Where Are American Idol Winners Now?

American Idol Winners: Where Are They Now?

In case you've forgotten, American Idol used to be wildly different from what it is now. Back in the first season on Fox in 2002, the show was hosted by Ryan Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman, and the judges were the brilliantly mean Simon Cowell, the always colourful Paula Abdul, and everyone's favourite dawg Randy Jackson. The first season also, quite surprisingly, produced one of the most successful winners to date: Kelly Clarkson. Idol was also my favourite show on television, but that is neither here nor there.

Over the years, the show has been cancelled and rebooted on a new network and 15 more Idols have been crowned, some having far more success than others. The winners have gone on to release dozens of singles and albums, star in Broadway shows, write books, cross the country on tours, and take home a slew of awards. For a glimpse at what all the winners have been up to since their shows ended, keep reading.

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Season 1: Kelly Clarkson

Clarkson was crowned the very first winner of American Idol in 2002 and has gone on to have an incredibly successful career. Since then, she's released eight studio albums, all of which peaked in the top three of the US charts. She's garnered an incredible 15 Grammy nominations and taken home three trophies.

She's currently a coach on The Voice and will soon have her own talk show called The Kelly Clarkson Show.

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Season 2: Ruben Studdard

After beating out Clay Aiken in season two of the show, Studdard released seven studio albums, including his debut Soulful, which reached No. 1 on the US charts and featured his winner's single "Flying Without Wings." He joined the 15th season of The Biggest Loser and lost over 100 pounds, and is making his Broadway debut in December 2018 in a show with Aiken called Ruben & Clay's First Annual Christmas Carol Family Fun Pageant Spectacular Reunion Show.

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Season 3: Fantasia Barrino

Barrino has kept busy since winning season three of Idol. She's released six albums, headlined three tours, and made numerous TV appearances, and brought home a Grammy Award in 2011 for female R&B vocal performance. She starred in the Broadway productions of The Colour Purple and After Midnight.

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Season 4: Carrie Underwood

After Underwood won Idol, she released her debut single, "Inside Your Heaven," which shot to No. 1 on the US chart, which was incredibly unusual for a country single. It led into her debut album Some Hearts, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard chart and cemented Underwood as a bona fide pop country star. She's released five other studio albums, gone on nine tours with another coming in 2019, and won seven Grammy Awards.

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Season 5: Taylor Hicks

Hicks topped Katharine McPhee to win Idol in 2006 and released his winner's single, "Do I Make You Proud?" He's since released three studio albums and spent a period of time playing Teen Angel in Grease on Broadway. He currently is still making music and co-owns a restaurant in Birmingham, AL.

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Season 6: Jordin Sparks

Sparks won Idol when she was just 17, the youngest winner thus far. Her debut single, "Tattoo," peaked at No. 8 on the US charts and led to her self-titled debut album. In 2009, she was invited to perform at former President Barack Obama's inaugural ball and released her second album later that year. Since then she's released another studio album, appeared in several movies, and starred in In the Heights on Broadway.

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Season 7: David Cook

In the battle of the Davids, Cook beat out David Archuleta to win American Idol in season seven. His winner's single, "The Time of My Life," peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100 chart and joined 10 of his other songs that also debuted that week. He released a self-titled album in late 2008 and has since released three more albums and headlined four tours. He also starred in Kinky Boots on Broadway in 2018.

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Season 8: Kris Allen

After beating Adam Lambert to take the Idol crown, Allen released five studio albums, one of which included his hit "Live Like We're Dying." He's taken part in a lot of charity work during his career, like helping Little Kids Rock. He also pivoted from a solo career and formed a band called The Dames in 2017.

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Season 9: Lee DeWyze

Upon winning his season of American Idol, DeWyze released his winner's song, a cover of U2's "Beautiful Day," which is his highest-charting single to date. He's released six studio albums. His 2010 album Live It Up was his best charting effort, reaching No. 19. His latest album, Paranoia, was released in early 2018 with the lead single "The Breakdown."

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Season 10: Scotty McCreery

McCreery released his debut album, Clear as Day, soon after winning the 10th season of American Idol and it quickly went platinum. He has since released three more studio albums and wrote a book in 2016 called Go Big or Go Home about his life. He just married his longtime girlfriend in Summer 2018, documenting the big day in his video for "This Is It."

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Season 11: Phillip Phillips

Phillips dropped his winner's single, "Home," after the 11th season of Idol came to a close, and it sold more than five million copies. He followed it with his debut album, The World From the Side of the Moon, which debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard chart and went platinum. He's released two more studio albums, the latest of which came in 2018. He just wrapped both a solo tour in Spring 2018 and a coheadlining tour with Gavin Degraw in Summer 2018.

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Season 12: Candice Glover

Glover auditioned for Idol a few times before taking the crown in the 12th season. Her debut album, Music Speaks, was released immediately following her win and reached No. 3 on the US R&B chart. She hasn't yet released another album, but she did take part in a holiday stage production in NY with fellow music-show alums in 2017.

Image Source: Getty / Walter McBride

Season 13: Caleb Johnson

Johnson released his debut album, Testify, very quickly after winning his season of Idol. He has since moved on from his label and is self-releasing his music, including an EP, Born From Southern Ground.

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Season 14: Nick Fradiani

Fradiani won American Idol in 2015 and released his winner's single, "Beautiful Life," which peaked at number 93 on the US charts and became the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup song. His debut album, Hurricane, landed in 2016 and sold 5,000 units. He eventually parted ways with his record label and has since released another EP on his own.

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Season 15: Trent Harmon

After winning the last season of Idol on Fox, Harmon released a self-titled EP before putting out a full-length studio album in 2018 called You Got 'Em All.

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Season 16: Maddie Poppe

Poppe beat out Caleb Lee Hutchinson — whom she is now dating — to win the first rebooted season of American Idol. She's released two singles since winning the show in 2018, "Going, Going, Gone" and "Keep On Movin' On."

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