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.

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