Season 4
Season 4 began in the US on 18 January 2005. The final 12 were Lindsey Cardinale, Mikalah Gordon, Jessica Sierra, Nikko Smith, Nadia Turner, Anwar Robinson, Constantine Maroulis, Scott Savol, Anthony Fedoror, Vonzell Solomon, runner up Bo Brice and winner Carrie Underwood.
On May 25, 2005, The fourth season finale featuring Bo Bice and Carrie Underwood aired, and 37 million votes were cast. It featured appearances by former auditioners, and celebrity cameos by Kenny G, Rascal Flatts, David Hasselhoff, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, George Benson, Billy Preston, Babyface and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Carrie became the fourth winner of American Idol, beating Southern rocker Bo Bice, and joining Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken as the only contestants who had never been one of the "bottom three" singers during any week's results.
Carrie Underwood also won a blue 2005 Ford Mustang convertible and the use of a Marquis private jet for a year.
As part of her win, Carrie gained a recording contract with Arista Records; her first single, "Inside Your Heaven", was released on June 14, 2005.
It became the first song from a country artist to go number one on the Hot 100 since Lonestar's "Amazed" in 2000.