A little less than 100 million votes were cast for the finale and 624 million tallied for the entire season, according to Seacrest.

"In the eyes of the nation, both are victorious," Seacrest said before announcing the winner.

Cowell agreed.

"I would just say to both of you--and I don't normally mean this--I thought you were both brilliant, unusually, incredibly nice people," Cowell said. "And I think both of you should be incredibly proud."

Lambert was a crowd favorite, landing in the bottom three only once. The judges--Randy Jackson, Kara DioGuardi, Paula Abdul and Cowell--praised Lambert for his "vocal prowess" and theatrical stage presence. A humble college student and performer, Allen rarely landed in the bottom three and was lauded for his acoustic-guitar-driven performances of "She Works Hard for the Money" and "Heartless."

The two-hour finale was filled with musical performances. Wearing a black arm band, last year's winner David Cook sang his latest single, the introspective ballad "Permanent." The live recording is available for purchase on iTunes and 100 percent of the proceeds will go to Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure (ABC2), a Washington, DC-based organization dedicated to finding a cure for brain cancer. Cook's brother, Adam, recently died from the disease.

Cyndi Lauper (with Brittany Murphy look-alike Allison Iraheta), Carlos Santana (with the Top 13 "Idol" contestants), Steve Martin (with Michael Sarver and Alexis Grace) and an uninspired Rod Stewart (with the top "Idol" men) also hit the stage. Lil Rounds dueted with Queen Latifah, while the final 13 performed "I'm Yours" with Jason Mraz. The female finalists performed with Fergie, which segued into a segment with the Black Eyed Peas. Third-place finalist Danny Gokey, who lost his wife shortly before auditions, sang the weepy "Hello" before introducing Lionel Ritchie for a medley of his hits.

As for the finalists, Lambert, decked out in platform boots, performed the KISS ballad "Beth" before teaming with the face-painted quartet on "Detroit Rock City" and "Rock and Roll All Nite" while Allen took the softer route and dueted with Keith Urban on "Kiss a Girl." The two finalists teamed up with the surviving members of Queen to sing "We are the Champions."

Perhaps the most interesting duet was between rejected "Idol" hopeful Katrina Darrell, otherwise known as "Bikini Girl," and DioGuardi, who ripped open her dress to reveal a bikini, on Mariah Carey's "Vision of Love."