Taylor Hicks Wins 'American Idol'

Alabama Soul Singer Beats California Beauty Katharine McPhee

(CBS)  Songwriting legend Burt Bacharach sat at the grand piano to accompany all the finalists in a medley of his classics including "I Say A Little Prayer," "What's New Pussycat?" and "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head."

3At the end of the medley, Bacharach's muse and one of the greatest interpreters of his music, Dionne Warwick, took the stage to sing her hit "Walk On By."

At that point Taylor and Kat came out to sing "That's What Friends Are For" with Warwick and the rest of the finalists.

But it would still be another thirty minutes before the winner was announced.

Taylor and Kat came back to sing a duet of "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life" from the movie "Dirty Dancing," which no doubt summed up their experience on the show.

Then, after the performance by Prince, Taylor learned that he would be this year's American Idol. In addition to the title, Taylor will get a record deal with Sony BMG.

Taylor was speechless at first, but after hugging Kat he managed to shout out his trademark phrase, "Soul Patrol!" and pump his fist in the air as he was cheered on by fans in Birmingham, Alabama, on the giant screen behind him.

Taylor closed out the evening by performing his upcoming single "Do I Make You Proud?"

More than 63.4 million votes were tallied after Tuesday night's performance show, according to "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest.

4During the one hour episode, Kat and Taylor sang three songs, including the songs chosen to be their debut singles.

Katharine is 22, beautiful, young, and has a powerful voice — all of which fit the image of a typical pop idol.

Throughout the contest, her weakness was oversinging her songs. Each judge in his or her own way tried to get her to tone down the wailing.

The most successful was Simon Cowell. The cranky British judge chose the 1939 classic "Over The Rainbow" for Kat to sing on May 16. Sitting on the stage, Kat sang the song gently, with feeling, and no screeching, much to the delight of the audiences — and Simon.

Tuesday night Kat sang, in order, KT Tunstall's "Black Horse in a Cherry Tree," "Over the Rainbow," and her new song, "My Destiny."

Taylor is a 29-year-old veteran of the nightclub scene who also plays a mean harmonica. He entered the competition as something of a goofy novelty.

Despite his loose-legged dance moves and an "aw shucks!" attitude, Hicks won over fans and judges with consistently solid vocal performances and an ability to command the stage like a veteran showman.

In the final competition episode, Taylor sang Stevie Wonder's "Livin' For The City," Elton John's "Levon" and his single, "Do I Make You Proud?"

According to Simon, Taylor "slaughtered" Kat in Round 1, but Kat managed to even the score in Round 2.

Following Round 3, Simon called Kat a "great potential artist," but after Taylor performed Simon said, "Assuming that I was right that the show was tied, then you've just won 'American Idol.'"

Of course, Ryan Seacrest took that as an opportunity to remind the audience that Simon turned Taylor down during the audition phase of the contest. Taylor made it into the contest because judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul voted him in.

Simon got the last laugh. Even though he's not in need of any ego-boosting, he correctly predicted Taylor Hicks would win the contest.