Best Dance Hits of the 2000s

Attention!!!

The best years of those born in the 80s were during the 2000s when they would be in the latter ages of their teens. The 2000s may also prove to be the last vestiges of Alternative Rock and Hard Rock as the 2010s have massacred the genres to the point of no return. Eurodance was dead and in its place Europop was building itself as a genre with a significant contribution from Romanian Pop. As far as dance music goes Rap, Dancepop and Hip-Hop ruled the dance floors with the likes of Flo Rida, Black Eyed Peas, 50 Cent, Sean Paul, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira and Pitbull shaping the industry as they took over the mainstream charts. With an immense stress on beat and rhythm rather than lyrics, the dance music of the 2000s is unique. 

Those artists that began their careers in the 90s such as Britney Spears, Eminem, Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias have become superstars with several dance hits and some like Shakira, Pitbull, Rihanna, Sean Paul and David Guetta have entered the mainstream with several dance hits. With his debut dance anthem Low, Flo Rida entered the hearts and minds of the party people during the 2000s and claims the top spot on this compilation. At No.2 we have Usher's Yeah in which he collaborated with veteran rappers Ludacris and Lil Jon. With a different flavour at No.3 we have Shakira's Hips Don't Lie where former Fugees member Wyclef Jean is featured. With the highest number of entries we have Black Eyed Peas with 8 whopping entries followed by Sean Paul with 7, 50 Cent and Jennifer Lopez with 6 each, Timbaland, Akon, Pussycat Dolls, Rihanna, Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake with 5 each, Flo Rida, Britney Spears, Madonna, Shakira, Bob Sinclar, Pitbull, Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Inna with 4 each, David Guetta, Kylie Minogue, Sugababes, Missy Elliot, Ludacris, Beyonce, Gwen Stefani, Eve, Pink, Destiny's Child and Cascada with 3 each. So here are the best dance hits from 2000-2009: 

1. Flo Rida ft. T-Pain – Low
2. Usher ft. Ludacris & Lil Jon – Yeah
3. Shakira ft. Wyclef Jean – Hips don’t lie
4. Pitbull – I know you want me (Calle ocho)
5. Sean Paul – Get busy
6. Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg & Kurupt – The next episode
7. 50 Cent – In da club
8. Nelly – Hot in herre
9. Flo Rida ft. Kesha – Right round
10. Black Eyed Peas – I gotta feeling
11. Timbaland ft. Keri Hilson & D.O.E – The way I are
12. Bon Jovi – It’s my life
13. Rihanna – Don’t stop the music
14. Lady Gaga ft. Colby O’Donis – Just dance
15. David Guetta ft. Akon – Sexy bitch
16. Eve – Tambourine
17. Justin Timberlake – Sexyback
18. Madonna ft. Justin Timberlake & Timbaland – 4 minutes
19. Vengaboys – Shalala lala
20. 50 Cent ft. Olivia – Candy shop
21. Kelis – Milkshake
22. Black Eyed Peas – Let’s get it started
23. Bob Sinclar ft. Gary Pine – Love generation
24. Sean Paul – Temperature
25. Missy Elliot – Get ur freak on
26. Black Eyed Peas – Hey mama
27. David Guetta ft. Kelly Rowland – When love takes over
28. Daft Punk – One more time
29. Eminem – The real Slim Shady
30. Black Eyed Peas – Boom boom pow
31. Yves Larock – Rise up
32. Las Ketchup – The ketchup song (Asereje)
33. DMX – Party up (Up in here)
34. Jennifer Lopez – Let’s get loud
35. Black Eyed Peas – Pump it
36. Pussycat Dolls ft. Busta Rhymes – Don’t cha
37. 50 Cent ft. Snoop Dogg, Lloyd Banks & Young Buck – P.I.M.P.
38. Baha Men – Who let the dogs out?
39. *NSYNC – Bye bye bye
40. Destiny’s Child – Jumpin’ jumpin
41. Sean Kingston – Fire burning
42. Spiller ft. Sophie Ellis Baxtor – Groovejet (If this ain’t love)
43. Alex Gaudino ft. Crystal Waters – Destination Calabria
44. Lady Gaga – Poker face
45. Benny Benassi – Satisfaction
46. Jay Sean ft. Lil Wayne – Down
47. Daddy Yankee – Gasolina
48. Atomic Kitten – The tide is high (Get the feeling)
49. Chamillionaire ft. Slick Rick – Hip hop police
50. Steve Angello & Laidback Luke ft. Robin S. – Show me love
51. Cascada – Evacuate the dancefloor
52. LMFAO – I’m in Miami bitch
53. Shakira – Whenever wherever
54. Gwen Stefani ft. Eve – Rich girl
55. No Doubt ft. Bounty Killer – Hey baby
56. Eve ft. Gwen Stefani – Let me blow ya mind
57. Modjo – Lady (Hear me tonight)
58. Snoop Dogg ft. Pharrell – Drop it like it’s hot
59. Basshunter – Now you’re gone
60. Edward Maya ft. Vika Jigulina – Stereo love
61. Eric Prydz – Call on me
62. Fergie – London bridge
63. 50 Cent – Just a lil bit
64. Kevin Lyttle – Turn me on
65. Britney Spears – Toxic
66. Rihanna – Disturbia
67. Guru Josh Project – Infinity 2008
68. R.Kelly ft. Wisin & Yandel – Burn it up
69. Pink – Get the party started
70. Crazy Town – Butterfly
71. Timbaland ft. Justin Timberlake & Nelly Furtado – Give it to me
72. Nelly ft. City Spud – Ride wit me
73. Puddle of Mudd – She hates me
74. Outkast – Hey ya!
75. Jennifer Lopez ft. Jadakiss & Styles – Jenny from the block  
76. Black Eyed Peas – Don’t phunk with my heart
77. Beyonce ft. Jay-Z – Crazy in love
78. Kat DeLuna ft. Elephant Man – Whine up
79. Counting Crows – Accidentally in love
80. Beyonce – Single ladies (Put a ring on it)
81. Nelly Furtado – Maneater
82. Eminem – Just do it
83. Soulja Boy – Crank that
84. Sugababes – Round round
85. Bomfunk MC’s – Freestyler
86. Junior Senior – Move your feet
87. Britney Spears – 3
88. Blue – All rise
89. Fragma – Toca’s miracle
90. Shaggy ft. Rikrok – It wasn’t me
91. Mary J. Blige – Family affair
92. S Club 7 – Don’t stop movin’
93. Nicole Scherzinger ft. T.I. – Whatever u like
94. Smash Mouth – I’m a believer
95. Chris Brown ft. Juelz Santana – Run it!
96. Jennifer Lopez – Play
97. Missy Elliot – Work it
98. Inna – Hot
99. Bob Sinclar with Cutee B ft. Dollarman, Big Ali  & Makedah – Rock this party (Everybody dance now)
100. Britney Spears – Gimme more
101. Madonna – Hung up
102. Axwell ft. Steve Edwards – Watch the sunrise
103. Eminem – Without me
104. Pussycat Dolls – When I grow up
105. Truth Hurts ft. Rakim – Addictive
106. Britney Spears – Circus
107. LL Cool J ft. Jennifer Lopez – Control myself
108. Inna – Amazing
109. Sugababes – Get sexy
110. R. Kelly – Ignition (Remix)
111. Teriyaki Boyz – Tokyo drift
112. Akcent – Jokero
113. Michael Buble – Save the last dance for me
114. Terror Squad ft. Fat Joe & Remy Ma – Lean back
115. Destiny’s Child – Bootylicious
116. Cascada – Everytime we touch
117. Basshunter – All I ever wanted
118. Jamelia – Superstar
119. Flo Rida ft. Nelly Furtado – Jump
120. Nina Sky ft. Jabba – Move ya body
121. Chris Brown ft. Lil Wayne & Swiss Beatz – I can transform ya
122. DJ Sammy & Yanou ft. Do – Heaven
123. Pitbull – Hotel room service
124. Shakira – Objection (Tango)
125. Kylie Minogue – Love at first sight
126. Sean Paul – Gimme the light
127. Andreea Banica ft. Dony – Samba
128. Nelly Furtado ft. Timbaland – Promiscuous
129. Crazy Frog – Axel F
130. Rihanna – SOS
131. Panjabi MC – Mundian to bach ke
132. Ashley Tisdale – Crank it up
133. Pink, Christina Aguilera, Mya & Lil’ Kim – Lady Marmalade
134. Nelly Furtado – Say it right
135. Bob Sinclar ft. Steve Edwards – World, hold on (Children of the sky)
136. DJ Laz ft. Flo Rida, Pitbull & Casely – Move shake drop  
137. Destiny’s Child – Lose my breath
138. Sidney Samson – Riverside
139. Lumidee – Never leave you (Uh oooh, uh ooh)
140. Sugababes – About a girl
141. Beyonce ft. Slim Thug – Check on it
142. Dizzee Rascal ft. Armand van Helden – Bonkers
143. Pussycat Dolls ft. Timbaland – Wait a minute
144. Black Eyed Peas – Shut up
145. Bob Sinclar with Cutee B ft. Gary Pine & Dollarman – Sound of freedom
146. Pussycat Dolls ft. Snoop Dogg – Buttons
147. Akon ft. Eminem – Smack that
148. Justin Timberlake – Rock your body
149. Anastacia – I’m outta love
150. iiO – Rapture
151. Rihanna ft. Sean Paul – Break it off
152. Madonna – Music
153. Ludacris – How low
154. Sean Paul – Like glue
155. Kylie Minogue – Can’t get you out of my head
156. O-Zone – Dragostea din tei
157. Pink – So what
158. Inna – Love
159. Katy Perry – I kissed a girl
160. DJ Otzi – Hey baby (Uhh, ahh)
161. Holly Valance – Kiss kiss
162. Jennifer Lopez – Ain’t it funny
163. Madonna – Sorry
164. Daniel Bedingfield – Gotta get thru this
165. Pitbull ft. Akon – Shut it down
166. Fergie ft. will.i.am – Fergalicious
167. Rihanna – Pon de replay
168. Fatman Scoop – Be faithful
169. Enrique Iglesias – Be with you
170. Tinchy Stryder ft. N-Dubz – Number 1
171. Shakira – She wolf
172. The Offspring – Pretty fly (For a white a guy)
173. 50 Cent ft. Ne-Yo – Baby by me
174. Mr.C The Slide Man – Cha-cha slide
175. Cascada – What hurts the most
176. Sean Paul – We be burnin’
177. Jennifer Lopez – Love don’t cost a thing
178. Sophie Ellis-Bexter – Murder on the  dancefloor 
179. Cobra Starship ft. Leighton Meester – Good girls go bad
180. David Guetta ft. Estelle – One love
181. Kylie Minogue – In your eyes
182. Ludacris ft. Shawnna – Stand up
183. Akon – Belly dancer (bananza)
184. Black Eyed Peas – My humps
185. Michael Buble – Sway
186. Cupid – Cupid shuffle
187. DJ Bobo with Irene Cara – What a feeling
188. Blu Cantrell ft. Sean Paul – Breathe
189. Gwen Stefani ft. Akon – The sweet escape
190. Mika – Grace Kelly
191. Missy Elliot ft. Ciara & Fatman Scoop – Lose control
192. Inna – Deja vu
193. 50 Cent ft. Justin Timberlake – Ayo technology
194. A.R. Rahman & Pussycat Dolls ft. Nicole Scherzinger – Jai ho! (You are my destiny)
195. David Deejay ft. Dony – Sexy thing
196. Mary Mary – Shackles (Praise you)
197. JLS – Beat again
198. Chamillionaire ft. Krayzie Bone – Ridin’
199. Avril Lavigne – Girlfriend
200. Chayanne – Boom boom  

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - April, 2016

Attention!!!

April was quite an eventful month. First we had the iHeartRadio Music Awards with Taylor Swift leading the nominees and taking most of the hardware as well. There were so many good performances including Iggy Azalea's Team, Meghan Trainor's No, Jason Derulo's If It Ain't Love and DNCE's Cake By The Ocean. Adele won Song of the Year for Hello while Taylor Swift won Album of the Year for 1989. Other winners include:

• Female Artist of the Year: Taylor Swift
• Male Artist of the Year: Justin Bieber
• Best New Artist: Fetty Wap
• Best Duo/Group of the Year: Maroon 5
• Alternative Rock Artist of the Year: Twenty One Pilots
• Alternative Rock Song of the Year: Twenty One Pilots - Stressed out
• Rock Artist of the Year: Foo Fighters
• Country Artist of the Year: Luke Bryan
• Dance Song of the Year: Skrillex & Diplo ft. Justin Bieber - Where are u now
• Dance Artist of the Year: Calvin Harris
• Latin Artist of the Year: Pitbull
• Best Lyrics: Rachel Platten - Fight song 
• Best Collaboration: Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars - Uptown funk 

The 51st Annual Academy of Country Music Awards was also held. Chris Stapleton was the big winner sweeping both Album of the Year for Traveller and Song of the Year for Nobody To Blame. The other winners of the night include:

• Record of the Year: Thomas Rhett - Die a happy man
• Entertainer of the Year: Jason Aldean
• Male Vocalist of the Year: Chris Stapleton 
• Female Vocalist of the Year: Miranda Lambert
• Vocal Duo of the Year: Florida Georgia Line
• Video of the Year: Eric Church - Mr. Misunderstood 

The Juno Awards were also held in April with brilliant performances by The Weeknd, Alessia Cara and Shawn Mendes. The Weeknd won Artist of the Year as well as Album of the Year for Beauty Behind The Madness, Single of the Year for Can't Feel My Face and Songwriter of the Year for Can't Feel My Face, In The Night and The Hills. Some of the other significant wins included:

• Group of the Year: Walk Off The Earth
• Breakthrough Artist of the Year: Alessia Cara
• Breakthrough Group of the Year: Dear Rouge
• Video of the Year: Adele - Hello 
• Pop Album of the Year: Justin Bieber - Purpose
• International Album of the Year: Adele - 25

This April we bid adieu to American Idol on its final run in the 15th season. With a two-hour plus series finale with an evening packed of performances by past winners and finalists such as Carrie Underwood, Jordin Sparks, Fantasia, Ruben Studdard, Jennifer Hudson, Clay Aiken as well as the original trio of judges adorable Paula Abdul, goofy Randy Jackson and the cynical Simon Cowell. In the end host Ryan Seacrest named Trent Harmon the winner over La'Porsha Renae. 

Meanwhile, the highly anticipated Billboard Music Awards 2016 is to take place in May and the nominations were revealed wherein The Weeknd has been nominated a whopping 19 times in 16 categories. Some of the important nominations are:

• Top Artist: Adele, Justin Bieber, Drake, The Weeknd, Taylor Swift
• Top Male Artist: Drake, Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, Ed Sheeran, Fetty Wap
• Top Female Artist: Adele, Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Rihanna
• Top Hot 100 Song: Adele's Hello, Fetty Wap's Trap Queen, The Weeknd's Can't Feel My Face, The Weeknd's The Hills, Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth's See You Again
• Top Billboard 200 Album: Adele's 25, Ed Sheeran's x, Taylor Swift's 1989, Justin Bieber's Purpose, The Weeknd's Beauty Behind The Madness

The 61st annual Eurovision Song Contest is to be held in May in Stockholm, Sweden following the country's victory in 2015 with Måns Zelmerlöw's Heroes. 42 countries will participate. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia and Ukraine will return after absences from recent contests, while Australia will also return after debuting as a special guest in 2015. The contest will also be the first to implement a new voting system since 1975, with each country now awarding two sets of points: one from their professional jury and another from televoting. And the favourites are Russia, France, Malta, Sweden and Bulgaria. 

2016 seems to be taking away the legends in music and this month the victim is Prince. Prince Rogers Nelson, known by his stage name Prince was extremely popular in the 1980s for his hits including the global smashes When Doves Cry, Purple Rain and Kiss. He passed away on 21st April aged 57. With the artist's demise his previous hits and albums will definitely make an impact on the charts in the coming weeks. 

The full lineup for Mysteryland USA to be held from June 10 - 13 was revealed composing of more than 90 acts with Odesza, Skrillex and Bassnectar headlining the festival. This year the age barrier has been reduced to 19 from 21. 

Moving onto chart news, in the US Rihanna ft. Drake's Work ruled the roost with Lukas Graham's 7 Years initially struggling at No.2 and thereafter Desiigner's Panda. With a whopping 9 weeks at the top Rihanna has accumulated 60 weeks at No.1 and is now the artist with the second-most weeks at No.1 of all time passing The Beatles with their 59 weeks and just behind Mariah Carey's titanic 79 weeks. As of the last week of April its 41 straight weeks that non- American born acts have led the Hot 100. Meanwhile, former chart leader Justin Bieber's Love Yourself broke his own record for the most consecutive weeks in the top 10 as Love Yourself surpasses Sorry's 21 weeks with 22 weeks inside the top 10. Other songs which peaked within the top 10 during the month are Ariana Grande's Dangerous Woman, Fifth Harmony ft. Ty Dollar $ign's Work From Home and Meghan Trainor's No.

In the UK, Mike Posner's Seeb Remix of I Took A Pill In Ibiza ruled for two weeks after which Drake ft. Wizkid & Kyla's One Dance took the helm. This was all at the peril of Sia's Cheap Thrills which was prevented from gaining the top spot. Other songs which peaked within the top 10 are Alan Walker's Faded and DNCE's Cake By The Ocean.

Other songs which became popular during the month are:

• Disturbed - The sound of silence
• The Chainsmokers ft. Daya - Don't let me down
• Inna - Rendez vous
• Alexandra Stan ft. Mohombi - Balans
• DJ Snake ft. Bipolar Sunshine - Middle 
• Bebe Rexha ft. Nicki Minaj - No broken hearts
• Chris Brown - Back to sleep 
• Nick Jonas ft. Tove Lo - Close 
• Alessia Cara - Wild things
• Iggy Azalea - Team 

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

(All images used in the posts unless otherwise mentioned are drawn from https://images.google.com/ and the author does not hold copyright over the photos used.)

Most Successful American Idol Contestants

Attention!!!

Yes, it was the first singing competition that captured our hearts. American Idol during its heyday was one of the most watched reality shows and in general one of the most popular television shows in the world. Before X-Factor and The Voice crept their way into the ratings and stole the audience, American Idol ruled unchallenged. Sometimes the audience were fans of the judges more than the contestants with Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson entertaining us for quite sometime with their entertaining remarks during auditions. They may have been replaced during the latter seasons but they along with host Ryan Seacrest compose the beloved American Idol family. Now after 15 seasons American Idol bids farewell to its loyal fans with a grand finale reuniting former judges and contestants on the Idol stage.

Here I have gone into the achievements of the most successful idols and have placed them accordingly. The first Idol takes the first place on this list and Kelly Clarkson has proven over and over again that she is a force to be reckoned with on the mainstream pop stage. Following closely at her heels is the winner of the fourth season and country princess Carrie Underwood, whom Simon predicted during the finale that not only will she win but that she will become the most successful idol of all time (he was right as Underwood is the most successful in the US). At third place we have Chris Daughtry who as part of the band Daughtry has become an immense success on the rock stage. So here are the 10 most successful idols of all time:

1.       Kelly Clarkson

She was the first Idol and the original American Sweetheart. Her coronation single A Moment Like This topped the charts and was also the best-selling single in the US in 2002. Her debut studio album Thankful topped the Billboard 200. Her second studio album Breakaway was a global success making her an international phenomenon charting within the Top 10 in more than 20 countries and was No.29 on the US Decade-End Albums Chart 2000-2009. The album spawned five hit singles four of which were Top 10 global hits – Breakaway, Behind These Hazel Eyes, Because Of You and her signature hit Since U Been Gone (No.47 in the Decade-End Singles Chart 2000-2009). Her third album My December was not as equally successful but was a top 10 album in more than 10 countries and produced the hit single Never Again. Her fourth album All I Ever Wanted was her second chart topper which also gave her a second single atop the US charts as well as first crown in the UK with My Life Would Suck Without You. The album also spawned the hit singles I Do Not Hook Up and Already Gone. Her next album Stronger was also a Top 10 international smash with the titular track Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) reaching the top spot worldwide and also the hit Mr. Know It All. Her seventh studio album Piece By Piece debuted atop the Billboard 200 and was another Top 10 album worldwide. It produced the hits Heartbeat Song and Piece By Piece. Her musical work has gained her numerous accolades, including 3 Grammy Awards, 3 MTV Video Music Awards, 12 Billboard Music Awards, 4 American Music Awards, and 2 Academy of Country Music Awards. Overall, Clarkson has been nominated for 142 awards out of which she has won 66. In a career spanning over a decade, Clarkson has accumulated 100 Billboard number-one hits over the various charts and sold over 25 million albums worldwide. She is ranked by Billboard as the 14^th best-selling artist of the 2000s.

2.       Carrie Underwood

She won the fourth season of the American Idol and has now become one of the most successful country artists of all time. Her coronation song Inside Your Heaven debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 and was the first country artist to ever debut at No.1. Her debut album Some Hearts was the best-selling album in the US in 2006, the best-selling solo female debut album in country music history and the best-selling album by an American Idol alumnus in the US. The album also spawned the No.20 hit Jesus Take The Wheel and the No.8 hit Before He Cheats. Her second album Carnival Ride debuted atop the Billboard 200 and also at the top of the Canadian Albums Chart. The album spawned several hits including So Small, All-American Girl, Last Name and I Told You So (featuring Randy Travis). Her third studio album Play On produced the No.11 hit Cowboy Casanova. She was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2008 and into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2009. Her fourth album Blown Away debuted atop the Billboard 200 and was a top 20 album worldwide. It produced the hits Good Girl and Blown Away. Her first compilation album Greatest Hits: Decade #1 included two new singles Something In The Water and Little Toy Guns which were both hits in the US and Canada. Her fifth studio album Storyteller peaked at No.2 in the US and has also peaked within the Top 20 of the album charts around the world. She has also had Top 20 hits with Brad Paisley (Remind Me) and Miranda Lambert (Somethin’ Bad). She is the best-selling American Idol contestant of all time and has garnered 7 Grammy Awards, 17 Billboard Music Awards, 11 Academy of Country Music Awards, 9 American Music Awards and 5 Country Music Association Awards.

3.       Chris Daughtry

He never won the show and was not even runner-up. He was placed fourth in the fifth season of Idol which crowned Taylor Hicks over Katharine McPhee both of whom failed to make this list. After his elimination he formed the band called Daughtry whose eponymous first studio album reached the top of the Billboard 200 and a top 20 album in Europe. It is the fastest selling rock album in the US, the Year-End No.1 Album for 2007 and No.27 on the Billboard 200 All Time Charts. It spawned four Top 20 hits – What About Now, Over You, Home and It’s Not Over, the latter two peaking within the Top 5 in the US. Their second studio album Leave This Town debuted atop the Billboard 200 with its lead single No Surprise peaking at No.15 in the US and the other two singles Life After You and September peaking within the top 40. Their third album Break The Spell produced the hit Crawling Back To You and the fourth album Baptized spawned the hit Waiting For Superman. Daughtry has won 5 American Music Awards, 6 Billboard Awards and has been nominated 4 times at the Grammy Awards including for Best Rock Song for It’s Not Over and Best Rock Album for Daughtry.

4.       Jordin Sparks

She was the winner of the sixth season and the youngest winner in the series’ history. Her coronation single This Is My Now reached No.15 in the US. Her self-titled debut album reached No.10 in the US, No.12 in Canada and No.17 in both the UK and Australia. The album spawned the hits Tattoo, One Step At A Time and No Air (with Chris Brown) the latter which propelled to the Top 5 on charts around the world and ended up at No.6 on the Year-End US Billboard Hot 100 for 2008. Her second album Battlefield peaked at No.7 in the US and No.11 in the UK and produced the singles Battlefield which became her third Top 10 hit in the US and S.O.S (Let The Music Play) which peaked at No.13 in the UK. She was featured on Guy Sebastian’s hit Art of Love which reached No.8 in the Australia and also a part of the charity single We Are The World 25 For Haiti. She has also branched out into Broadway and musical films such as In the Heights and the remake of Sparkle. After a brief hiatus from music she released her third studio album Right Here, Right Now. She has been nominated for several Teen Choice and People’s Choice Awards as well as a Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration for No Air.

5.       Jennifer Hudson

She was placed seventh on the third season of Idol which saw Fantasia Barino win the crown. She is the lowest ranked contestant on this compilation and enter this list over 12 winners, all 15 runners-up and over 50 contestants who placed 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th and 6^th on the show throughout the years. Her first entrance to the music scene was when she was cast as Effie White on the film adaptation of the music drama film Dreamgirls alongside Beyonce Knowles, Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy. Her role in the film was acclaimed by critics and garnered her the award for Best Supporting Actress at several award shows including the Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards and Golden Globe Awards. Her titular song from the film And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going was a big hit in the US and the UK. Her rendition of Love You I Do was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song and won the Grammy Award for the Best Song for a Written for a Motion Picture. Her self-titled debut studio album peaked at No.2 on the Billboard 200 and No.21 in the UK. It spawned the hits If This Isn’t Love and Spotlight. Her second studio album I Remember Me peaked at No.2 on the Billboard 200 and No.20 in the UK. Her third studio album JHUD reached No.10 in the US. She was a part of the charity single We Are the World 25 For Haiti and has collaborated on hit single with David Guetta (Night of Your Life), Iggy Azalea (Trouble), Gorgon City (Go All Night) and Ne-Yo (Think Like A Man). She has been nominated for several Grammy Awards out of which she won for Best R&B Album for Jennifer Hudson and has also been nominated for several BET Awards, Soul Train Awards, Peoples’ Choice Awards and Teen Choice Awards.

6.       Adam Lambert

He was the runner-up of the eighth season but clearly more successful than the winner, Kris Allen. His cover of Tears For Fears’ Mad World reached No.19 in the US even before he became runner-up on the show. His debut studio album For Your Entertainment was a global top ten smash reaching No.3 in the US. It produced hits such as For Your Entertainment, If I Had You and Whataya Want From Me, the last of which reached No.10 in the US and also peaked within the top 10 of fifteen other countries. His second studio album Trespassing debuted atop the Billboard 200 and also charted within the Top 20 in more than ten countries including UK, Canada and Australia. It spawned the hits Better Than I Know Myself and Never Close Our Eyes. His third studio album The Original High was a global hit peaking within the Top 10 worldwide and spawned the global hit Ghost Town. Other than for his solo career he has been part of the cast of the hit music television series Glee and also collaborated with the remaining members of the rock band Queen as the lead vocalist where they were renamed as Queen + Adam Lambert and experienced immense critical and commercial success during their world tour from 2014-2015. He has been nominated for several Peoples’ Choice Awards, Teen Choice Awards, MuchMusic Video Awards and also a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for Whataya Want From Me.

7.       Clay Aiken

He was the runner-up on the second season of Idol and is more successful than the winner Ruben Studdard. Aiken managed to grab the No.1 spot in the US soon after the finals week with his single This Is The Night and prevented Studdard’s coronation single Westlife cover Flying Without Wings from gaining the top spot. His debut studio album Measure of a Man debuted atop the charts and also reached No.2 in Canada. The album spawned the hits Invisible, The Way and Solitaire. His second studio album Merry Christmas With Love is a holiday classic debuting at No.4 on the Billboard 200 and is the fastest-selling holiday album in the SoundScan era. His third, fourth and fifth studio albums A Thousand Different Ways, On My Way Here and Tried and True all peaked within the Top 10 of the Billboard 200. He made his Broadway debut playing the role of Sir Robyn in Monty Python’s Spamalot in 2008. He authored a New York Times best seller Learning To Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life.

8.      Fantasia Barrino

She was the winner of the third season of Idol. Her coronation single I Believer debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 and her debut studio album Free Yourself peaked at No.8 on the Billboard 200 and spawned the hits Truth Is, Baby Mama and Free Yourself. Her self-titled second studio album reached No.19 on the Billboard 200 and produced her second biggest hit When I See U. Her third and fourth studio albums Back To Me and Side Effects Of You both managed to peak at No.2 on the Billboard 200. She has also collaborated with the likes of Michelle Williams, Lyfe Jennings, Missy Elliot and Kelly Rowland. Venturing into Broadway she played Celie in The Colour Purple and was a part of After Midnight. She has been nominated for 8 Grammy Awards including Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for Free Yourself and When I See U, 3 American Music Awards and has won both Billboard Music Awards she was nominated for in 2004.

9.       Ruben Studdard

He was the winner of the second season of Idol and the only winner to be born outside the US. He began his career with his coronation single Westlife cover Flying Without Wings peaking at No.2 on the Billboard Hot 100 behind runner up Clay Aiken’s This Is The Night. His debut studio album Soulful debuted atop the Billboard 200 and produced the hits Superstar and Sorry 2004, the latter peaking at No.9 on the Billboard Hot 100. He has since released 5 studio albums I Need An Angel, The Return, Love Is, The Return, Letters From Birmingham and Unconditional Love, the first two which peaked at No.20 and No.8 respectively. He has been nominated for several times at the Billboard Awards, American Music Awards and BET Awards and even a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for Superstar.

10.   David Cook

He was the winner of the seventh season. His coronation single reached No.3 on the Billboard Hot 100 but was a hit in the Western hemisphere. His self-titled first major label album reached No.3 on the Billboard 200 and No.11 on the Canada Albums Chart. The album spawned the hits Light On and Come Back To Me. Then he released a charity single Permanent which reached No.24 in the US. His second major label album This Loud Morning reached No.7 in the US and produced the hit The Last Goodbye and Fade Into Me. His third major label album Digital Vein reached No.35 on the Billboard 200.

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!