Despite all the advance praise for rocker Adam Lambert, the winner of last night’s winner American Idol was Kris Allen in an upset. It may have boiled down to good kid Allen’s lack of controversy vs. Lambert’s edgy appearance and risk-taking song choices. Many were surprised by the final verdict, especially since the press and online buzz has heavily favored Lambert:

Kris Allen was crowned the “American Idol” Season 8 champ on Wednesday night (May 20), after nearly 100 million votes declared the 23-year-old Conway, Arkansas native the winner over runner-up Adam Lambert.

During the two hour-plus season finale, contestants were paired with veteran recording artists for duets. Allen broke out the guitar with Keith Urban to perform the country singer’s “Kiss a Girl;” third runner-up Danny Gokey and Lionel Richie did a medley of “Hello,” “Just Go,” and “All Night Long;” Cyndi Lauper teamed up with fourth-place finisher Allison Iraheta on “Time After Time;” and Lambert joined the glam rock band KISS for a pyro-heavy take on “Detroit Rock City” and “I Wanna Rock and Roll All Nite.” All thirteen contestants provided the vocals for Carlos Santana on “Black Magic Woman” and “Smooth,” and Lambert and Allen performed “We Are the Champions” with the big surprise guest of the night, Queen.

Allen’s victory came as a surprise to “American Idol” followers, particularly those who frequent “American Idol” blogs and fansites. Between the two Season 8 finalists, Adam Lambert has topped Kris Allen in blog buzz by an average of about 51% since both singers made the Top 36 in Feburary, according to Nielsen BuzzMetrics. And while overall buzz for both has grown as the pool has narrowed, 16% more bloggers mentioned Adam Lambert instead of Kris Allen on May 19 after the final performances aired.

[From Billboard.com]

The NY Daily News notes that it may come down to red state/blue state type politics when it comes to who people vote for. Allen has appeal with more conservative call-in voters who could be turned away by Lambert. Simon Cowell told Radar Online earlier this week that he thought Kris Allen would take home the title and he was correct.

Does it really matter, though, who wins Idol? The winner gets a record contract but that doesn’t mean automatic success. Some of the most successful former contestants weren’t the winners while some of the past winners are floundering in their careers. Lambert is likely to go on to more success when you consider how much the press loves him. Allen’s future isn’t as certain, even though he got to sing the cheesy song at the end.

Thanks to OK! Magazine for these screenshots from last night’s show.