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…not season front-runner Adam Lambert, folks. It’s Kris Allen, whom AI judge Paula Abdul once called the dark horse.

After blowing away both judges and viewers week after week with his over-the-top performances on American Idol Season 8, guy-liner-wearing rocker Adam was outshone by boy-next-door crooner Kris in one of the most nerve-wracking Idol finals ever.

Even the newest Idol himself couldn’t believe he just bagged the title: “Adam deserves this,” he said. Considered the underdog, Kris won the majority of the record-breaking almost 100 million votes—showing that his endearing Idol style is still preferred by viewers over the extreme vocals of season favorite Adam.

But regardless of whom you were rooting for, we’re sure you enjoyed the finale extravaganza as much as we did, with its lineup of A-list performers wowing the crowd after each gap. There’s Black Eyed Peas, Queen Latifah, Carlos Santana, comedian Steve Martin, Jason Mraz, Nicole Kidman’s hubby Keith Urban (who did a duet with Kris of “Kiss a Girl”), Cyndi Lauper (who sang “Time After Time” with Allison Iraheta), Lionel Richie, Rod Stewart, and last season’s American Idol David Cook, among others.

Performances by rock greats Kiss (with Adam) and Queen (with Kris, Adam, and the rest of the Idol finalists singing “We Are the Champions”) also left the packed Nokia Theatre pumped up and awestruck.

Other scene-stealers of the two-hour show included the Golden Idol Awards, which were given to Nick Mitchell (Outstanding Male), Tatiana Del Toro (Outstanding Female), and bikini-clad Katrina Darrell (Best Attitude). Katrina’s showdown with Idol Judge Kara DioGuardi, who actually bared her own bikini-clad body at the end of the number, is one of the most memorable moments of this season’s finale.

The show closed with new American Idol Kris Allen singing the show’s victory song for 2009, “No Boundaries,” capping the arguably most exciting AI season we’ve ever witnessed. We all can’t wait till both Kris’ and Adam’s first records are out.

Here’s to more American Idol seasons like this one.

Photo courtesy of Greenwich, which allowed us to catch the show live via satellite at Greenbelt 3