Relive one of the most famous reality shows of all time with our list of the 12 most successful American Idol contestants!
Created by Simon Fuller, this singing competition raked in viewers like no other television show. Not only was it the most watched prime time program in the United States for eight years in a row from 2003 to 2011, but the contestants of the show also went on to become successful and famous musicians.
The series of American Idol came to an end in 2016 after fifteen seasons, and it was quite the heartbreak for fans who used to spend half the year waiting for the next season. However, ever since the reality talent show “The Voice” emerged in 2011, the ratings of American Idol started decreasing, in fact, the viewers kept declining from 2012 to 2016.
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With the original judges gradually leaving the show, first Paula Abdul, then Simon Cowell and finally Randy Jackson, the show lost its charm for many. One of the only people who stuck with the show till the very end was the host, Ryan Seacrest. Don’t get me wrong, though: even at the end, American Idol had a viewership of just above eleven million. This number cannot compete with the peak times of the show, but still, eleven million is quite a number.
Much like the 6 most popular musicians who got discovered online, the singers discovered by American Idol were amazing, which brings us back to our list of 12 most successful American Idol contestants. To create our list of most successful American Idol contestants, we first picked up the number of albums sold by each contestant from The Wall Street Journal which provides the figures for the top 25. We then extracted the net worth of these contestants from Celebrity Net Worth and ranked them accordingly. After combining the rankings resulting from both these criteria, we formed the following list, which covers their success as a musician as well as their earnings from this field. Can you guess who made it on here?
12. David Archuleta
Runner-up, Season 7
Number of albums sold: 1,606,000
Net worth: $5 million
We are starting off our list of most successful American Idol contestants with David Archuleta, who was just sixteen when he auditioned for American Idol and everyone immediately fell for his beautiful voice. Who can forget his audition when he did his cover of John Mayer’s Waiting on the World to Change with Randy joining in to sing in the background? That was just the beginning. His first studio album, titled David Archuleta, was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). With the success of the first, he continued to release more albums with a total of six as of now.
11. Elliott Yamin
Third place, Season 5
Number of albums sold: 929,000
Net worth: $6 million
Up next in our list of most successful American Idol contestants is Elliott and his first album bagged the number one spot on the Billboard Independent Albums chart when it was released and number three on the Billboard 200. It was also certified Gold by RIAA. In fact, Elliot Yamin is most famous for his single Wait for You which was a part of this career defining album. He has also collaborated with Taylor Hicks, another American Idol contestant, and has recorded a duet with him. Surprisingly, Taylor Hicks didn’t make the cut to end up on this list.
10. David Cook
Winner, Season 7
Number of albums sold: 2,011,000
Net worth: $5 million
David Cook was part of the “finale with two Davids” with David Archuleta as his rival. He won with 56% of the total votes in season 7 and that’s when his post idol career began. His first album released in 2008 went on to be declared platinum, making Cook the first person on our list to have gotten this honor, but here are many more to come!
9. Phillip Phillips
Winner; Season 11
Number of albums sold: 2,546,000
Net worth: $3.5 million
Although Phillip Phillips had to be taken to the doctor several times during the run of the show, his persistence paid off, and he went on to win it. His coronation song, meaning the first song released by each winner of the show after their win is declared, was called “Home” and is considered to be the best among all the other seasons. Looking at Phillip’s number of albums sold, one wouldn’t think that he has released only two! He has surely gained much success in a short amount of time. In fact, he is the most recent contestant on our list being the winner of season 11.
8. Ruben Studdard
Winner; Season 2
Number of albums sold: 2,726,000
Net worth: $3 million
The episode that declared Ruben Studdard as the winner is the most watched finale of American Idol. Since then, Ruben has received a Grammy Award nomination in the category of Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and has released six albums. Even though his last album was released more than two years ago, we’re sure he is quite happy with how his career has turned out.
7. Fantasia
Winner; Season 3
Number of albums sold: 3,585,000
Net worth: $3 million
We are continuing our list of most successful American Idol contestants with Fantasia and her powerful voice that has made her unforgettable on the stage of American Idol and has etched her a name in the history of music especially in the R&B genre. Since winning the show, she has released five studio albums, each of which have been quite successful. Her debut album alone won her a platinum certification as well as three Gammy nominations! Furthermore, she has been placed at number 32 by VH1 on their list of the 100 greatest women in music.
6. Jennifer Hudson
Seventh place; Season 3
Number of albums sold: 1,816,000
Net worth: $20 million
Jennifer Hudson was eliminated from the show quite early, but she is undoubtedly one of a kind which is why she stands at number 6 on our list of 12 most successful American Idol contestants. Her first two studio albums were certified gold. But the amazing thing is this: not only has she won a Grammy Award, but has also received an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for her work in the musical drama Dreamgirls, in which she worked with the likes of Beyonce, Eddie Murphy, and Jamie Foxx.
5. Adam Lambert
Runner-up; Season 8
Number of albums sold: 2,115,000
Net worth: $12 million
Adam Lambert’s unique and unusual renditions of songs during the run of the show made him insanely popular. He always received great praise from the judges and rose to fame pretty quickly. Such was his success that he appeared as a mentor in season 13 of American Idol and as a guest judge during the auditions of season 14. He has released three studio albums in his music career, which have sold more than 2 million copies combined.
4. Clay Aiken
Runner-up, Season 2
Number of albums sold: 5,169,000
Net worth: $6 million
Clay Aiken’s first album titled Measure of a Man was rewarded the certification of multi-platinum by RIAA. He went on to release five more studio albums. At present, Clay Aiken is not only a singer and a songwriter, but he is also a politician and activist. He even ran for Congress in North Carolina’s second congressional district. Not something you would have expected from the season 2 runner-up, is it?
3. Chris Daughtry
Fourth place, Season 5
Number of albums sold (as the band Daughtry): 9,074,000
Net worth: $8.5 million
We are continuing our list of most successful American Idol contestants with Chis Daughtry and her elimination on American Idol, that was one of the most shocking in the show’s history. As Ryan used to say: don’t ever think your favorite is safe! His untimely elimination did not affect his career, as he went on to form the rock band Daughtry and reap its success in the form of album sales. It’s Not Over, the most successful single from his first album, went on to be nominated for the category of Best Rock Song in the 50th Grammy Awards.
2. Kelly Clarkson
Winner, Season 1
Number of albums sold: 17,915,000
Net worth: $28 million
Winning the first ever season of the iconic show, Kelly Clarkson is often titled as the “Original American Idol”. Her career kicked off with a bang as her first ever single Before Your Love, which was released simultaneously with A Moment Like This, became the best-selling single of the year 2002. Her first studio album, which came out the following year went straight to number one on the Billboard 200 and was subsequently certified as double platinum. Furthermore, she has won three Grammy Awards out of a total of twelve nominations.
1. Carrie Underwood
Winner, Season 4
Number of albums sold: 20,120,000
Net worth: $70 million
It is certainly no surprise that Carrie Underwood has bagged the number one spot on our list of the 12 most successful American Idol contestants. This simple country girl entered the show in a pink tee and jeans and has now turned into one of the most glamorous and successful singers in her preferred music genre. Carrie has in her name thirteen Grammy nominations, out of which she has won seven. She also holds the Guinness World Record for Most Country Number 1s for a Female Artist in the U.S. These are just the highlights, as she has received several Academy of Country Music Awards, Billboard Awards and American Music Awards. Her awards shelf must be full to the brim! In addition to awards, her net worth is more than the rest of the contestants on the list by a very large margin. I think we would all agree: American Idol was the best thing Carrie Underwood ever did.
