Tears, Apologies and High Emotions: 'American Idol' Ends Its 15-Year Run

It was a star-studded super-sized American Idol series finale as a new winner was named.

Trent Harmon beat La’Porsha Renae to become the final Idol, however that seemed to only be a footnote as to what happened during the night.

Read: American Idol Contestants: Where Are They Now?

Thursday nights' show was a goodbye to 15 years of Idol -- one of the biggest hits in the history of TV.

Former winners and contestants streamed on to the stage to start the show and throughout, the biggest stars to come out of idol took their turn in the spotlight.

From Jennifer Hudson to Carrie Underwood to Fantasia, they all performed on the show that made them household names. Even Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard performed. 

Kelly Clarkson is about to give birth so she taped a medley of her hits.

There were big surprises like season one co-host Brian Dunkleman joined his old partner, Ryan Seacrest on stage for the first time since he left the show. He left before season two.

They hadn't seen each other in 14 years and Dunkleman wanted to apologize Seacrest.

He told reporters that he met with Seacrest backstage before the show: “I wanted to see him in his dressing room before rehearsal. I walked in and he smiled and he said hello. We shook hands and I said: 'I've got to get this out. I want to apologize to you for all the times we didn't get along back then. I wish that I could go back and change it all, but I can't. I wish nothing but the best for you and your family.' It was a really great moment and he was so gracious."

Read: As 'American Idol' Ends Fox Looks To 'Empire' As Their Key Show

Even President Obama said goodbye to Idol and joked at some of the quips past judges made.

“New words came into the language – ‘It's pitchy, dog,’” the president joked.

The original three judges – Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson all appeared together for the first time in years.

In the end Ryan Seacrest said he was emotional and hinted that it's not the end for Idol.

As the screen dipped to black, he could be heard saying: “That’s American Idol for now.”

Watch: The Most Memorable Moments in 'American Idol' History