List of American Idol Winners: See Where Your Favorites Are Now!

May 20, 2024 Stan

During American Idol‘s past 21 seasons, the reality show has seen its fair share of winners. Of course, some singers stand out among the crowd like the first winner of American Idol, Kelly Clarkson. Since winning the show, she’s gone on to have a successful career in the music industry.

There’s no denying that Kelly is one of the most successful American Idol winners in the show’s history, but what happened to the rest of the elite group of singers?

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Kelly Clarkson — Season 1, 2002

Kelly has sold more than 45 million singles and won three Grammys since her time on American Idol. She shares two children with her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock, whom she officially divorced in March 2022 after eight years together Now, she’s a coach on NBC’s The Voice and the host of The Kelly Clarkson Show.

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Ruben Studdard — Season 2, 2003

Ruben has released seven albums, with his first going platinum. He’s been nominated for one Grammy and appeared on Season 15 of The Biggest Loser. He married Zuri McCants in 2008, but they divorced in 2012.

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Fantasia Barrino — Season 3, 2004

Fantasia has since released seven albums and won a Grammy Award. She welcomed a son named Dallas in 2011, and married businessman Kendall Taylor in July 2015. She gave birth to their daughter in May 2021. Fantasia also has a son named Zion from a previous relationship.

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Carrie Underwood — Season 4, 2005

Carrie has scooped up eight Grammys and sold more than 85 million albums worldwide. She married pro-hockey player Mike Fisher in 2010, and they welcomed their first child, a son named Isaiah, in February 2015. The couple welcomed their second child, a son named Jacob, in January 2019.

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Taylor Hicks — Season 5, 2006

The leader of the “Soul Patrol” made his Broadway debut in 2008 with Grease and headlined a residency in Las Vegas. He currently hosts a television show called State Plate.

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Jordin Sparks — Season 6, 2007

Jordin released her fourth studio album, Cider & Hennessy, in 2020, in August 2015. She’s been nominated for one Grammy and in 2017 married Dana Isaiah. They welcomed their son DJ together on May 2, 2018.

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David Cook — Season 7, 2008

David has released a total of four albums, including 2015’s Digital Vein. He became an advocate for brain cancer research following the death of his brother in 2009 from the disease. He married his longtime girlfriend, Racheal Stump, in 2015.

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Kris Allen — Season 8, 2009

After taking home the win, Kris released six albums, including 2016’s Letting You In and Somethin’ About Christmas. He and his wife Katy O’Connell have three children.

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Lee DeWyze — Season 9, 2010

Lee released his last album, Paranoia, in February 2018. He married actress Jonna Walsh in 2012.

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Scotty McCreery — Season 10, 2011

Scotty has become a well-respected artist in country music circles, winning two American Country Awards. He attended North Carolina State University, where he studied communications. In 2017, he got engaged to his longtime girlfriend Gabi Dugal and they tied the knot in June 2018.

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Phillip Phillips — Season 11, 2012

Phillip had a number of hit singles from his debut album, The World from the Side of the Moon, including “Home” and “Gone, Gone, Gone.” He married girlfriend Hannah Blackwell in October 2015.

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Candice Glover — Season 12, 2013

Candice released her debut album, Music Speaks, in 2014.

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Caleb Johnson — Season 13, 2014

Caleb’s debut album, Testify, came out in August 2014. After parting ways with his record label in late 2015, he released his second album, Born From Southern Ground, in May 2019.

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Nick Fradiani — Season 14, 2015

Nick released his debut album, Hurricane, in August 2016, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart. He then released a second album called Past My Past in November 2022.

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Trent Harmon — Season 15, 2016

Trent won Idol‘s season finale in April 2016. After signing with Big Machine Records, he released two singles called “Falling” and “There’s a Girl”.

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Maddie Poppe — Season 16, 2018

After winning season 16, Maddie went on to release a handful of singles. Her most recent song, “Little Things,” was released in February 2019. Her most recent song, “Good Enough to Let You Go,” was released in May 2023.

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Laine Hardy — Season 17, 2019

After winning season 17, Laine, a Louisiana native, went on to release several songs — including “Ground I Grew Up On” and “Flame.” On April 29, 2022, Laine was arrested by the Louisiana State University Police Department and booked at the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison due to allegations that he planted a recording device in his ex-girlfriend’s dorm room. He was later released from prison and enrolled in a pretrial program in order to expunge his record.

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Just Sam — Season 18, 2020

Just Sam took home the big win during the virtual season 18 finale in May 2020. In May 2023, Just Sam revealed via Instagram Stories that they are back to busking in New York City subway stations.

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Chayce Beckham — Season 19, 2021

Chayce’s single, “23,” peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard U.S. Country chart after his win. He announced new music and a tour with Luke Bryan in 2023.

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Noah Thompson — Season 20, 2022

American Idol season 20 heartthrob Noah moved to Nashville for his music career in January 2023. He released a new song, “Middle of God Knows Where,” in June 2023.

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Iam Tongi — Season 21, 2023

Hawaii-born Iam Tongi is the latest American Idol winner as of May 2023. “It’s amazing,” Iam told TV Insider of his win. “I was so happy everyone voted. Thank you to everyone. Now that I’m the ‘Idol’ of the 21st season, it’s crazy.”

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List of American Idol Winners: See Where Your Favorites Are Now!

Abi Carter – Season 22, 2024

Before Abi Carter walked away with the crown for American Idol in May 2024, the California native received such a long applause from the audience for one of her performances, it brought her to tears. But what does Abi have planned for the future?

“I want to keep writing songs. I want to keep releasing songs. I hope I can release an album. I want to start playing shows and hopefully tour. I want to do all of the artist’s things. I want to do all the music stuff. That’s my plan,” Abi told TV Insider on May 20, 2024.

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