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And the 'American Idol' season 13 winner is...

And the 'American Idol' season 13 winner is...

Caleb Johnson is the new "American Idol."

The 23-year-old rocker from Asheville, North Carolina was named the new champion on the show's 13th season finale, beating out 17-year-old Jena Irene from Farmington Hills, Michigan.

Caleb closed the show with "As Long As You Love Me," which will be his first single. The rocker was speechless as he embraced his fellow top 13 finalists but expressed his gratitude to America for choosing him.

 

Earlier in the two-hour results show, Caleb got the chance to take the stage with KISS. After singing "Shout It Out Loud" with the legends, he invited his brother -- a superfan of the group -- to meet the legends on stage.

 

Judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. agreed that both Caleb and Jena deserved to make it as far as they did.

The show paired up its roster of guest performers with the top 13 singers from the season. Jena sang "Ain't It Fun" with her favorite band Paramore, while third place finalist Alex Preston sang with one of his heroes Jason Mraz.

 

Malaya Watson sang "All Of You" with John Legend at the piano, and Dexter Roberts and C.J. Harris teamed up with country star Darius Rucker.

 

All of the male finalists got behind Aloe Blacc for "The Man," while the ladies sang with Demi Lovato on "Neon Lights."

 

 

Other match-ups included Sam Woolf and Phillip Phillips and Jessica Meuse and Jennifer Nettles. Lady Antebellum also stopped by to debut their new single. Even the "Idol" family took the stage.

 

 

 

Host Ryan Seacrest ended up singing for the first time on TV performing a duet with Richard Marx on Marx's "Right Here Waiting," and later all three judges took the stage together with mentor Randy Jackson -- another "Idol" first.

 

 

 

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