When the dust had settled, it was 17 year old Jordin Sparks of Glendale, AZ who was named the winner of season six of American Idol.
A record total of 74 million votes were cast. On the finale show, all the previous Idol winners performed (except for Fantasia who was appearing on Broadway). The winning song of the songwriting competition, "This Is My Now", was better suited to Jordin than to Blake.
Initial auditions were held in Los Angeles, San Antonio, New Jersey, Alabama, Memphis, Minneapolis, and Seattle. The usual cast of characters returned including judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, and Paula Abdul - with host Ryan Seacrest.
Voted out of the final 12:
Blake Lewis - 25 yrs old from Bothell, WA
Melinda Doolittle - 29 yrs old from Brentwood, TN
Lakisha Jones - 27 yrs old from Fort Meade, MD
Chris Richardson - 22 yrs old from Chesapeake, VA
Phil Stacey - 29 yrs old from Jacksonville, FL
Sanjaya Malakar - 17 yrs old from Federal Way, WA
Haley Scarnato - 24 yrs old from San Antonio, TX
Gina Glocksen - 22 yrs old from Naperville, IL
Chris Sligh - 28 yrs old from Greenville, SC
Stephanie Edwards - 19 yrs old from Savannah, GA
Brandon Rogers - 28 yrs old from North Hollywood, CA
The contestants who received the lowest vote totals after the third round were:
Jared Cotter - 25 yrs old from Kew Gardens, NY
Antonella Barba - 20 yrs old from Point Pleasant, NJ
Sabrina Sloan - 27 yrs old from Studio City, CA
Sundance Head - 28 yrs old from Porter, TX
The contestants who received the lowest vote totals after the second round were:
Alaina Alexander - 24 yrs old from West Hollywood, CA
AJ Tabaldo - 22 yrs old from Santa Maria, CA
Nicholas Pedro - 25 yrs old from Taunton, MA
Leslie Hunt - 24 yrs old from Chicago, IL
The contestants who received the lowest vote totals in the first round were:
Nicole Tranquillo - 20 yrs old from Philadelphia, PA
Paul Kim - 25 yrs old from Saratoga, CA
Rudy Cardenas - 28 yrs old from North Hollywood, CA