The songs have been sung and the votes have been counted, and 17-year-old powerhouse Melissa O'Neil is the nation's newest Canadian Idol.

The high school student from Calgary, Alta. won the coveted title, beating out runner-up Rex Goudie of Burlington, N.L., and nearly 9,000 others who auditioned for the show beginning in February.

It marked the second consecutive year that an Albertan emerged triumphant in the Canada-wide competition.

The first-ever female winner of Canadian Idol was speechless after Ben Mulroney announced her name.

"I had a complete and utter brain fart," she said laughing on CTV's Canada AM Thursday.

"I'm so incredibly thankful to be here," she continued. "Canadians have the biggest hearts. Rex and I could just feel everyone being so excited for us."

As revealed on Wednesday's two-hour finale, O'Neil secured the highest number of votes out of the record-high 3.65 million cast following Tuesday's performances.

O'Neil wasn't a shoo-in to win the idol crown. On more than one occasion during the competition she found herself in danger of being eliminated, including once when she forgot the words to a song.

But each time the young singer recovered to win high praise from the judges for showing maturity and poise beyond her years.

During Tuesday's sing-off Idol judge Zack Werner predicted she would surpass previous Idol winners Ryan Malcolm and Kalan Porter.

"In year one we had a waiter boy. In year two we had a little prince,'' he said. "Thursday morning it's going to say, 'The king is dead, long live the queen.'"

Immediately after her victory, O'Neil received a congratulatory phone call from Prime Minister Paul Martin.

Taking the phone, she looked at the camera trained on her and said, "Don't stop rolling. It's the Prime Minister of Canada!

"It was so loud, and the phone was breaking up," she said the next day on Canada AM. "So, all you heard was 'day' and 'idol' and 'beautiful' ... I just told him, 'Thank you so much. I'm sure you're saying very nice things about me. I appreciate it.' But I heard him say goodbye. That's what matters."

Along with her crown, O'Neil was rewarded with a recording contract with Sony BMG which she signed immediately after the show.

With her debut single, "Alive" hitting the airwaves at 1:00 a.m. O'Neil will have a lot on her plate next year, not to mention trying to finish high school.

"I'm not taking a year off, I'm going to just let everyone know that right now. I'm either going to get a tutor or I'll get correspondence,'' she said.

O'Neil said she would like to be "a role model" for other young Canadians.

Before the nail-biting results were revealed Wednesday night, viewers were treated to a slew of performances, including a song from special guests the Barenaked Ladies and various musical acts from members of the Canadian Idol family.

Reunited once again, the Top 10 kicked off the singing extravaganza with a medley of British Invasion hits. Backed by a 30-member choir and Idol's house band, the finalists sang hits from the Rolling Stones, John Lennon and Queen.

The Top 8 also sampled from their 'High Notes' compilation CD and was later joined by O'Neil and Goudie for a tearful rendition of Green Day's "Time of Your Life."

The night also saw the return of the curly-haired "Little Prince," Kalan Porter.

Relishing the last few moments of his Idol reign, Porter performed "In Spite of it All" and accompanied the Top 2, with fiddle in hand, in a hoedown to the country tune, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia."

"Just have fun with it. It's such a crazy experience. I've been across the country and back. Just enjoy it," Porter advised his future successors.

Rare and poignant performances also marked the momentous occasion. Veteran rocker and Idol judge Sass Jordan dedicated her Stevie Wonder tune, "All in Love is Fair", to the thousands of hopefuls who auditioned for the show.

And in an Idol first, vocal coach Debra Byrd stepped on to the stage and performed Dionne Warwick's "I'll Never Love This Way Again," which left hardly a dry eye in the theatre.

With files from The Canadian Press