Trent Harmon is the 15th and final 'American Idol' winner

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Trent Harmon is the 15th and final "American Idol" winner.

He was crowned Thursday as Fox TV's singing contest ended its 15-season run. The runner-up was La'Porsha Renae.

The 24-year-old Harmon worked as a waiter at his family's restaurant before auditioning for the show. He grew up on a farm and described himself as a "dude from Mississippi," from the town of Amory.

Harmon, whose supple voice won over viewers, said on Wednesday's show his persistence made him believe he had a shot at winning.

The 22-year-old runner-up, Renae, is a single mother who overcame domestic abuse to compete. She's also from Mississippi.

"American Idol," once a ratings powerhouse that influenced TV and music, had suffered steady audience erosion before Fox decided it would end this season.

There was a variety of performances in the "American Idol" finale.

"American Idol" judge Harry Connick Jr. saluted a music resource for New Orleans' Hurricane Katrina-battered Ninth Ward.

In a touching segment, he dueted on "It's a Wonderful World" with Marley Fletcher, a young student from The Ellis Marsalis Center for Music that serves the area.

Then there was the return of unlikely contestant Larry Platt, who reprised his season-nine song with the lyrics, "Looking like a fool with your pants on the ground."

Brian Dunkleman, there for the first season of "American Idol," made it back for the last.

Dunkleman shared hosting duties in season one with Ryan Seacrest, who then flew solo for the next 14 seasons.

During the final episode, Dunkleman strode on stage as Seacrest opened the show.

"Well, well, well, Seacrest, looks like after tonight" you'll be looking for work, Dunkleman said, jokingly. He went on to congratulate Seacrest for an "amazing" job as host.

Seacrest gave him some work to do: introducing judges Connick Jr., Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban.

President Barack Obama was the opening act for the final episode.

In what appeared to be pretaped remarks, Obama congratulated the show on its 15-year run. He noted it motivated millions of young people to vote for contestants.

Then he made a pitch for Americans to demonstrate that same eagerness at the polls.

Obama called voting the most fundamental and sacred rite of American democracy. It should be almost as easy as voting on "American Idol," he said, adding "we're working on that."

Not all of us can sing like inaugural "Idol" winner Kelly Clarkson, he said, but all of our voices matter.

This story was originally published April 7, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Trent Harmon is the 15th and final 'American Idol' winner ."