The finale of Season 4 of American Idol took place on May 24 and 25, 2005. It featured Bo Bice and Carrie Underwood competing for the title.
Carrie Underwood was declared the winner.
Contestants' Performances[]
The final two contestants performed three times.
| Bo Bice | "Long, Long Road" (Appleton) | Runner-Up |
| Carrie Underwood | "Inside Your Heaven" (Carrie Underwood) | Winner |
| Bo Bice | "Vehicle" (The Ides of March) | Runner-Up |
| Carrie Underwood | "Independence Day" (Martina McBride) | Winner |
| Bo Bice | "Inside Your Heaven" (Bo Bice) | Runner-Up |
| Carrie Underwood | "Angels Brought Me Here" (Guy Sebastian) | Winner |
Guest Performances[]
| Top 12 (without Carrie and Bo) (Lindsey Cardinale, Anthony Fedorov, Mikalah Gordon, Constantine Maroulis, Anwar Robinson, Scott Savol, Jessica Sierra, Nikko Smith, Vonzell Solomon, Nadia Turner) | The Beach Boys medley ("Fun, Fun, Fun", "Barbara Ann", "In My Room", "Surfer Girl", "I Get Around", "Good Vibrations") |
| Bo Bice | "Vehicle" (The Ides of March) |
| Carrie Underwood | "Angels Brought Me Here" (Guy Sebastian) |
| Leandra Jackson | "The Star Spangled Banner" |
| Bo Bice and Carrie Underwood | "Up Where We Belong" (Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes) |
| Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flatts | "Bless the Broken Road" (Rascal Flatts) |
| Anthony Fedorov, Anwar Robinson, and Kenny G | "I Believe I Can Fly" (R. Kelly) |
| Constantine Maroulis, Jessica Sierra, Nadia Turner and Kenny Wayne Shepherd | "Walk This Way" (Aerosmith) |
| Scott Savol, Nikko Smith, and George Benson | "On Broadway" (The Drifters) |
| Vonzell Solomon and Billy Preston | "With You I'm Born Again" (Billy Preston and Syreeta Wright) |
| Lindsey Cardinale, Mikalah Gordon, and Babyface | "Every Time I Close My Eyes" (Babyface) |
| Bo Bice and Lynyrd Skynyrd | "Sweet Home Alabama" (Lynyrd Skynyrd) |
Trivia[]
- Kirstie Alley, Marg Helgenberger, LaToya London, Matthew Rogers, Adam Pratt, Dirk Pearman, David Hasselhoff, Steve Edwards, and William Hung all made appearances during the Finale.
- A segment during the finale had a mock expose of Simon Cowell having an affair with a mysterious person, later revealed to be himself. Although the segment was fake and played as a joke, it was a based on Corey Clark's real-life claim that he had an affair with Paula Abdul during his Idol run, including Abdul coaching him on song selection and his look.