‘American Idol’ Winners’ Victory Faces: Caught in a ‘Moment Like This’
If American Idol ever made you believe, helped you fly without wings or managed to work its way inside your heaven, it's time to say your goodbyes — by this time next week, the affected light-dimming and obligatory Ford commercials will be history. Seacrest (is almost totally) out.
After fourteen years, hundreds of finalists and short list of champions, Idol will round out its complete list of winners this week (presumably with an inferior of three choices, but we digress...).
So how will Dalton Rapattoni, La’Porsha Renae or Trent Harmon handle the win? If history is any indication, there's some real emotion to come...unless this year's pick takes after Taylor Hicks, who delivered a single "woo!" upon his crowning in 2006.
Between a smiley champion Kelly Clarkson in 2002 and an incredulous Queen Candice Glover in 2013, and from Fantasia Barrino's off-the-cuff "I broke my shoe!" in 2004 to David Cook's over-rehearsed "I started this season as the word nerd, and I'm absolutely at a loss for words right now" in 2008, the show's victories have offered fans some truly unforgettable moments. In the gallery above, we've freeze-framed each winning moment, so that you can get lost in a series of moments like this (editor's note: you're gonna need to square off a few minutes to truly appreciate Carrie Underwood's disbelief).
Check out the complete collection of still-framed Idol wins — from the very first confetti-drop to the most recent — above, and be sure to tune in to the three-night finale starting tonight (April 5) at 8 PM EST on FOX.
Look Back at 10 Defining American Idol Season 1 Moments: