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CARRIE UNDERWOOD: Winner, Season 4 (2005), has sold almost 14 million album copies combined. Late in 2005, Carrie Underwood released her first album, “Some Hearts,” which sold more than 7 million copies. Two years later, her second album, “Carnival Ride,” sold more than 4 million copies, and her third effort, 2009’s “Play On”, has surpassed 2 million copies, her fourth, "Blown Away" has sold 1 million copies. She has won 5 Grammys. Julie Jacobson/AP/File
KELLY CLARKSON: Winner, Season 1 (2002), has sold more than 11 million copies of her albums combined. Clarkson won the first American Idol contest. Her first album, “Thankful,” went multi-platinum with more than 2 million copies sold. Clarkson has made 6 albums in total, including her Greatest Hits album. She has won 2 Grammys. Chris O'Meara/AP/File
CHRIS DAUGHTRY: Fourth Place, Season 5 (2006), has sold more than 6 million album copies combined. Chris Daughtry’s single, a cover of Bon Jovi’s “Dead or Alive” made an impressive showing on the Billboard charts at the end of that season. He then formed a band by the name Daughtry, which released a debut album by the same name which sold almost 5 million copies. His second showing, 2009’s “Leave This Town,” sold more than a million. Daughtry released their third studio album "Break the Spell" in Dec. 2011. Matt Sayles/AP/File
CLAY AIKEN: Runner-up, Season 2 (2003), has sold almost 5 million copies combined. Clay Aiken's first album, “Measure of a Man,” sold more than 2 million copies. His next two albums, “Merry Christmas with Love” and “A Thousand Different Ways,” have sold nearly 2 million copies combined. Sales of his subsequent offerings have been less robust. In 2008, Aiken made his Broadway debut when he joined the cast of Monty Python's Spamalot for a four-month run. Jim Ruymen/Reuters/File
FANTASIA: Winner, Season 3 (2004), sold more than 2.5 million copies combined. Fantasia’s first album, “Free Yourself,” sold nearly 2 million copies, and her 2006 sophomore record, the self-titled “Fantasia,” sold more than a half-million. Fantasia also played herself in the Lifetime TV movie “Life Is Not a Fairytale: The Fantasia Barrino Story.” And has been on stage twice in The Color Purple (2007) as Celie and Soul Kitten's Cabaret (2011) Lucas Jackson/Reuters/File
RUBEN STUDDARD; Winner, Season 2 (2003), has sold more than 2.5 million copies combined. Studdard, who edged Clay Aiken to win Season 2 of American Idol, sold more than a million copies of his first album, “Soulful,” and nearly a half-million copies of his second record, “I Need an Angel.” His more recent “The Return,” “Love Is,” and “Playlist: The Very Best of Ruben Studdard,” have been less commercially successful. Lucy Nicholson/Reuters/File
DAVID COOK: Winner, Season 7 (2008), his two albums have sold more than 1 million copies combined. David Cook had already released a record, 2006’s “Analog Heart,” independently, before he tried out for and eventually triumphed in Idol’s seventh season. Sales of “Analog Heart” rocketed to the No. 1 spot on Amazon.com’s top-selling MP3s during Cook’s run, but the album was removed from the website within about a month left in the Idol season. Cook’s self-titled first album after winning Idol, “David Cook,” sold more than a million copies. Mark Mainz/AP/File
KELLIE PICKLER: 6th place, Season 5 (2006), has sold more than 1 million albums combined. Pickler, a country music singer-songwriter, received a Nashville recording contract in 2006 and released her debut album, 'Small Town Girl,' in the same year. Pickler co-wrote several autobiographical tracks that mused on down-home pleasures. The album sold more than 800,000 copies. Her second album, "Kellie Pickler" has sold nearly 500,000 copies. Her third album, "100 proof" was released in January 2012. Lucas Jackson/Reuters
JENNIFER HUDSON: 7th place, Season 3 (2004), has sold more than one million albums combined. Hudson released a self-titled album in 2008 that sold more than 800,000 copies. She has been a very visible performer since that time, including winning a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in the 2006 film "Dreamgirls." Her acting career includes "The Secret Life of Bees" (2008) and the soon to be released "Winnie" based on the life of Winnie Mandela Carlo Allegri/Reuters/File
JORDIN SPARKS: Winner, Season 6 (2007), has sold more than 1 million copies combined. Sparks an R&B singer, fashion designer, and model from Glendale, Ariz., became the youngest ‘American Idol’ winner, at the age of 17. (The age limit was lowered to 15 for Season 10) Her self-titled debut album was released in 2007. The album had 4 top 20 singles released, including, "No Air," which topped music charts globally. Her second album "Battlefield" has not sold as well. Peter Kramer/NBC/AP/File
DAVID ARCHULETA: Runner-up, Season 7 (2008), has sold more than 1 million albums combined. He was 16 when he was selected as a contestant on "Idol." He released a self-titled debut album on the Jive label in November 2008, in addition to songs released digitally in August of that year. That album sold more than 700,000 copies. Archuleta released a Christmas album in 2009, a second album, "The Other Side of Down" in 2010.
SCOTTY MCCREERY: Winner, Season 10 (2011), is a country singer who's debut album "Clear as Day" has sold nearly one million copies. The album includes two hits, so far, "I Love You This Big," and "the Trouble with Girls." The album reached No. 1 the Billboard top 200, making McCreery the sixth Idol contestant to have a No. 1 album. McCreery was also the second youngest performer (at 17), and the first male country artist to win American Idol. Richard Drew/AP/File
ADAM LAMBERT: Runner-up, Season 8 (2009), has sold more than 800,000 albums. A singer-songwriter and actor, who grew up in San Diego, sang at school events and local musical theater. While speculation about his sexual orientation was widely discussed during the ‘Idol’ season, he eventually said that he was gay in a May 2009 Rolling Stone interview. His debut album, "For Your Entertainment" was released in later 2009. "Trespassing", the second studio album from Adam Lambert, is set to be released on March 2012. Matt Sayles/AP/File
JOSH GRACIN: 4th place, Season 2 (2003), has sold more than 700,000 albums combined. Joshua Mario "Josh" Gracin is a country singer who auditioned for "Idol" while serving in the US Marine Corps. After completing his military service, he released his debut album "Josh Gracin" in June 2004. He has released two more albums since but those have not sold as well. Ed Rode/AP/File
TAYLOR HICKS: Winner, Season 5 (2006), has sold nearly 800,00 copies combined. Taylor Hicks’s fan base during his successful 2006 campaign on Idol dubbed itself the “Soul Patrol,” and his self-titled, “Taylor Hicks,” which came out the same year, sold about 700,000 copies. He released an autobiography, “Heart Full of Soul,” in 2007. In 2008, J Records announced that it had dropped Hicks from the label. At the time, he was the lowest selling American Idol winner. Chris Pizzello/Reuters/File
BO BICE: Runner-up, Season 4 (2005), has sold more than 700,000 albums combined. Bice, originally from Huntsville, Ala., was encouraged to audition for the show, when American Idol expanded the maximum age limit from 24 to 28. He was signed by RCA records in 2005 and released his first of three studio albums, "The Real Thing," which achieved gold status in the US, selling over 500,000 copies. Two later albums have not sold nearly as well. Mario Anzuoni/Reuters/File
ELLIOTT YAMIN: 3rd place, Season 5 (2006), has sold more than 600,000 albums combined. On the show, he sang covers of songs by his favorite artists such as Donnie Hathaway and Stevie Wonder. His self-titled album was released on an independent label, Hickory – it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart and at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, reaching gold in the United States in October 2007. His four subsequent albums have not sold as well. James Wallace/Richmond Times-Dispatch/AP/File
PHILLIP PHILLIPS: Winner: Season 11 (2012). Phillips got out of the gates fast with his first single, "Home," which has more than 3 million digital sales, more than any other Idol coronation song (David Cook's "The Time Of My Life," is No. 2 now, with more than 1.4 million copies sold.) Phillips released his first album, "The World From the Side of the Moon" in late November 2012, and had more than 500,000 in the first month. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/Files
KATHARINE MCPHEE: Season 5 (2006) runner-up. McPhee has sold nearly 500,000 albums. Her debut album "Katharine McPhee" sold nearly 400,000 copies. Her two subsequent albums did not sell as well. She is currently starring in the NBC TV series "Smash," a show about a Broadway musical. Will Hart/NBC/AP/File
LAUREN ALAINA SUDDETH: Runner-up, season 10 (2011). Lauren Alaina released her first album "Wildflower" in Oct. 2011. The album, which includes the singles "Like My Mother Does" and "Georgia Peaches" sold more than 200,000 copies in the first three months. Jenna Walker/Chattanooga Times Free Press/AP/File
LEE DEWYZE: Winner, Season 9 (2010). Self-taught singer-songwriter and a guitarist. DeWyze was playing in clubs in Chicago when he decided to audition for the show. ‘Live it Up,’ his first major-label album, was released in November 2010 on 19 Recordings/RCA Records. It sold less than 150,000 copies, and DeWyze was dropped by the record company in Oct. 2011. Research by Monitor staff Leigh Montgomery, Alfredo Sosa, and Geoff Johnson PRNewsFoto/File
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American Idol recap: On Wednesday night, the top four American Idol contestants battled it out for the second week in a row, except this time they had the help of Harry Connick, Jr..
On Wednesday night, Harry Connick, Jr. rejoined American Idol as a mentor and it was like taking a deep breath of fresh air after years of suffocating under the stifling egos of Idol's diva-heavy panels. While Harry himself assured the contestants that he's a big star, his affable, down-to-earth, self-deprecating charisma made him an absolute pleasure to watch. It's no wonder Grace fell so hard.
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