Sparks, 17, of Glendale, Ariz.
, prevailed over beatboxer Blake Lewis, 25, of Bothell, Wash., after a triumphant performance Tuesday that wowed the show s judges and the viewers who gave her the majority of the record 74 million votes cast.
Mom, Dad, I love you, Sparks, the daughter of retired NFL player Phillippi Sparks, said after hugging Lewis.
American Idol pulled out the stops and the stars Wednesday, with Gwen Stefani, Smokey Robinson and Tony Bennett performing as the season ended with the showdown.
The finale opened with Lewis and Sparks dueting on the Beatles I Saw Her Standing There, followed quickly by a touring Stefani singing 4 in the Morning via satellite from Massachusetts.
Past Idol winners and this season s contestants got a hefty share of attention, starting with first-season winner Kelly Clarkson.
She performed her new single Never Again, with the gritty rock song matched by her black dress and thigh-high boots. Carrie Underwood, another Idol winner, performed her hit, I ll Stand By You, a cover of a song by the Pretenders Chrisse Hynde.
Robinson, a Motown great, performed Being with You after the top six male contestants, including fan fave Sanjaya Malakar, sang Ooh Baby Baby, a hit for Robinson and his group the Miracles.
Malakar also got to share the stage with Aerosmith s Joe Perry, singing the Kinks You Really Got Me.
Blake, whose beat-boxing scored with viewers, performed with veteran rapper Doug E. Fresh on his old hit, The Show.
It was a signature moment for a contest that has introduced young viewers to Gershwin and other standards.
Gladys Knight took the stage with the six female finalists, belting out I Feel a Song and Midnight Train to Georgia. Bennett performed a mellow version of For Once in My Life that ended with a big finish.
And rock group Green Day made a surprise appearance, playing a cover of John Lennon s Working Class Hero a song off a new charity album benefiting relief efforts in war-torn Darfur.
Melinda Doolittle, arguably the best Idol contestant to miss out on the finale, returned to impress the crowd again as she sang Hold Up the Line with gospel stars BeBe and CeCe Winans.
The two-hour show also had its share of filler, including bits such as the Golden Idols, an award saluting the oddest of odd auditions, or the worst.
The winners included Margaret Fowler, who proudly accepted her trophy and recited poetry after smooching Seacrest.
The American Idol finale has become the third-most watched show of the year after the Super Bowl and the Oscars and drew an average of 36.4 million viewers for last year s two-hour episode.
On Tuesday, series judges Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson made their choice clear. Diplomatic Paula Abdul kept her counsel as usual, praising both singers. Although the judges don t have a say in the decision their opinions have the potential to sway voters.
You were the best singer tonight. You deserve it all, baby! Jackson told Sparks.
You just wiped the floor with Blake, added Cowell, who then told Sparks he was wrong for initially thinking she wasn t good enough to win the Fox talent show.
I would say the best individual performance of the night was Blake on the first song, Cowell said. But, based on overall singing Jordin.
Career path: Jordin Sparks has it all: a fresh voice and face coupled with boundless energy. If she can stay close to her family and not get caught up in the whirlwind of the music industry, she ll do fine. It will be hard maturing in the public eye.
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