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"And the winner of American Idol&amp;apos;s ninth season is...\r\nLee DeWyze!\r\n&amp;quot;This is amazing!&amp;quot; DeWyze said once host Ryan Seacrest announced his name. &amp;quot;Thank you guys so much for everything... I can&amp;apos;t believe this... I&amp;apos;m so happy right now. I&amp;apos;ve never been happier in my life!&amp;quot;\r\nThe 24-year-old Mount Prospect, Ill. native bested fellow competitor Crystal Bowersox during Wednesday night&amp;apos;s live finale. Choking back tears of joy, he ended the evening by singing his debut single, &amp;quot;Beautiful Day.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nAfter being told he lacked confidence in his performance the previous night, DeWyze admitted to reporters it wasn&amp;apos;t easy singing in front of 7,000 people.\r\n&amp;quot;Throughout the season, the word &amp;apos;confidence&amp;apos; has come up with me a lot. I think looking confident and being confident are two different things for me,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;If I wasn&amp;apos;t confident, I wouldn&amp;apos;t be able to do this.&amp;quot;\r\nDespite the criticism, he remained optimistic. &amp;quot;Thinking about winning... I&amp;apos;m lying to you if I said I&amp;apos;m not,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;But what can you do? You put everything out there and hope for the best.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nAnd in the end, DeWyze&amp;apos;s positive attitude and stage presence managed to impress the toughest of the four judges, Simon Cowell.\r\n&amp;quot;If you&amp;apos;d of asked me [who should win] five or six weeks ago, 100 percent I would have said Crystal,&amp;quot; Cowell told Ellen DeGeneres earlier in the week. &amp;quot;But now I&amp;apos;ve changed my mind... he&amp;apos;s talented. He hasn&amp;apos;t had any real breaks in life and this has given him a shot and I like that.&amp;quot;\r\nThe night was also a milestone for Cowell, who is leaving Idol after eight years to become a producer and judge on the American version of The X Factor, set to debut in 2011.\r\n&amp;quot;I didn&amp;apos;t think I was going to be this emotional, but I genuinely am,&amp;quot; Cowell said as he joined past Idol contestants onstage. &amp;quot;The show will go forward, it&amp;apos;ll be different, but I just want to thank you for the support, the fun and... everyone, your sense of humor, thats what&amp;apos;s been the best part.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nAlso on hand to bid the acid-tongued Brit farewell? Former Idol judge Paula Abdul, who left the singing competition in Aug. 2009 after a much-publicized stall in contract negotiations.\r\n&amp;quot;I&amp;apos;ve worked with a lot of people over the years... but the truth is, none of them hold a candle to you, my friend,&amp;quot; Abdul said. &amp;quot;I&amp;apos;ve loved all the fun we&amp;apos;ve had together. I love all the laughter we shared together. American Idol is not going to be the same without you, but as only I can tell you: it will go on.&amp;quot;\r\nSeven former Idol winners -- including Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood -- paid tribute to Cowell when they performed the song &amp;quot;Together We Are One.&amp;quot; (Noticeably absent: season seven winner David Cook).\r\nThe two-hour finale also brought out a number of surprise collaborations from musicians such as Christina Aguilera, Alice Cooper, Janet Jackson, Alanis Morisette, Hall &amp;amp; Oates and others."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/spoiler-find-out-who-won-american-idol-2010265>