Wow, I can’t believe that American Idol is over, but it is. Carrie Underwood has come out on top. I’m so pleased that she won. Although she wasn’t my early favorite, she emerged week after week as the most consistent performer of all contestants. I love her performance tonight on the finale show with Rascal Flatts. It was best of the evening.

Congrats, Carrie, can’t wait to hear more from you.

Carrie Underwood, the country sweetheart who beguiled national television audiences with her strong voice and bright smile, is this year’s “American Idol,” defeating Southern rocker Bo Bice in the show’s finale Wednesday night.

The Oklahoma native received more viewer votes than runner-up Bice, of Alabama, after Tuesday’s final round, snaring the title and a record contract.

A tearful Underwood choked out a brief “thank you,” then spoke with a song. She reprised “Inside Your Heaven,” which both she and Bice performed in Tuesday’s final round. The judges thought Bice outsang her; the voting audience obviously disagreed.

A 22-year-old college senior, Underwood became the talk of her hometown of Checotah — and the choice of fourth-season “Idol” voters — as she delivered almost uniformly consistent performances each week.