Taylor Hicks wins "American Idol"

Taylor Hicks beat out Katharine McPhee on Wednesday night to win the fifth season of "American Idol." .

After his win, Hicks told FOX news reporters, "It's an exhilarating feeling. I am flabbergasted. I can't believe I'm the next American Idol." He admitted that when his name was called he had to tell himself, "Don't just fall to the floor. Don't let your knees buckle."

Runner-up Katharine McPhee embraced silver fox Hicks and thanked her fans for an Idol experience she called "a dream come true."

"I don't need any sad faces or anyone feeling bad for me," she said. "I got a record deal, I got a new car, I have all these great new shoes and I have all these fans.

"I want to have anything any normal person can have - family, kids - but I want to have this incredible career and do movies and sing. We'll see how it will play out."

McPhee is the first contestant from Los Angeles to shine on the programme. She is a trained singer backed by her vocal-coach mother and attended the prestigious Boston Conservatory for a semester reports BBCNEWS.

Last year, country singer Carrie Underwood won the fourth series of the TV show. She went on to collect two awards at the Country Music Television Awards in April.

Announcing the results, Ryan Seacrest noted that "an astounding 63.4 million votes" were cast, "more than any President in this country has ever received," reports People Magazine

The two-hour finale episode, kicked off with Hicks, McPhee and the 10 booted finalists belting Barry Manilow's "I Made It Through the Rain."

In other musical numbers, Idol finalists dueted with established stars: Hicks with Toni Braxton, McPhee with Meat Loaf, Chris Daughtry with Live, Paris Bennett with Al Jarreau, Elliott Yamin with Mary J. Blige and, toward the end, all 12 finalists performed with Burt Bacharach and Dionne Warwick.

But the biggest show-stoppers were Clay Aiken, who debuted a new hairdo, and Prince, who performed two songs solo.

Hicks's prize includes a $1 million recording contract and a Ford Mustang convertible, which McPhee also received.

Hicks's win was largely expected.

Hicks, 29, from Alabama, gained a devoted following with his enthusiastic style, old-school sound and herky-jerky dance moves reports the Detroit Free Press.

His quirks are so distinctive, he already has been parodied on "Saturday Night Live."

At the end of Tuesday night's episode, Simon Cowell told the 29-year-old Alabama native: "Assuming that I was right and the show was tied, then you have just won American Idol."

Meanwhile, according to Star Magazine the silver fox Taylor Hicks was driving the ladies wild long before he became a TV star! Taylor Hicks’s gray-haired, dorky-dancing image has become as much of an appeal as his soul-shouting vocals. However, his newfound fans might be surprised to learn that Hicks was a hunky, basketball playing ladies man in high school! Star magazine has exclusive photos of Taylor in high school as well as an interview with him about dating.