After months of auditions, miles of travel and millions of votes, Medicine Hat's Kalan Porter has emerged triumphant as Canada's next Canadian Idol.

As revealed on Thursday night's live broadcast, the 18-year-old grabbed the most votes out of the 3.6 million cast, after Wednesday's musical showdown in which he went head to head with Saskatoon's Theresa Sokyrka.

The shy singer with the booming set of pipes spoke with a shaky voice as he addressed the viewers after being proclaimed winner of the nationwide singing competition.

"I just want to say a big thank-you to my parents and my family, the judges, everyone…and thank you to these guys [Idols] who are back here," Porter said as Ben Mulroney removed confetti from the singer's hair.

Launching into his new role, Porter sang "Awake in a Dream," his first single as a Canadian Idol that will immediately be put into rotation across radio stations Friday morning.

Before the climactic results were revealed, Porter shared the stage with Sokyrka as the two harmonized to Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors."

The jam-packed evening also saw the return of the other eight hopefuls who joined Porter and Sokyrka to perform three medleys, which included a mix of Canadian hits featuring artists such as Shania Twain, Nelly Furtado and Blue Rodeo.

One by one, the eight Idol finalists reprised their favourite songs of the competition while the remaining two contenders also gave their final solo performances. Porter crooned Nat King Cole's "Nature Boy" while Sokyrka fought back tears as she sang Jann Arden's "Good Mother."

The passing of the Idol torch wouldn't have been complete without the return of last year's winner, Ryan Malcolm, who won the title exactly one year ago. Malcolm rocked out to his new single Falling from his upcoming sophomore album.

After the show, Porter began his round of meet-and-greets with media and music executives, more notably with BMG Canada's president, Lisa Zbitnew, to sign his new recording contract.

"You really should've read it first," Zbitnew joked with the singer who signed the papers during a press conference.

It seems the newly-minted recording artist won't be taking a break anytime soon as he will begin work immediately on his debut album which BMG hopes to release by the end of the year.