‘American Idol’ Non-Winners Who Still Found Fame

By:

March 29, 2019 12:18PM EDT

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Jennifer Hudson

Jennifer Hudson — Jennifer Hudson shockingly finished in seventh place on ‘American Idol’ , but she went onto have major success in her career. Just two years after her time on the show, Jennifer starred in the hit movie, ‘Dreamgirls,’ for which she won an Oscar, Golden Globe and SAG Award. She released her debut album in 2008, and has two Grammy Awards to her name. In 2015, Jennifer made her Broadway debut in ‘The Color Purple.’ While continuing to pursue her music and movie career, Jennifer has also been working as a coach on ‘The Voice’ and ‘The Voice UK’ in recent years.

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Katharine McPhee

Katharine McPhee — Katharine McPhee fell just short of winning season five of ‘American Idol,’ but she went on to be fairly successful in music, eventually transforming herself into a high-profile TV and theater career. Katharine starred in the short-lived show, ‘Smash,’ from 2012-2013, and was then the star of ‘Scorpion’ from 2014-2018. She also starred in ‘Waitress’ on Broadway.

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Chris Daughtry

Chris Daughtry — Chris Daughtry was the fourth place finisher on season 4 of ‘American Idol.’ After the show, he formed a band called Daughtry, for which he was the lead singer. The band has released five albums, the most recent being in 2018, and even experienced some mainstream success. They were nominated for four Grammy Awards in 2008.

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Adam Lambert

Adam Lambert — Adam Lambert was the runner-up on season eight of ‘American Idol.’ After the show, he received a Grammy nomination for a song off of his debut album. Beginning in 2012, he began performing as the lead singer for Queen on tour, and he has toured around the world with the band in the years since. He is also well-known for his LGBT activism.

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Lauren Alaina

Lauren Alaina — Even though Lauren Alaina came in second place behind Scotty McCreery on her season of ‘American Idol,’ she made a name for herself on the country music scene in the years’ since. She released albums in 2011 and 2017, and her song “What Ifs” with Kane Brown reached No. 1 on the country charts in 2017. In 2018, she won New Female Vocalist of the Year at the ACM Awards.

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David Archuleta

David Archuleta — David Archuleta came in second place on season 7 of ‘American Idol,’ but went onto have some mainstream success after the show ended. He’s consistently released albums since 2008, including his most recent in 2018.

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Kellie Pickler

Kellie Pickler — After finishing in sixth place on season five of ‘American Idol,’ Kellie Pickler went onto develop quite a name for herself in country music. She’s won several CMT Music Awards, and has released four albums throughout her career. Kellie won ‘Dancing With the Stars’ in 2013, and starred in her own reality show for CMT in 2015. She currently hosts the talk show ‘Kellie & Ben’ with Ben Aaron.

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Katie Stevens

Katie Stevens — Katie Stevens was the eighth place finisher on season 9 of ‘American Idol.’ Since the show, she focused on her acting career, rather than her singing career. Katie was the star of the show ‘Faking It’ from 2014-2016, and she currently stars on Freeform’s ‘The Bold Type.’

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