What Are All the 'American Idol' Winners Doing Now?

American Idol winners Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard and Fantasia Barrino in May 2004

American Idol produced some serious stars. Jennifer Hudson has an EGOT, Adam Lambert tours with Queen—and those aren't even the winners!

Not everyone who's been crowned the winner of the series has gone on to mega stardom, but the ones who have, like Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia and Carrie Underwood, really soared.

From movie stars to music history to resuming normalcy, find out what all of the American Idol winners are doing now.

Related: See Every American Idol Winner's Auditions for the Show

What Are All the American Idol Winners Doing Now?

Kelly Clarkson

The very first American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, has an empire and is halfway to an EGOT! She has Emmys thanks to her daytime talk show The Kelly Clarkson Show and Grammys for her stellar music career, which includes not one, but two incredible Christmas albums. (And we can't forget her incredible "Kellyoke" cover song performances—see the best ones here!)

On film, she's voiced characters in The Star, UglyDolls and Trolls World Tour. Clarkson is single after splitting from ex-husband Brandon Blackstock in 2020 and finalizing their divorce in 2022.

Clarkson took her talents and experience as an Idol winner to be a coach on The Voice, with #TeamKelly contestants winning four times so far out of her eight seasons on the show.

She also has an adorable furniture and homeware line through Wayfair. The world has no choice but to stan.

Related: Kelly Clarkson's Net Worth In 2023

Ruben Studdard

Season 2 victor Ruben Studdard was nominated for a Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his song "Superstar." He's released eight studio albums, most in the gospel genre, and toured with American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken. He also performed in a touring revival of Ain't Misbehavin' as Fats Waller and appeared in several TV shows (including 8 Simple Rules and The Biggest Loser) and movies since his A.I. heyday.

Related: When Does American Idol Come Back?

Fantasia Barrino

Fantasia Barrino won American Idol Season 3 when she was 19, and almost immediately made history, becoming the first solo artist to have her first single debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with "I Believe." Her debut album, Free Yourself, sold 2 million copies worldwide and was nominated for three Grammys. Her sophomore album, Fantasia, was certified gold and nominated for two Grammys.

Barrino dictated a memoir, Life Is Not a Fairy Tale, which was published in 2005. She revealed in the book that she was functionally illiterate.

In 2007, Barrino starred as Celie in the Broadway musical adaptation of The Color Purple. Her performance was critically acclaimed and a commercial success.

Barrino had a number of personal problems in 2010 that led her to attempt to take her own life. She survived and lived to tell the tale—and to thrive afterward.

In 2011, Barrino won her first Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Bittersweet" from her third album Back to Me. She's since released three more albums, a Christmas album and has a seventh album on the way.

Barrino married businessman Kendall Taylor in 2015. They share a daughter, Keziah, born in May 2021. (Barrino is also mom to daughter Zion, 22, and son Dallas, 12.)

Barrino reprised the role of Celie in the 2023 film version of The Color Purple. She is nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in the movie musical.

Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood has been a country queen for so long, it's easy to forget that she got her start by winning the fourth season of American Idol.

Underwood made history pretty quickly: She was the first country artist to have their first single ("Inside Your Heaven") debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and she was the only solo country star to have a Hot 100 No. 1 song in the 2000s.

Her first hit single wasn't a fluke: Her debut album, Some Hearts, is the best-selling debut album by a female country artist ever, thanks to "Inside Your Heaven," as well as the smash "Before He Cheats" and "Jesus Take the Wheel."

And that was just the beginning.

Underwood is now the most decorated country artist of all time, with eight Grammys, 16 ACM Awards, five CMT Artist of the Year Awards, 23 CMT Music Awards, nine CMA Awards, 12 Billboard Music Awards and 17 American Music Awards. She is also the first woman to ever win three ACM Entertainer of the Year Awards. As a songwriter, Underwood has won 10 BMI Awards and was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2011 for her song "There's a Place for Us" from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

Underwood has sold 85 million records worldwide (and counting). She's the highest-selling female country artist of all time and the 10th highest-selling female artist in history of any genre. With all that success, of course, comes cash: Underwood is also the highest-earning American Idol alum in history and is one of the highest-grossing female touring artists of the century.

Underwood is still recording, touring and killing the game today, with absolutely zero signs of stopping.

Related: Carrie Underwood's Net Worth From American Idol to Country Royalty

Taylor Hicks

American Idol Season 5 had a lot of talent in its finalists, and two runners-up, Chris Daughtry and Katharine McPhee, eclipsed the actual winner, the hybrid silver fox-dark horse Taylor Hicks, after the season ended.

Before Idol, Hicks was a working musician in the American South, even collaborating with icons like Percy Sledge, but couldn't break out to get signed by a major label, instead releasing records independently (which allowed him to still compete on the show).

After winning American Idol in 2006, Hicks released his first single, "Do I Make You Proud?," debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and eventually being certified gold. His debut album, Taylor Hicks, landed at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 that December, and was certified platinum in January 2007.

Hicks released a memoir later that year, Heart Full of Soul: An Inspirational Memoir About Finding Your Voice and Finding Your Way, and in 2008 starred as Teen Angel in Grease on Broadway. Despite his platinum sales, he was dropped from Arista Records in 2008, having the lowest-performing album of any Idol winner up to that point.

Hicks released his second album, The Distance, on his own label in 2009 and reprised his Teen Angel role for the touring production of Grease.

In 2011, Hicks opened his own restaurant (later turned into a barbecue and live music venue) ORE in his native Birmingham, Alabama. He won a Grammy in 2013 for his feature on Jimmy Fallon's Blow Your Pants Off, and competed in a Super Smash Bros. gaming tournament later that year.

Hicks served as the host of the show State Plate for two seasons, and in 2017 released the single "Six String and Diamond Rings." He continues to tour and perform regionally.

In June 2023, was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry and released the single "Teach Me to Dance." Hicks told Parade at the time that he was working on a new album for about a decade and credits a lot of his success to his time on Idol.

"That opportunity to be able to be on that show at that time period has allowed me longevity—obviously, with hard work as well," he said. "But I'm very blessed to have been able to be on that show at that time and win it."

Related: Taylor Hicks Tells All on Post-American Idol Life and Career

Jordin Sparks

Jordin Sparks won American Idol Season 6 in 2007 when she was just 17 years old, becoming the youngest victor in the show's history. Her self-titled debut album was certified platinum, and her duet with Chris Brown, "No Air," was one of the best-selling singles by an Idol alum. The track also earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

Sparks' sophomore album, Battlefield, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in 2009, but didn't perform as well commercially as her debut. After opening for the Jonas Brothers and Britney Spears and going on her own headlining tour in support of the record, Sparks turned her attention to acting. She starred in Broadway's In the Heights and as the title character in the 2012 Sparkle remake alongside Whitney Houston, followed by the Alicia Keys-produced indie film The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete with co-stars Anthony Mackie, Jeffrey Wright and fellow Idol alum Jennifer Hudson, sci-fi thriller Left Behind with Nicolas Cage, Hallmark movies and an episode of CSI Season 14.

She parted ways with RCA Records and released her #ByeFelicia mixtape in November 2014, followed by her third album Right Here Right Now in 2015.

Three years later, Sparks and her husband, Dana Isaiah, began documenting their lives for a reality show that became Jordin Sparks: A Baby Story.

Sparks has continued releasing music and embarked on two more reality competition series: The Masked Dancer in 2021 and Dancing With the Stars in 2022.

Related: 10 Most Successful American Idol Contestants

David Cook

Seriously, who can ever forget David Cook's killer cover of Mariah Carey's "Always Be My Baby?"

After winning American Idol Season 7 in May 2008, Cook worked with A-list alternative artists on his self-titled debut album, which came out in November that year. Both the album and his first single, "Light On," were certified platinum, and he embarked on his first tour in support of the record.

Cook released and toured for his second album, This Loud Morning, in 2011. He parted ways with RCA Records in 2012.

He moved to Nashville and signed a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell in 2015 and in 2018, made his Broadway debut in Kinky Boots. Today, Cook continues releasing, performing and producing music.

Related: How Much Is American Idol Judge Katy Perry's Net Worth?

Kris Allen

Kris Allen has said that American Idol was his "last hurrah" at pursuing a music career before quitting, and it was a good move, because he won Season 8. His debut single, "Live Like We're Dying," was certified platinum, and his debut album, Kris Allen, sold about 329,000 copies.

Allen released his second album, Thank You Camellia, in May 2012, and a Christmas EP that November. After splitting from RCA, he followed with 2014's Horizons and 2016's Letting You In.

In 2018, Allen went on the American Idol Live! tour and released 10, a compilation of (you guessed it!) 10 reworked versions of his previous tracks, to mark a decade since winning Idol. In 2021, he toured with Season 7 winner Cook. Allen continues to record, release and perform music. He is married to childhood sweetheart Katy Cook, with whom he shares three children.

In August 2023, he and fellow Idol alum Haley Reinhart released an acoustic duet, "Thunderclouds," covering a track by Sia, Labrinth and Diplo.

Lee DeWyze

It was a "Beautiful Day" when Lee DeWyze won American Idol Season 9 in May 2010, choosing the U2 hit as his coronation song.

DeWyze's debut album, Live It Up, came out that November. Less than a year later, RCA Records announced that DeWyze wasn't on their roster anymore, as their long-standing agreement with American Idol expired.

In January 2013, DeWyze announced his new contract with Vanguard Records, and his album Frames came out that August. In 2014, his track "Blackbird Song" was featured in AMC's The Walking Dead and three years later aired in an episode of Suits.

DeWyze released the album Oil & Water in 2016, followed by his Castles EP in 2019 and Ghost Stories in 2021. DeWyze continues touring and recording, with more songs, including his tracks "Weight" and "Horizon" being featured in TV shows (All-American) and movies (The Secret: Dare to Dream). He's also a painter.

Scotty McCreery

Scotty McCreery, then 17, rode his super-deep bass voice to victory in American Idol Season 10 in May 2011.

He signed with Mercury Nashville and his debut single, "I Love You This Big," debuted at No. 32 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. His debut album, Clear as Day, was released in October 2011, followed by See You Tonight in October 2013.

In 2016, McCreery parted ways with Mercury Records and released a book called Go Big or Go Home. Two years later, McCreery signed with Sony Music and got his first No. 1 Hot Country Songs single with "Five More Minutes," a song he co-wrote about the passing of his grandfather.

McCreery's most recent album, Same Truck, debuted in September 2021, and he will tour in 2024.

Phillip Phillips

Phillip Phillips had a major hit with his coronation song "Home" after winning American Idol Season 11 in 2012. The track sold 5 million copies and became the best-selling Idol coronation song ever. So far, it's been the last American Idol coronation song to be a certified smash.

That November, Phillips' first album The World from the Side of the Moon debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, remaining on the chart for a whopping 61 weeks, one of the longest periods ever for an American Idol artist. His single "Gone, Gone, Gone" was released in February 2013 and was featured in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (the scene will legit make you cry, just a warning!).

Phillips hit the road as an opener for Matchbox Twenty and John Mayer through 2013. The following year, he released his sophomore album, Behind the Light, winning his first BMI songwriting award for the single "Raging Fire."

Following a label dispute, Phillips released albums Collateral in 2017 and Drift Back in June 2023, making his Grand Ole Opry debut the same month. He continues to tour and has even dabbled in acting, playing an adorable diamond smuggler in an episode of Hawaii Five-0 in 2018.

Candice Glover

Prior to winning Season 12 of American Idol, Candice Glover actually auditioned for Season 9 and Season 11. Immediately after her victory, Glover's first single, "I Am Beautiful," as well as pre-orders for her debut album Music Speaks, became available. She then embarked on the Idols Live! tour to promote the record.

"I Am Beautiful" peaked at No. 93 on the Billboard Hot 100, but fared better on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, where it peaked at No. 33. Her follow-up single, "Cried," came in at No. 18 on the Billboard Adult R&B chart, but didn't land on the Hot 100.

Music Speaks was released in February 2014 to well-deserved critical acclaim (those pipes!), but fizzled commercially—and there may have been a technical issue behind it. Glover explained to Rated R&B that when she pushed to change her album release from October 2013 to February 2014, Apple Music and iTunes glitched, possibly due to a miscommunication (or lack of co mmunication) between iTunes and her label.

“Something very unfortunate happened when I wanted to change the date of my album release. I don’t think a lot of people know this but my album was supposed to come out on Oct. 8, 2013, and I changed it to Feb. 18, 2014. When I changed it, Interscope and Apple didn’t communicate that to each other. On Oct. 8, the album came out by accident and everybody who had pre-ordered that day got a blank album,” she said. “All the songs were four seconds apiece and completely silent. It made the charts and everything but the unfortunate thing about it is that I lost all my pre-orders. When the album actually did come out, it didn't sell as many as it would’ve if it had stayed on pre-order from the night I had won.”

In 2016, Glover split from 19/Interscope Records, and she continues performing and working in music.

Related: American Idol Host Ryan Seacrest Reveals His Next Dream Job

Caleb Johnson

Like Glover, Caleb Johnson auditioned for American Idol more than once before he won Season 13 in 2014, first coming in the top 42 in Season 11. His debut album, Testify, was released in August 2014, opening at No. 24 on the Billboard 200.

In 2015, Johnson announced he and his label parted ways, and he released two independent singles the following year. He toured with Trans-Siberian Orchestra in 2018, serving vocals for their hit "Three Kings & I." His album with The Ramblin' Saints, Born From Southern Ground, dropped in February 2019, followed by Mountain Mojo Vol. 1 in 2021.

In January 2023, Johnson and the late Meat Loaf's band, The Neverland Express, released the album Paradise Found: Bat Out Of Hell Reignited and went on tour with them that May. Johnson toured with Trans-Siberian Orchestra once more in December 2023.

Nick Fradiani

American Idol Season 14 winner Nick Fradiani had previously auditioned for America's Got Talent with his band Beach Avenue, but didn't last nearly as long there. Following his victory in May 2015, Fradiani toured with American Idols LIVE! and released his debut album, Hurricane, on Big Machine Records in August 2016. Fradiani co-wrote all of the tracks on Hurricane.

In January 2017, Fradiani and Big Machine split, and he and his former pre-Idol bandmates from Beach Avenue teamed up for his Where We Left Off EP. He told TooFab that the process was almost completely different from recording Hurricane, explaining, "It's kind of more fulfilling, like I did everything. I've always considered myself to be kind of an unorganized person, but I found that I really was able to, when push came to shove, and came up with my music, I was proud of the effort I put in. I also have a great team of people behind me right now that are obviously making this a possibility for me to keep moving forward. But you know, I did a lot of it on my own, from finding the people I wanted to mix the songs and master the songs, to finding the director to do the video, to writing the video, to everything."

He added, "When I was at a big label, it felt like there was a lot of red tape to get through and maybe I wasn't always having the final say on stuff and now I do, and so that's really exciting."

In addition to recording and performing his own music, Fradiani stars as a young Neil Diamond in Broadway's A Beautiful Noise.

Trent Harmon

Country singer Trent Harmon won American Idol Season 15 in April 2016, with his coronation single, "Falling," co-written by none other than former Idol judge and country fixture Keith Urban.

"That one just sort of fell by the wayside a little bit," Urban told Billboard of the track, which he was initially going to keep for himself. "I was focusing on the songs and the next thing I knew they called me and asked if I would be cool with Trent singing it. I was all for it. I heard his version of it and it was amazing."

Harmon released his self-titled EP in December 2016. After suffering some setbacks in 2017 due to label restructuring, his efforts were paused, but in 2018, he released his debut album You Got 'Em All.

In August 2022, Harmon reflected on his Idol days, writing on Instagram, "I'm not Kelly Clarkson or Chris Daughtry or Carrie Underwood—I know that. I don't get invited back to the show to sing my greatest hits and relive all that was. I'm good with that. I'm healthy, my family and friends are all healthy; I have money to pay my bills and my dogs are asleep next to me. God's been good." He added, "@americanidol has given me countless good memories and opportunities.. Truly! Too many to name. It's also come with more grief and heartache than I will ever be able to explain. I asked my dad one time what he would tell folks every time they ask: ‘Well what was that like?’ His response: ‘YOU TELL ‘EM..IT AINT’T ALL GOOD AND IT AIN’T ALL BAD.’ And that, ladies and gentlemen.. is about as perfect as you can sum it up in so many words."

Maddie Poppe

Maddie Poppe was the first American Idol winner following the show's move from FOX to ABC after a two-year cancellation. Poppe won the series on May 21, 2018, and released her debut album Whirlwind a year later via Hollywood Records. Her Whirlwind singles "Made You Miss" and "Not Losing You" did well on the Adult Contemporary charts.

In 2019, she toured with Ingrid Michaelson, and in 2023 hit the road with Nick Carter and Joshua Radin (the latter with whom she'll tour again in 2024). She released an independent Christmas EP in 2020.

In May 2023, she posted a photo from her Idol victory announcement with Seacrest, captioning it, "*Me pretending to be surprised after I saw my name on the card in 72 pt font 2 minutes prior to @ryanseacrest saying it out loud.*?No but actually…these tears were real lol. Forever grateful to @americanidol for changing my life forever 5 years ago today!??"

She released her single "SOS I'm In Love" in September 2023.

Related: Jennifer Hudson Shows Off Her Original American Idol Audition

Laine Hardy

Laine Hardy auditioned for American Idol Season 16 and was eliminated after the top 50. He won Season 17 even though he didn't plan to audition for it—judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan encouraged him to try out when he arrived to accompany an auditioning pal.

He released his coronation song, "Flame," in May 2019 after his win, peaking at No. 8 on the Billboard Digital Songs chart, and he toured that fall. He released several singles during the COVID-19 pandemic, and his debut album Here's to Anyone dropped in September 2021.

In April 2022, Hardy was arrested for allegedly planting a recording device in a woman's dorm at Louisiana State University. The following year, it was reported he would avoid jail time after completing a pre-trial diversion program.

Just Sam

Samantha "Just Sam" Diaz was turned down for The Voice before trying out for American Idol. They won Season 18, becoming the first-ever openly LGBTQIA+ artist to do so. Diaz's heart-wrenching story of busking to support their grandmother, who raised them since childhood, won over audiences as much as their voice did—but in little time, Diaz was back where they started, busking in the New York City subway.

The signs were there: Diaz and Hollywood Records split in 2021, and they previously said trying to independently fund their music left them "broke." They explained to The Washington Post in December 2023, "If I ever went back to the trains, I didn’t expect it to be something that I had to do. I felt like it would be something that I did for fun, you know, relive an old moment or memory, you know? But I literally could not afford to pay my rent. I couldn't afford to eat."

Diaz said they didn't tell their grandmother about their struggles because they were embarrassed, and that their grandmother found out when the rest of the world did—in early 2023, when a video of Diaz busking on the subway went viral.

Just Sam won Idol at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, making it difficult for them to get into a studio to record or promote following their victory—especially considering they had to finish out the season remotely. Add that to the financial struggles that they already faced, plus a hospitalization for an undisclosed illness and not fully grasping their contract stipulations, and Just Sam's story is much more sympathetic than it is surprising. They hold no ill will toward American Idol and say that the crew and staff there are "like family" to them to this day.

Still, Just Sam has a lot of fight left in them. With some help from artists and teams, including Timbaland, they got back to work (and a serious glow-up to boot).

"This is not the end of the story. That's what I want people to know. I especially want younger people to know that my life changed and I didn't know that it was going to. I just kept working," Just Sam told WaPo. "Keep on fighting, keep on working hard, and it will pay off."

Chayce Beckham

Chayce Beckham won American Idol Season 19 in May 2021 and became the first Idol winner to use a song they wrote themselves as their coronation song with "23." The single was certified platinum and peaked at No. 15 on the U.S. Country Airplay Billboard chart, followed by "Can't Do Without Me," a duet with Lindsay Ell.

He followed with his EP Doin' It Right in April 2022. His most recent single, "This Ol' Rodeo," debuted in December 2023, and he's in the CMT "Listen Up" class of 2024.

Noah Thompson

Noah Thompson won the 20th season of American Idol in May 2022—after only auditioning because a pal talked him into it. His single "One Stay Tonight" peaked at No. 48 on the U.S. Country Billboard charts.

In June 2023, he released his first EP, Middle of God Knows Where—and is still comfortable working construction when he has to!

Iam Tongi

Iam Tongi won American Idol Season 21 in May 2023.

On the finale, he performed a duet with James Blunt of Blunt's song "Monsters," which Tongi dedicated to his late father—and it was a tearjerker even for him.

"My dad always told me that I'm gonna make it one day and that he probably wouldn't be around to see me be successful," Tongi later told Rolling Stone. "When I was on stage, I was crying because I was thinking about when he said that to me. He was hoping this for me since the beginning."

After his victory, Tongi toured with Top 8 contestant Oliver Steele and helped fundraise for the Maui wildfires. In September 2023, he released a Christmas EP, An Iam Tongi Christmas.

Next, Find Out American Idol Host Ryan Seacrest's Net Worth