American Idol Winners Biography

American Idol was launched in 2002 and from then on has been a hit globally. The real success story of the show has been the American Idol Winners every year, who were all able to make good impact in the music industry and shape great careers for themselves.

Kelly Clarkson was the first American Idol winner, in 2002. She was born on April24, 1982 in Texas U.S.A. Clarkson made it to the final two contestants on American Idol, and on September 4, 2002, she won the competition earning 58% of the audience vote. She has released three albums, Thankful (2003), Breakaway (2004) and My December (2007). She has won two Grammy Awards. Clarkson has sold 16 million albums worldwide.

Christopher Ruben Studdard is the American Idol winner of the second season in 2003. He was born on September 12, 1978 in Frankfurt Germany. During the televised competition, Studdard gained the nickname Velvet Teddy Bear. He won the contest over runner-up Clay Aiken by only 134,000 votes out of 24,000,000 cast in the May 2003 finale. He has released three albums since then, Soulful (2003), I Need An Angel (2004), The Return (2006).

Fantasia Barrino was the third season of American Idol winner in 2004. She was born on June 30, 1984 in North Carolina, U.S.A. Her raspy voice set her apart from other contestants. Since her win she has released her two albums, Free Yourself (2004) and Fantasia (2006). She published her memoir in late-2005 called Life is Not a Fairy Tale. She is currently starring in the Broadway musical The Color Purple, produced by Oprah Winfrey.

Carrie Underwood was the fourth season of American Idol winner. She was born on March 9, 1983 in Checotah, Oklahoma. Both her first and second single, Inside Your Heaven and Jesus Take the Wheel charted at number one in the U.S. Her full album, Some Hearts (2005) is the best selling album of any American Idol contestant to date. She is the first American Idol winner to sweep up honors at American Music Award, Billboard Music Awards and Grammy Awards in the same season (06-07).

Taylor Hicks was born on October 7, 1976 in Birmingham, Alabama. He started as a professional musician in his late teens and performed around the Southeastern United States for well over a decade. During this period he released two independent albums. He rose to prominence when he became the fifth season American Idol Winner in 2006. Since winning he has released an album titled Taylor Hicks in 2006.

At an age of seventeen Jordin Sparks is the youngest American Idol winner to date. She was born on December 22, 1989 in New York. On May 23, 2007, she was declared the winner of the sixth season of American Idol. Jordin has released an independent EP when she was just 13 years old. Her first album titled after her name will be released on November 20th this year. American Idol