American Idol has launched some incredible careers. But, let's face it, there are probably a few winners that you forgot even existed.
We all know what became of Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, but what about the others? As the iconic competition series gears up for its 15th and final season, ET is looking back at what ever happened to those forgotten Idol victors.
1. Kelly Clarkson (2002)
Today, Clarkson is a
three-time GRAMMY winner with seven studio albums under her belt. Her
latest, Piece by Piece, was released in 2015 and scored her two new GRAMMY nominations.
2. Ruben Studdard (2003)
He's still making music!
Studdard released a covers album, his sixth studio effort, in 2014.
Around the same time, fans watched the 6'3 singer drop 119 pounds on
NBC's The Biggest Loser.
3. Fantasia Barrino (2004)
Known now simply by her
first name, Fantasia has stayed busy over the last decade. She released
four studio albums, starred in a Lifetime movie about herself, and
appeared on Broadway. The GRAMMY-winner is expected to release a new
solo album in 2016.
4. Carrie Underwood (2005)
Ms. Underwood --
now, Mrs. Mike Fisher -- went on to become
American Idol's
most successful alum
to date. The country cutie is arguably one of the genre's biggest stars
and the only artist to score six consecutive No. 1 albums on the
Billboard's Top Country Albums chart. She's a seven-time GRAMMY winner
and an 11-time ACM Award winner.
5. Jordin Sparks (2007)
Sparks also went on to be
one of the more successful winners of the franchise, with three studio
albums and a leading role in
Whitney Houston's final film,
Sparkle. Though she didn't win, Sparks did score a GRAMMY nomination for her collaboration with
Chris Brown, "No Air," back in 2009. Sparks released her third studio album,
Right Here, Right Now, in 2015 amid a highly publicized
new romance with rapper Sage the Gemini.
6. Taylor Hicks (2006)
Believe it or not, Hicks has remained one of the highest-earning
Idols in
recent years. According to Forbes, the 39-year-old has scored big
paydays with his Las Vegas residency, tour dates, and his co-ownership
of an Alabama BBQ restaurant called Saw's Juke Joint. Recently, Hicks
accompanied Dierks Bentley on stage with his harmonica for CBS Sports'
Deer Valley Celebrity Skifest, and he performed in the Hollywood Christmas Parade.
7. David Cook (2008)
After releasing two albums
with RCA Records, Cook split from the label in 2012 and re-located to
Nashville, Tennessee. (Fun fact: Cook co-wrote country singer David Nail's hit single, "Kiss You Tonight.") He released Digital Vein, his first independent release since pre-Idol, in 2015.
8. Kris Allen (2009)
In one of the most surprising upsets in Idol history, Allen topped Adam Lambert for
the season eight title. His debut single, "Live Like We're Dying,"
became a hit in 2009, but he made major headlines for a devastating car
crash in 2013 that rendered him almost unable to play music. Thankfully,
Allen recovered and released his third studio album, Horizons,
in 2014. Now, in 2016, Allen is expecting his second child with his
high school sweetheart-turned-wife.
9. Lee DeWyze (2010)
DeWyze split from RCA Records just one year after winning Idol and
releasing his debut album, which peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard 200.
His 2013 album, Frames, showed off more of the singer's folk roots, but
didn't make much of a splash on the charts. But if you watch The Walking Dead,
you probably heard DeWyze's voice and didn't even know it! His
"Blackbird Song" was featured in season four of AMC's hit drama.
10. Scotty McCreery (2011)
At just 17 years old,
McCreery became the series' youngest male winner and second youngest
winner overall (after Sparks, also 17 at the time of her victory). Since
then, McCreery has become a certifiable star in the country music
world, selling more than 2.5 million albums and scoring three
Platinum-certified singles, all while attending college at North
Carolina State University. His third studio album, featuring the single
"Southern Belle," is expected out early this year.
11. Phillip Phillips (2012)
Phillips' career was given a boost when his
Idol coronation song, "Home," was selected as the theme for NBC's Olympics coverage, among other TV projects. Even
Idol picked
up one of Phillips' tracks, with "Gone, Gone, Gone" serving as the
season twelve send-off song. He's released two studio albums post-
Idol, but filed
a bombshell lawsuit against 19 Recordings
in early 2015. In court docs obtained by ET, Phillips called his
contract with 19 "oppressive."
In happier news, Phillips
tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend, Hannah Blackwell, in October 2015.
12. Candice Glover (2013)
Glover's debut album,
Music Speaks,
was released in 2014, but failed to produce a hit single. Glover claims
to be working on a follow-up album via social media posts, but seems to
be
keeping busy performing at corporate and professional sporting events.
13. Caleb Johnson (2014)
Johnson wasted no time getting his debut album,
Testify,
on the market, releasing it less than three months after his
coronation. Moving along at breakneck speed, Johnson parted ways with
his label less than nine months later. "I want to find the right home
and the right team of people that are going to get behind my music and
really do something," he told
Billboard at the time. "What's the point of doing it if the [label] isn't going to do anything?"
14. Nick Fradiani (2015)
Fradiani's first single, "Beautiful Life," co-written by Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba,
barely cracked the Billboard Hot 100 in May of last year, and we're
still waiting for that debut album.
15. Trent Harmon (2016)
Harmon won the
15th and final season
of the singing competition and kicked off his career with "Falling," a
single co-written by Idol judge Keith Urban. "I'm ready to get focused
and go to work,"
Harmon told ET right after his big win.
