Where are they now?
There have been breakout stars from the hit talent show American Idol who have used fame from the show to venture into new areas while others have slipped into oblivion.
Clay Aiken, the runner up on season two of American Idol has been singing and dancing his way on Broadway in Monty Python’s Spamalot, which tells the story of King Arthur and his knights of the round table.
Aiken plays Brave Sir Robert, the man who wants to be a knight but needs help in the bravery department.
Aiken has had many other accomplishments since his American Idol days.
According to the Web site for Spamalot, the singer’s three albums have sold a total of over six million copies. His holiday release, Merry Christmas with Love, stands as the fastest selling holiday album in SoundScan history. His memoir Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life became a New York Times best seller.
One student does not like the show or the people from American Idol.
“I think that American Idol is a ridiculous show anyways, so I could care less what any of those people are doing,” said Kacie Hansbrough, a junior Spanish major.
According to Aiken’s Web site, Aiken is also coming out with a new single called On My Way Here, and on May 6 he is releasing a new album.
Rubin Studdard, the man who beat Aiken on American Idol, was nominated for numerous awards, including a Grammy after his first album Soulful in 2003. His hit song Sorry was big in 2004.
However, his 2004 gospel album I Need An Angel received little attention, according to Msnbc.com
Paul Delagnes, a freshman mechanical engineering major, thinks that the show makes them popular, but in the end is it up to the industry to give them fame.
“They have a chance to become successful, but if the industry doesn’t let them, there’s nothing you can do about it,” Delagnes said.
After weighing 400 pounds, Studdard decided to focus on weight loss, and according to msnbc.com, he was put on a 1,200 to 1,500 calorie diet at a weight management center at Duke University, and he lost 100 pounds.
In an interview with the Associated Press, when asked about Kelly Clarkson, Ruben said, “I think everybody who has left that show looks at her as a model for what we want to do to further our career. It wasn’t easy for her to get that American Idol stigma changed.”
Clarkson, the first Idol winner, has achieved superstar status. Her 2004 album Breakaway sold six million copies in the U.S and 11 million worldwide, according to Clarkson’s Web site.
Clarkson is not the only idol who has reached the peak of success in the music industry; Carrie Underwood is catching up.
Underwood’s debut CD Some Hearts was released in 2005 and has been the best-selling female country album of 2005, 2006 and 2007. Carrie hit #1 with every single she has released so far and has won two Grammy awards as well as a range of awards from the AMA, ACM, CMA, People’s Choice and Billboard, according to her official Web site.
Finalist Jessica Sierra from the fourth season of the show has fallen out of fame with her 2007 with her drug and alcohol addiction, which led to her erratic behavior and arrest.
However, she decided to clean up her act and since has appeared on the number one rated show on VH1, Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, which follows the lives of celebrities who are trying to get over drug addictions.
Her most recent song Unbroken can be heard on her MySpace page, and it already received 42,336 plays.
One CU student thinks that the fame from American Idol is hard to handle.
“I think pressure from being a star might be hard, and American Idol is more of a family show, so a lot of her fans probably would be upset with her for her drug use,” said Jared Markley, a junior economics major.
Contact Campus Press Staff writer Melanie Cohn at Melanie.Cohn@colorado.edu.
