LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — After 13 weeks of voting and 250 competitive performances, the venerable talent contest named rocker Nick Fradiani as the 14th winner of "American Idol."
29-year-old Fradiani, from Guilford, Connecticut, beat out Clark Beckham of White House, Tennessee, performing renditions of Matchbox 20's "Bright Lights," Jason Mraz's "I Won't Give Up" and "Beautiful Life," to win the contest.
Beckham sang Ray Charles' "Georgia on My Mind," Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Champion."
"This is amazing," Fradiani told the show's host Ryan Seacrest. "This is the best day of my life."
The two hour awards show also featured performances by Fall Out Boy, Chic, Ricky Martin, NKOTB, Michael McDonald and Steven Tyler for performances, as well as judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr.
Fradiani announced today that he had signed with Big Machine Records.
Fox announced that the upcoming season of "American Idol", its 15th, would be the last for the show, which has dropped in ratings over the years. The 14th season, which just concluded, averaged just over 9 million viewers per episode. – Staff Writers
