American Idol Season Winners

Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American pop singer, songwriter, and actress. Clarkson made her debut under RCA Records after she won the first season of the television series American Idol in 2002.

Clarkson has released four albums to date: her debut album Thankful (2003), her multi-platinum second album Breakaway (2004) - won two Grammy Awards, My December (2007), and her latest album All I Ever Wanted (2009). Her first four albums have sold over 10.4 million copies in the United States.Mansfield, Brian. [http://content.usatoday.com/communities/idolchatter/post/2009/07/68494541/1 What's Hannah Montana doing in the American Idol sales report?] content.usatoday.com. July 15, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-15.

Eleven of Clarkson's singles became Top Twenty hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Her single, "My Life Would Suck Without You", advanced from No. 97 to No. 1 on the Hot 100 in its first week of release, breaking the record for the largest leap to the top position in chart history.

In addition to her music, Clarkson had the lead role in the movie From Justin to Kelly (2003) along with Justin Guarini. She played Brenda Lee in the television drama American Dreams and appeared in the sitcom Reba. She also participated in comedy skits on MADtv (2002) and Saturday Night Live (2005). "Kelly Clarkson @ The Internet Movie Database" IMDb. Retrieved 2009-07-27

Clarkson has toured extensively worldwide as a solo act. After Clarkson's appearance on the CMT Crossroads and her duet version of "Because of You" (2007) with Reba McEntire, they co-headlined the 2 Worlds 2 Voices Tour (2008). "Reba McEntire & Kelly Clarkson Team Up For Tour" starpulse.com. Retrieved 2009-07-27

Clarkson was the highest-selling American Idol album in the United States until November 2009, when Carrie Underwood claimed that distinction by a narrow margin of 100,000 albums. Clarkson, however, remains the highest-selling American Idol alum overall, with over 23 million albums sold worldwide to Underwood's 14 million.http://top40.about.com/b/2009/12/04/carrie-underwood-moves-past-kelly-clarkson-in-top-us-album-sales-by-an-american-idol-artist.htm

Christopher Ruben Studdard (born September 12, 1978), best known as Ruben Studdard, is an American pop, R&B, and gospel singer. He rose to fame as winner of the second season of American Idol. He received a Grammy Award nomination in December 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "Superstar."

In the years following Idol, Studdard has released four studio albums, including his most recent disc, 2009's Love Is.

In addition to appearing on various television shows he has toured with Robin Givens in the comedy-drama Heaven I Need a Hug and in 2008 accepted the role of Fats Waller in a national tour of Ain't Misbehavin'.[http://blog.al.com/mcolurso/2007/11/ruben_studdard_tours_with_robi.html Ruben Studdard tours with Robin Givens in play, says hell star in 'Ain't Misbehavin''] by Mary Colurso, AL.com, November 30, 2007, retrieved December 16, 2007

Fantasia Monique Barrino (born June 30, 1984), commonly known as Fantasia, is an American R&B/soul singer, Broadway and television actress who rose to fame as the winner of the third season of the television series American Idol in 2004. She has been nominated for eight Grammy Awards. After playing the part of Celie in the Broadway musical The Color Purple, she is cast to be in the film adaptation of the musical.

In 2004, she released her debut single, I Believe, which debuted at the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100, making Barrino the first recording artist in history to debut at the number one spot with a debut single. Subsequently, she released her debut album, Free Yourself, which went on to be certified Platinum by the RIAA and garnered Barrino four Grammy nominations in 2006. In 2006, she released her sophomore album, Fantasia, which featured the number-one R&B hit When I See U. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA and received three Grammy nominations in 2008. She then played the part of Celie in the Broadway musical The Color Purple. Her third studio album is set to be released in early 2010.

Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American country singer and songwriter from . She rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol. She has since become a multi-platinum selling recording artist, a multiple Grammy Award winner, was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, is a three-time Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association Female Vocalist winner, and was the entertainer of the year.

Her debut album, Some Hearts, was certified seven times platinum, is the fastest selling debut country album in Nielsen SoundScan history. And it is also the best-selling solo female debut album in country music history.News : Headlines : Carrie Underwood Sets Sales Record : Great American Country Some Hearts yielded three number one hits on the country charts in the United States: "Jesus, Take the Wheel", "Wasted", and "Before He Cheats", her biggest hit to date.

Her second album, Carnival Ride, was released on October 23, 2007. It has so far sold over 3 million copies, and produced four number one country hits on the country charts, "So Small", "All-American Girl", "Last Name" and "Just a Dream".

Underwood released her third album, Play On, on November 3, 2009. It has so far sold over 1 million copies since its release. Her first single off the album, "Cowboy Casanova", was released to country radio on September 14, 2009.Single Releases : MusicRow The single peaked at number one on the country charts, which made Underwood the artist with the most top 10s on the country chart among solo women this decade, followed by Faith Hill and Martina McBride each with 9. Trust, Gary. Chart Beat Wednesday, [(magazine)|], 7 October 2009. In November 2009, Underwood attained total domestic album sales of 11 million and became the highest-selling American Idol album in the United States, surpassing Kelly Clarkson by approximately 600,000 units."Album sales: Kris Allen fails to make Top 10", USAToday.com, 25 November 2009. Clarkson, however, remains the highest-selling American Idol album overall, with over 23 million albums sold worldwide to Underwood's 14 million.Carrie Underwood vs. Kelly Clarkson album sales, About.com, 4 December 2009.

Taylor Reuben Hicks (born October 7, 1976) is an American singer who achieved fame in 2006, when he won the fifth season of American Idol. Hicks got his start as a professional musician in his late teens and performed around the Southeastern United States for well over the span of a decade, during which he also released two independent albums. Upon winning Idol, he was signed to Arista Records, under which his self-titled major label debut was released on December 12, 2006. His energetic stage performances and influences derived from classic rock, blues, and R&B music had earned him a following of devout fans, who have been dubbed the "Soul Patrol." He is currently on tour in Grease playing Teen Angel, the role originated by Alan Paul.http://ibdb.com/production.php?id=3641 The new CD, The Distance, was released March 10, 2009, with the first single, "What's Right Is Right", going to AC adds January 27, 2009. The second single was confirmed to be "Seven Mile Breakdown" via his myspace page.Taylor Hicks Resurfaces With New Album - Billboard

Jordin Brianna Sparks (born December 22, 1989) is an American R&B and pop singer from Glendale, Arizona who rose to fame as the winner of the sixth season of American Idol. Sparks won when she was 17 years old, making her the youngest winner. She followed her American Idol victory with the release of her self-titled debut album in 2007, which has gone Platinum and has sold over 2 million copies worldwide. Sparks' second single "No Air", which features Chris Brown, is the song with the most paid downloads by any American Idol contestant, selling about 4 million digital copies worldwide.http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/30573/chart-watch-extra-the-american-idol-alumni-association/ Due to the success of her debut album and its four top 20 singles, she has won an American Music Award in 2008 and received her first Grammy nomination in 2009.

Sparks' sophomore album Battlefield was released in July 2009 worldwide and debuted at #7 in the United States, three spots higher than her first album. The album's lead single was also titled "Battlefield" and peaked in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has sold more than a million copies thus far. Sparks has sold about 9 million singles worldwide to date. Sparks' first five singles all peaked in the top 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100, three of them peaking in the top 10. Her second single off of her sophomore album, "S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)", was her first song to top the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play making it her first U.S. number one single.http://www.billboard.com/column/chartbeat/chart-beat-tuesday-neil-diamond-kelly-clarkson-1004047863.story#/column/chartbeat/chart-beat-tuesday-neil-diamond-kelly-clarkson-1004047863.story

David Cook may refer to:

*David Cook (singer) (born 1982), winner of the seventh season of American Idol

**David Cook (album), the second solo album by David Cook

*David J. Cook (1840?1907), lawman of the American Old West, credited with 3,000 arrests

*David L. Cook (born 1968), Christian country music singer and comedian

*David Cook (game designer), author and designer of role-playing games

*David Cook (politician), politician of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland

*David Cook (author), Rice University religion professor (Islam), author of books on Islam

*David Albert Cook (born 1947) is the birth name of British singer David Essex

*David Cook (TV presenter) (born 1940), first presenter of the UK children's television programme Rainbow

*David Cook (cyclist), British Olympic cyclist

Kristopher Neil "Kris" Allen (born June 21, 1985) is an American singer-songwriter from Conway, Arkansas, and the winner of the eighth season of American Idol. Prior to Idol, he self-released a 2007 album entitled Brand New Shoes.

Allen's Idol coronation song, "No Boundaries" and his version of "Heartless" both charted within the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. Allen's post-Idol self-titled album was released on November 17, 2009, through Jive Records. The album debuted at #11 on the U.S. Billboard 200 shifting over 90,000 copies. The album's lead single, "Live Like We're Dying", was released on September 21, 2009, and has peaked at #32 in the U.S.