Top 10 American Idol Winners: Where Are They Now?

Ever since he took the crown on the eleventh season of “American Idol” Phillip Phillips has been hard at work. Spurred by the enormous success of his coronation song “Home”, the best selling song of any “Idol” winner to date, Phillips released the pop-rock albums “The World from this Side of the Moon” and “Behind the Light” in 2012 and 2014 respectively. The former’s “Gone, Gone, Gone” and the latter’s “Raging Fire” both achieved moderate degrees of success, with “Raging” Fire” being used for the 2014 NHL Awards. This is one “Idol” winner who has yet to show any signs of slowing down.

To say that Candice Glover is an “American Idol” veteran would be a serious understatement. The South Carolina native was eliminated in seasons 9 and 11 before battling back to win season 12. In the aftermath of her victory Glover signed a record deal with 19 Recordings/Interscope and proceeded to release her debut studio album “Music Speaks” the following year. The album was a critical success but only managed to sell 19,000 copies in the first week, a record low at the time for an “American Idol” winner. Not to worry, though, as Glover is working on a new album and in 2017 appeared in the Broadway Musical “Home For the Holidays, Live on Broadway”.

Caleb Johnson’s road to “American Idol” success was a bumpy one, having been cut from seasons 10 and 11 before finally breaking through and winning season 13. Unfortunately, his post-“Idol” career hasn’t been much smoother. His debut album, “Testify”, was recorded faster than any other American Idol debut in the competition’s history, but unfortunately failed to generate much buzz with critics or fans, and didn’t perform well on the charts. Hopefully things will pick up for the North Carolina rock n’ roller in the future!

This former paint salesman from Mount Prospect, Illinois has kept himself busy every since winning “American Idol’s” ninth season. DeWyze, who’d already released two albums as a member of the Lee DeWyze Band before appearing on the show, has released four solo albums since, with the first peaking at number 19 on the US Billboard 200. Much like many other “Idol” winners DeWyze didn’t stay with his initial major label for long, leaving RCA in 2011 and signing with Vanguard Records two years later. Since appearing on the show DeWyze has performed all over North America, gotten married and won a Teen Choice Award! So he’s essentially done it all!

While he’s perhaps best known as the man who upset fan favorite Adam Lambert on the eighth season of “American Idol”, Kris Allen has nevertheless continued to produce music at a frenetic pace ever since his unlikely victory back in 2009. The Arkansas native’s self-titled post-“Idol” album made it to number 11 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and he followed that up with additional albums in 2012, 2014 and two in 2016. An enthusiastic philanthropist, Allen has used his musical talents to raise money for a variety of causes since his big win and continues to give back whenever he can.

David Cook started off his post-“Idol” career with a bang, as just one week removed from his win over runner up David Archuleta he saw 11 of his songs debut on the Billboard Hot 100; the most for a debut artist since The Beatles dropped 14 back in 1964. He followed up the record setting feat with a self-titled album that produced the hit singles “The Time of My Life” and “Light On” before going platinum in the U.S. Two albums and a world tour later Cook tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend and in 2016 made his last “American Idol” appearance when he performed a tribute to the late David Bowie.

Since managing to steal the hearts of fans and judges alike en route to winning the fifth season of “American Idol” Taylor Hicks has been a busy man. After making the usual post-“Idol” victory rounds of releasing a solo album and appearing on talk shows Hicks landed the role of Teen Angel in a Broadway production of “Grease”. He then followed that up by becoming the first winner in “American Idol” history to score a long-term Las Vegas residency. A year later he appeared in an episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” where he played, get this, a judge on fictional reality singing program. Oh, and Weird Al Yankovic parodied him!

If you don’t know what Fantasia Barrino has been up to since winning the third season of “American Idol” then you haven’t been paying attention. Now professionally known as just “Fantasia”, the North Carolina native’s debut album was nominated for three Grammys and its lead single “Truth Is” held the number one position on the Billboard Hot Adult R&B Airplay chart for 14 weeks! She’d later land a role in a Broadway production of “The Color Purple”, taking home a Theatre World Award for her performance. Of course she hit the big time when she won her first Grammy in 2011 for her song “Bittersweet”. Success seems to follow Fantasia wherever she goes!

Country singer Scotty McCreery has seemingly done it all since winning “American Idol’s” tenth season. From dropping chart-topping albums and scooping up Academy of Country Music Awards to raising money for various humanitarian causes and attending university it’s clear that the singer is quite the chameleon. The youngest male winner in “Idol” history, McCreery’s musical pedigree has continued to expand in recent years and to-date he’s sold upwards of two million albums. Seeing as how he’s still in his mid 20’s it would appear that McCreery has only scratched the surface of his musical potential!

Few “Idol” winners have achieved the level of success Jordin Sparks has. Her post-“Idol” debut album sold more than a million copies and peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Her collaboration with Chris Brown, “No Air”, earned her a Grammy nomination, and is to-date one of the all-time best-selling songs released by an “American Idol” winner. Sparks is also an accomplished actress, having appeared in a handful of films and TV shows. Since her 2007 win Sparks has toured the world, dated Jason Derulo and even appeared on Broadway. Seeing as how her last album dropped in 2015, here’s hoping she gets back in the studio ASAP!