By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com, originally filed February 11, 2015
When I've done rankings in the past of most successful "American Idol" contestants, I mostly looked at their singing career, but also considered other factors such as acting and hosting. (Thus, Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson are on currently on top in my mind in a broad sense, followed by Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry and Adam Lambert.)
Below are my rankings for the most successful "American Idol" contestants - but largely omitted singing. In other words, we'll focus on other factors, primarily acting and hosting. And based on this list, it's clear the ladies have had more luck than the guys in other arenas. And not a single person since season 10 made the cut.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
1) Jennifer Hudson. This was an easy call. Although the season three sixth place finisher used her singing chops to help gain her "Dreamgirls" Oscar, she did win an Oscar at least partly for her acting and continues to ride that wave eight years later. (She will be performing on the Oscars February 22.) She had a supporting role in the "Sex and the City" movie and had parts in "The Secret Life of Bees" (2008), "The Three Stooges" (2012), "Smash" (2012) and "Winnie Mandela" (2013). She has been a spokesman for Weight Watchers since 2010 and wrote an autobiography in 2012. She will be guest starring on Fox's "Empire." She is one of the few "American Idol' contestants who is probably better known for what she has done outside of the show than on it.
2) Katharine McPhee. The season five runner up is the only "American Idol" contestant who has landed not just one - but two- major roles on prime-time dramas. She co-starred for two seasons on NBC's "Smash" from 2011 to 2013 where she played the newbie to Broadway competing with a more established singer for a starring role in a fictional musical about Marilyn Monroe. It never quite worked but it did help launch the term "hate watching." She then nabbed a role last year on the new hit CBS show "Scorpion," playing a "normal' woman with a genius son who hangs out with other geniuses. (Think of Penny on "The Big Bang Theory"). Given its ratings, she could have a regular gig for years to come. She isn't exactly the most emotive actress but she's a pretty face and possesses a modicum of charisma.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
3)
Carrie Underwood.
While the season four winner is still a singer first and foremost, she has done done a fine job as co-host of the CMA Awards for seven years with
Brad Paisley.
She co-starred in a film "Soul Surfer" in 2011 that did well. She played a medical sales rep on "How I Met Your Mother." She also helmed the hugely successful NBC live show in 2013 "The Sound of Music." She was no
Julie Andrews
but she sang well. And her endorsements have enabled her to pocket millions: Sketchers, Target, Nintendo, Olay and Nicole by OPI, to name a few.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
4) Jordin Sparks. The season six winner has dabbled in acting with nine credits on imdb.com, including a co-starring role in "Sparkle" in 2012 with the late Whitney Houston and an indie film "The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete" in 2013. Last year, she was part of the cast of the Nicolas Cage film "Left Behind."
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
5) Clay Aiken. The season two runner up acting credentials are very limited (including a role on Lifetime's "Drop Dead Diva"). He did finish second on "Celebrity Apprentice" a couple of years ago, which was impressive. But what makes him unusual is the fact he is the only "Idol" to run for political office. He lost but he did make a bonafide effort as a Democrat in a heavily Republican district against a House incumbent in North Carolina. And he refused to literally sing for his supper during fundraisers. A docuseries about his run will air soon on Esquire.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
6) Diana DeGarmo Our very own Snellville native and season three runner up was the first "Idol" to land a regular gig on TV on "The Young and the Restless" in 2011. She co-starred in a film "Wyatt Earp's Revenge" with Val Kilmer. She co-hosted an entertainment show for the Hallmark Movie Channel with her hubby Ace Young in 2013. She has also done mostly musical theater, currently touring for "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat."
7) Matthew Rogers. The 11th place finisher from season three wasn't much of a singer but he had a knack for hosting TV shows. After co-hosting 'American Idol Extra" on the TV Guide Channel, he landed "Really Big Things" on the Discovery Channel in 2007. He was here in Atlanta in 2009 for "There Goes the Neighborhood" on CBS (see my interview with him six years ago). He hosted a Lifetime show about military back from overseas "Coming Home" around 2011-2012, plus a game show on the Game Show Network "Beat the Chefs" in 2012. He then hosted a talk show on the Hallmark Channel in 2012-13 called "Home & Family."
8) Katie Stevens. She disappeared for a time after finishing eighth place in season nine. Then last year, she popped up in a co-starring role on the hit MTV show "Faking It" where she's a high school student pretending to be in a lesbian relationship. The show will air a second season later this year.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
9. Kevin Covais. The dorky kid from season 5 who finished 11th actually has a few acting credentials: "College" (2008), "Labor Pains" (2009), "Ghost Whisperer" on CBS (2009), "State of Georgia" on ABC Family (2011), "Identity Thief" (2012), "Good Luck Charlie" on the Disney Channel (2012-14) and "Transformers; Age of Extinction" (2014).
10. Justin Guarini. The season one runner up co-starred in the ill-fated "From Justin to Kelly" film to play off their "rivalry" and "romance" after season one of "American Idol." I'm not sure either wants to remember that one. Justin did some hosting for the TV Guide Channel related to 'Idol." He made a brief appearance on the Broadway adaptation in "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" in 2010. In 2011, he came to Atlanta briefly for a test run of Stephen King's "Ghost Brothers of Darkland County." From 2013-2014, he played Paris in the Broadway revival of "Romeo and Juliet," followed by "Wicked" in 2014.
11) Kimberly Caldwell. For several years, the season 2 seventh place finisher hosted the TV Guide Channel "American Idol' coverage back in the day when the show was so big, rival networks covered it. In 2012, she hosted the first season of reality competition show "Best Ink" on Oxygen. She's now selling leather handbags on her website.
12) Kristy Lee Cook. The seventh place finisher from season seven was the focus of a Versus reality show in 2010 "Goin' Country" in which we watch her impressive hunting skills.
13. Brooke White. The fifth place finisher season seven starred in two TV movies: Fox's 'Change of Plans" in 2011 and Hallmark Movie Channel's "Banner 4th of July" in 2013.
14. Kelly Clarkson. She hasn't really focused much on stuff not affiliated with music, which is why I ranked her this far down. She was a judge on "Duets" and mentored folks on "The Voice." She played a small role in "Reba." She did some acting in her Christmas special "Kelly Clarkson's Cautionary Music Tale" but still, it was mostly her singing.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
The top 24 traveled to Los Angeles Monday. If you want to know who they are, the spoilers are here.
"American Idol" sent out some sneak preview performances from Wednesday's show. At least three of these eight contestants are rumored to make the top 24.
Joey Cook, Krista Bettevy, Shannon Berthiaume and Naomi Tatsuoka perform "Somebody to Love" by Queen. Joey forgets some words but riffs nicely.
Cody Fry, Kelleyann Rodgers, Piper Jones and Rayvon Owen tackled "Since U Been Gone." Kelleyann gets serious short shrift in this edit:
About the Author
