who survived that round performed one more solo song, this time accompanied by a band, before being narrowed down to 54. The final 54 then went to the "judges' mansion" in Los Angeles for the final results, and the top 36 were announced. Some contestants had a sing-off to determine who would enter the top 36. Semifinals The 36 contestants performed in three groups of twelve and sang songs that were Billboard Hot 100 hits. In each group, three people advanced to the next round via a public vote. After nine contestants had been chosen, the judges selected eight of the remaining 27 semifinalists to compete in the Wild Card round. Following another performance by each contender, each judge selected one contestant to advance to the final group of 13. Color key: Group 1 Contestants are listed in the order they performed. Group 2 Due to President Obama's 2009 speech to a joint session of Congress that took place on Tuesday, February 24, the performance show was moved to Wednesday, February 25, and the results show to Thursday, February 26. Contestants are listed in the order they performed. Group 3 Contestants are listed in the order they performed. Wild Card round Contestants are listed in the order they performed. Top 13 finalists Kris Allen (born June 21, 1985, in Jacksonville, Arkansas; 23 years old at the time of the show) was from Conway, Arkansas, and auditioned in Louisville with Leon Russell's "A Song for You." Adam Lambert (born January 29, 1982, in Indianapolis, Indiana; 26 years old at the time of the show) was from San Diego, California, and auditioned in San Francisco with Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." Danny Gokey (born April 24, 1980; 28 years old at the time of the show) was from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and auditioned in Kansas City. Allison Iraheta (born April 27, 1992, in Glendale, California; 16 years old at the time of the show) was from Los Angeles, California, and auditioned in San Francisco. Matt Giraud (born May 11, 1985, in Dearborn, Michigan; 23 years old at the time of the show) was from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and auditioned in Louisville with Gavin DeGraw's "I Don't Want to Be." Anoop Desai (born December 20, 1986, in Cary, North Carolina; 22 years old at the time of the show) was from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and auditioned in Kansas City. Lil Rounds (born October 20, 1984; 24 years old at the time of the show) was from Memphis, Tennessee, and auditioned in Kansas City with Stevie Wonder's "All I Do." Her p.... Discover the Mj Demarco popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Mj Demarco books.