After fifteen seasons, American Idol has come to an end. This past Thursday (April 7th), American Idol crowned its final winner: Trent Harmon. With a two plus hour series finale that included several performances from previous years’ winners, the classic singing competition show reached its end.

After over a decade and a half on air, American Idol has featured some of the most talented musicians and stars that have graced the music industry. The finale focused not just on this season’s winner but rather celebrated the show’s immense and extensive history. The farewell show kicked off with a message from President Barack Obama, who used the opportunity to talk about the importance of voting. He stated that “I believe it should be almost as easy as voting for American Idol, and we’re working on that.” Then, the first performance of the night came from the farewell season’s Top 10, who sang “One Voice” by Barry Manilow. Over the course of the song, they were gradually joined by past Idol winners and contestants, including Kellie Pickler, Taylor Hicks, Katharine McPhee, Constantine Maroulis, and others. Host Ryan Seacrest then walked out onto the stage for the final time and was shortly joined by Brian Dunkleman, who co-hosted the first season of the show alongside Seacrest.

The second performance of the night came from the two finalists: La’Porsha Renae and Trent Harmon, who performed a duet of “It Takes Two” by Marvin Gaye. This was a tribute to Idol’s first season, where finalists Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini performed the same duet. The rest of the night continued the trend of performances by past American Idol contestants and winners and also included throwbacks and tributes to recount the many  memories from the past seasons. One of the night’s top performances was when Keith Urban came to the stage with the special guest they’ve been teasing all week: season four winner Carrie Underwood. They performed “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” a single on Urban’s upcoming album. Previous judges, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, and Simon Cowell also took the stage to say their goodbye messages and thank the fans for their constant support throughout the years.

After many memorable performances and memories throughout the many seasons, American Idol may just yet make a return in the future. Senior Darshan Patel (12) stated that “I loved watching American Idol, I’m sad to see it end.” Idol can claim credit for producing some of the unbelievable talents that we all hear on the radio, and this has truly been one of the most unbelievable TV shows.