American Idol Winner List Season 1 to 16. Where American Idol winners? What succeed American Idol Winners after tfhe show?

Season 1: Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson (age 20 on the show) auditioned in Dallas, Texas with Etta James’ “At Last” and Madonna’s “Express Yourself.” Kelly’s winning song was “A Moment Like This.” To this day many fans consider her to be their favorite champ of all time. Since winning the show, she’s taken home three Grammys. In 2012, Kelly was ranked 19th on VH1’s list of 100 Greatest Women in Music and in 2013, Billboard ranked her as the 14th best-selling artist of the 2000s. She joined “The Voice” as a coach in 2018.

Season 2: Ruben Studdard

Ruben Studdard (born September 12, 1978) is an American pop, R&B, and gospel singer. He rose to fame as winner of the second season of American Idol. He received a Grammy Award nomination in December 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for “Superstar.”
In the years following Idol, Studdard has released four studio albums. His fourth album, Love Is, was released on May 19, 2009. Studdard’s fifth album, Letters From Birmingham, is due to be released in March 2012.

Season 3: Fantasia Barrino
Fantasia Barrino (age 19 on the show) auditioned in Atlanta, Georgia with Lauryn Hill’s “Killing Me Softly” and Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary.” Fantasia’s winning song was “I Believe.” Since winning the show, she starred on Broadway in “The Color Purple” and also won a Grammy in 2010.

Season 4: Carrie Underwood
Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983 in Muskogee, Oklahoma) is an American country pop singer, songwriter, and actress. She rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol, and has become a multi-platinum selling recording artist and a multiple Grammy Award winner. Her debut album, Some Hearts, was certified seven times platinum and is the fastest selling debut country album in Nielsen SoundScan history. Some Hearts yielded three number one hits on the Billboard Country charts in the United States and Canada: “Jesus, Take the Wheel”, “Wasted”, and her biggest hit to date, “Before He Cheats”, as well as four number one country hits overall including “Don’t Forget To Remember Me”. Her debut album is also the best-selling solo female debut album in country music history. Her fourth album, Blown Away, will be released on May 1, 2012.

Season 5: Taylor Hicks
Taylor Hicks (age 29 on the show) is from Birmingham, Alabama and performed “A Change Is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke at his original audition in Las Vegas. Taylor’s winning song was “Do I Make You Proud.” He is one of the few winners in “American Idol” history to never be in the bottom three. Since winning the show, Taylor starred in “Grease” on Broadway.

Season 6: Jordin Sparks
Jordin Brianna Sparks (born December 22, 1989) is an American pop/R&B singer, songwriter, fashion designer, and plus-size model. She rose to fame as the winner of the sixth season of American Idol, which led to her reception of an American Music Award and Grammy nominations in 2008. Her self titled debut album was certified Platinum in the U.S. on December 12, 2008. She is one of the few American Idol winners to have major success on the Billboard Hot 100, alongside Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.

Season 7: David Cook
David Cook (age 25 on the show) is a native of Blue Springs, Missouri who auditioned in Omaha, Nebraska with Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer.” He was never in the bottom three even once. David’s winning song was “The Time of My Life.” Since winning the show, his self-titled first album was certified platinum and he won a Teen Choice Award.

Season 8: Kris Allen
In one of the most surprising upsets in Idol history, Allen topped Adam Lambert for the season eight title. His debut single, “Live Like We’re Dying,” became a hit in 2009, but he made major headlines for a devastating car crash in 2013 that rendered him almost unable to play music. Thankfully, Allen recovered and released his third studio album, Horizons, in 2014. Now, in 2016, Allen is expecting his second child with his high school sweetheart-turned-wife.

Season 9: Lee DeWyze
Leon James “Lee” DeWyze, Jr. (born April 2, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter from Mount Prospect, Illinois, and the winner of the ninth season of American Idol. Prior to Idol, DeWyze had a solo career and formed the Lee DeWyze Band. He had also released two independent albums called So I’m Told in 2007 and Slumberland in 2010, both on WuLi Records. His post-Idol album Live It Up was released on November 16, 2010, through 19 Entertainment and RCA Records.

Season 10: Scotty McCreery
Scotty McCreery (age 17 on the show) auditioned in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with Josh Turner’s “Your Man” and Travis Tritt’s “Put Some Drive In Your Country.” Scotty’s winning song was “I Love You This Big.” He was the first “Idol” winner born in the 1990s. Since winning the show, he’s taken home trophies at the American Country Awards, ACM Awards and CMT Music Awards.

Season 11: Phillip Phillips
Phillips’ career was given a boost when his Idol coronation song, “Home,” was selected as the theme for NBC’s Olympics coverage, among other TV projects. Even Idol picked up one of Phillips’ tracks, with “Gone, Gone, Gone” serving as the season twelve send-off song. He’s released two studio albums post-Idol, but filed a bombshell lawsuit against 19 Recordings in early 2015. In court docs obtained by ET, Phillips called his contract with 19 “oppressive.”

In happier news, Phillips tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend, Hannah Blackwell, in October 2015.

Season 12: Candice Glover
Candice Glover, a 23-year-old R&B singer from Beaufort, South Carolina, won season 12 on May 16, 2013, defeating 22-year-old Texas country singer Kree Harrison. Her first single is called I Am Beautiful. Her debut album, Music Speaks, was released on February 18, 2014. The album has received positive reviews.

Season 13: Caleb Johnson
Johnson wasted no time getting his debut album, Testify, on the market, releasing it less than three months after his coronation. Moving along at breakneck speed, Johnson parted ways with his label less than nine months later. “I want to find the right home and the right team of people that are going to get behind my music and really do something,” he told Billboard at the time. “What’s the point of doing it if the [label] isn’t going to do anything?”

Season 14: Nick Fradiani
Nick Fradiani (age 29 on the show) auditioned with the song “In Your Eyes.” He previously tried out for “America’s Got Talent” with his band Beach Avenue, only making it to Judgment Week. Nick’s winning song was “Beautiful Life.”

Season 15: Trent Harmon
Harmon won the 15th and final season of the singing competition and kicked off his career with “Falling,” a single co-written by Idol judge Keith Urban. “I’m ready to get focused and go to work,” Harmon told ET right after his big win.

Season 16: Maddie Poppe
Maddie Poppe (age 20 on the show) auditioned with the Kermit the Frog song “The Rainbow Connection.” In the May 21, 2018 season finale, Madde got to reprise the song with Kermit himself. The Season 16 runner-up was Caleb Lee Hutchinson, who was Madde’s boyfriend at the time.