American Idol' winner: Third time's the charm

(Photo: Ray Mickshaw, FOX)

"I can't even ... Oh, my God ... Three years."

For three years, Candice Glover traveled from her South Carolina home to try out for American Idol. Thursday night, her efforts paid off. She became the 12th winner of the Fox singing competition, beating out Kree Harrison to become the show's first female winner in six years.

Glover, 23, not only had the night's final big moment, she was involved in some of the other highlights of the two-hour-plus finale, singingInseparable with Jennifer Hudson, then getting a shout-out from Aretha Franklin, who told her, "Candice, you're a winner — win or lose, you're a winner."

Franklin then performed a medley of her hits from a studio in New York, with the five female finalists, including Glover, singing backup in Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre.

Several other segments combined finalists and stars. Runner-up Harrison sang Keith Urban's Where the Blacktop Ends with Urban on guitar, Randy Jackson on bass and Blink-182's Travis Barker on drums. Third-place finisher Angie Miller, who at one point intended to sing her original song You Set Me Free, got two duets, singing Titaniumwith Season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert, then Domino with Jessie J. Amber Holcomb, who finished fourth, performed Next to Me with Emeli Sande.

Other performers included Frankie Valli, country trio the Band Perry, Psy and Jennifer Lopez with Pitbull, with judges Urban and Mariah Carey getting spots, as well. The show also featured a tribute video to departing judge Jackson, who has been with the show all 12 seasons.

And if you still haven't had your fill of Idol for the year, online auditions for Season 13 opened immediately after the show.