Who Won American Idol

From LoveToKnow Reality-TV

Thousands attempt to be the answer to the question, "Who won American Idol?" The Fox ratings juggernaut launches musical careers with every season. The winners and the runners-up become household names, receive recording contracts and delight music fans from coast-to-coast.

David Cook won American Idol in 2008.

Season to Season: Who Won American Idol?

Host Ryan Seacrest found fame thanks to his work with American Idol, which premiered on the Fox network in 2002. The reality show features singers seeking to prove their versatility, performance caliber and talent to the judges and the fans who tune in week after week. The talent show uses dial-in voting by the fans to determine the winner by popular vote. The final winner in each season is not the only one to receive a recording contract.

Season One

Kelly Clarkson is the season one winner of American Idol. Her strong vocals and powerful performance turned her in an overnight sensation. Following her win, she released "A Moment Like This" on the RCA Records label. The song broke records set by the Beatles when it debuted at 52 on the Billboard charts, but jumped to number one the following week.

Clarkson released Breakaway, My December and Thankful albums in the years following her American Idol.

Season Two

The second season emerged as a greater hit than the first season. Ruben Studdard won the season, but first runner-up Clay Aiken received equal media coverage. The popularity of the two singers led to album releases from both of them. For Studdard,the albums included:

Like Clarkson before him, Studdard quickly shot to the top of the charts. Clay Aiken, Kimberley Locke and Josh Gracin all released popular albums thanks to their performances in the second season.

Season Three

The winner of season three was Fantasia Barrino. Fantasia released the albums Free Yourself and Fantasia. Fantasia released an inspirational book Life is Not a Fairy Tale detailing her inner strength and choices it took to keep from becoming another statistic.

Season three also featured Academy Award and Golden Globe Award winner Jennifer Hudson. Jennifer Hudson finished the third season in seventh place, but in November of 2005 she was cast in the feature film Dreamgirls. Her role of Effie White earned her numerous awards and a Vogue cover.

Season Four

Country singer Carrie Underwood won the fourth season of American Idol. She released the albums Carnival Ride and Some Hearts. Underwood is the first country singer to win the competition.

Season Five, Six and Seven

Fifth season winner Taylor Hicks is the second male winner from the show. Season six saw Jordin Sparks take home the top prize and recording contracts. In Season seven, the war of the Davids - Cook and Archuleta featured the high intensity of the second season's Studdard versus Aiken in the final weeks of the competition. David Cook was announced the final winner and earned the recording contract.

Auditions for the eighth season of American Idol began on July 17, 2008.