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 |
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