List of American Idol finalists

American Idol is an American talent reality television series first aired in 2002, and as of October 2008, there have been seven seasons. During every season, the final round of competition featured twelve singers.ref|Ten A total of 106 contestants have reached the top twelve (or ten) of their seasons. Finalists for the show have never been younger than 16 years of age, or older than 29 years of age. Out of the 106 contestants listed, 21 of them were under the age of 20, including two winners and two runners-up. The age with the most contestants is 24, including no winners, and one runner-up. Carrie Underwood, season four winner, currently holds the record for the biggest-selling American Idol album, as more than six million copies were sold in the United States.cite web|url=http://www.carrieunderwoodofficial.com/biography|title=Biography|date=2007|publisher=Carrie Underwood Official|accessdate=2008-10-08]

During season five, voters claimed that phone calls dialed for Chris Daughtry during the first few minutes of voting were misrouted to Katharine McPhee's lines, when they heard her recorded message thanking them for voting for McPhee. [cite web|url=http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12748906|title=Some callers claim ‘Idol’ votes were misdirected|date=2006-05-12|publisher=MSNBC|accessdate=2008-10-01] In season one, Jim Verraros, an openly gay contestant, was told by FOX TV to remove all mentions of his homosexuality from his online journal as producers "thought [he] was trying to gain more votes." [cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_2003_Jan_21/ai_96072143|title=A Teen Idol's dreams|last=Steele|first=Bruce. C|date=2003-01-21|publisher=The Advocate via Findarticles.com|accessdate=2008-10-01] In the second season, finalist Corey Clark was disqualified when it was revealed that he had been arrested during the competition after he was charged with resisting arrest, battery upon his sister, and criminal restraint. In season seven, it was revealed that Carly Smithson held a prior label record deal with MCA Records. Reports suggested that MCA spent over $2 million promoting Smithson's previous album which she made under the name Carly Hennessy. The album sold 378 copies, and is now available on iTunes. [cite web|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSN1560251420080216|title=Ex-MCA Records flop advances on "American Idol"|last=Gorman|first=Steve|date=2008-02-15|publisher=Reuters.com|accessdate=2008-10-10] Smithson remained on the show, and placed sixth in her season.

Contestants

Notes

*In season one, there was a top ten instead of a top twelve.
*Contestant's age at the time the season was filmed.

References

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External Links