American Idol: Season 7
7 - 42Winner AnnouncedMay. 21, 2008- 7 - 41Top 2 Finalists PerformMay. 20, 2008
- 7 - 401 of 3 Voted OffMay. 14, 2008
- 7 - 39Top 3 FinalistsMay. 13, 2008
- 7 - 381 of 4 Voted OffMay. 07, 2008
- 7 - 37Top 4 FinalistsMay. 06, 2008
- 7 - 361 of 5 Voted OffApr. 30, 2008
- 7 - 35Top 5 FinalistsApr. 29, 2008
- 7 - 341 of 6 Voted OffApr. 23, 2008
- 7 - 33Top 6 FinalistsApr. 22, 2008
- 7 - 321 of 7 Voted OffApr. 16, 2008
- 7 - 31Top 7 FinalistsApr. 15, 2008
- 7 - 301 of 8 Voted OffApr. 10, 2008
- 7 - 29Idol Gives BackApr. 09, 2008
- 7 - 28Top 8 FinalistsApr. 08, 2008
- 7 - 27Top 9 ResultsApr. 02, 2008
- 7 - 26Top 9 Finalists PerformApr. 01, 2008
- 7 - 25One Voted Off LiveMar. 26, 2008
- 7 - 24Top 10 Finalists PerformMar. 25, 2008
- 7 - 23Top 11 ResultsMar. 19, 2008
- 7 - 22Top 11 Finalists PerformMar. 18, 2008
- 7 - 21Top 12 ResultsMar. 12, 2008
- 7 - 20Top 12 Finalists PerformMar. 11, 2008
- 7 - 19Top 16 ResultsMar. 06, 2008
- 7 - 18Top 8 Girls CompeteMar. 05, 2008
- 7 - 17Top 8 Boys CompeteMar. 04, 2008
- 7 - 16Top 20 ResultsFeb. 28, 2008
- 7 - 15Top 10 Girls CompeteFeb. 27, 2008
- 7 - 14Top 10 Boys CompeteFeb. 26, 2008
- 7 - 13Top 24 ResultsFeb. 21, 2008
- 7 - 12Top 12 Girls CompeteFeb. 20, 2008
- 7 - 11The Top 12 Boys PerformFeb. 19, 2008
- 7 - 10Top 24 ChosenFeb. 13, 2008
- 7 - 9Hollywood RoundFeb. 12, 2008
- 7 - 8Best of the Rest AuditionsFeb. 16, 2008
- 7 - 7Atlanta AuditionsFeb. 05, 2008
- 7 - 6Miami AuditionsJan. 30, 2008
- 7 - 5Omaha AuditionsJan. 29, 2008
- 7 - 4Charleston AuditionsJan. 23, 2008
- 7 - 3San Diego AuditionsJan. 22, 2008
- 7 - 2Dallas AuditionsJan. 16, 2008
- 7 - 1Philadelphia AuditionsJan. 15, 2008
The seventh season of American Idol, the annual reality show and singing competition, began on January 15, 2008 and concluded on May 21, 2008. Ryan Seacrest continued to host the show with Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson returning as judges. David Cook was announced the winner of the competition on May 21, 2008, defeating runner-up David Archuleta by a margin of roughly 12 million votes out of over 97 million, which was at that time the highest recorded vote total ever recorded in the show's history. The split was 56 percent to 44 percent. The seventh season was the first season during which neither the winner nor the runner-up was ever in the bottom group during any week before the finale on May 21, 2008, with the second being the ninth season. It was also the second season during which both the winner and the runner-up were male contestants, with the second season being the first and the third being the eighth season.
