American Idol Season 2
The winner of American Idol Season 2 was Ruben Studdard.
Because of the success of Season 1 of American Idol, a second season of American Idol was scheduled for the following January with a bigger budget and increased number of episodes. Brian Dunkleman left, leaving Ryan Seacrest as the lone host. For the finale between Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken, there were 24 million votes recorded. But the final two were only separated by 130,000 votes. Many believed the phone system was overloaded and votes were accidentally dropped. Because of these rumors, the voting methods were modified to prevent such a problem in the future.
Ruben, dubbed the "Velvet Teddy Bear," released two albums since American Idol and has a new one, "The Return," that will be released in September 2006. His first album reached #1 in the US and was certified platinum. His second reached #20 in the US and was certified gold.
Despite being the winner, Ruben was often overshadowed by the success of runner-up Clay Aiken. Aitken had been cut from the show once, only making it into the final 12 as a wild card. His first post-Idol single "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" was released in June 2003, debuted at #1, and was certified platinum. His album also debuted at #1 and was certified at double platinum. He won the 2003 American Music Award in the Fan's Choice category.
| Season 2 Top 12 | ||
| Contestant | Age | Voted Off |
|---|---|---|
| Carmen Rasmusen | 18 | 4/23/03 |
| Charles Grigsby | 24 | 3/19/03 |
| Clay Aiken | 24 | 5/21/03 |
| Corey Clark | 22 | 4/01/03 |
| Joshua Gracin | 22 | 5/07/03 |
| Julia DeMato | 24 | 3/26/03 |
| Kimberly Caldwell | 21 | 4/16/03 |
| Kimberley Locke | 25 | 5/14/03 |
| Rickey Smith | 23 | 4/09/03 |
| Ruben Studdard | 25 | Winner |
| Trenyce | 23 | 4/30/03 |
| Vanessa Olivarez | 22 | 3/12/03 |
Latest American Idol Recaps and News
American Idol: Alex, Todrick, Lilly, and Katelyn Miss the Top 12
Posted: 11 Mar 2010
It was do or die on “American Idol.” The four out tonight would just miss the tour (and extra $$$).
For the girls, I predicted it might be the end of the line for Katelyn and Paige. Actually, I was only half right. The first to learn she was leaving was [...]
American Idols: Top 8 Guys Perform
Posted: 11 Mar 2010
It was the guys turn on “American Idol.” The night started out with Lee singing “Fireflies” by Owl City. Randy thought it was a strange song choice, but said he made it his own. Ellen liked it, but noted a couple of pitchy parts. Kara thought Lee’s version was better than [...]
American Idol next week – music of The Rolling Stones
Posted: 11 Mar 2010
Entertainment Weekly, on their website ew.com, is reporting that the top twelve finalists on American Idol will be performing music from The Rolling Stones. Ryan Seacrest mentioned this while taping a radio promotion.
You can read the entire story by clicking here.
American Idol: Top 8 Girls Perform
Posted: 10 Mar 2010
It was ladies night on “American Idol” and frankly, I found many of the performances to be dreary. I loved that the show opened with Ellen on Simon’s lap, kissing him.
My favorite was “The House of the Rising Sun” by Siobhan. Not a favorite song of mine, but I loved what she did [...]
American Idol: John, Jermaine, Michelle, and Haeley Leave
Posted: 4 Mar 2010
It was “American Idol” results night and after the whole group sang Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling,” we learned that both John and Jermaine were going home.
Danny Gokey came on to sing his latest single, the it was the ladies turn to learn who was going home. The first girl told [...]
American Idol: Top 10 Girls Perform
Posted: 4 Mar 2010
It was time for the “American Idol” girls to sing. They had been moved back a day due to Crystal’s hospitalization. We weren’t sure if she was going to be back tonight (or even back on the show), but she was and her performance was one of the best of the night.
Crystal sang [...]
American Idol: Top 10 Guys Perform
Posted: 3 Mar 2010
Yes, it should have been the girls singing last night on “American Idol” but Crystal Bowersox, who is a Type I diabetic, had pressing medical issues which required hospitalization, so the producers made a switcheroo. Whether Crystal will be healthy enough to be able to return to the show is unknown at this time.
How [...]
American Idol: Janell, Ashley, Joe, and Tyler Go Home
Posted: 25 Feb 2010
It was the much dreaded results night on “American Idol.” Two guys and two girls would be going home after only one performance on the big stage.
After a group performance, we found out Siobhan, Haeley, Michelle, and Katelyn were safe. That left Janell and Katie standing. Randy said it was too close [...]
American Idol: Top 12 Guys Perform
Posted: 25 Feb 2010
On Tuesday’s “American Idol,” Simon said that he thought this year was the girl’s year, but I beg to differ. Maybe it was just first night jitters, but I enjoyed the guys much more than I did the girls.
Am I the only one the cringes when Ellen is about to speak? I like [...]
American Idol: The Top 12 Girls Perform
Posted: 24 Feb 2010
The first Top 24 episode of “American Idol” seemed to be met with the same reaction by the judges for all the contestants…eh.
It seems that no one really had star quality or knocked their socks off. Paige Miles sang “It’s All Right Now” by Free. Ellen said she was so present [...]
Additional American Idol Resources
American Idol TV Listings, Episode Guide, Photos, Message Board, Cast and More TVGuide.com
