List of Past American Idol Contestants

Here is a list of past American Idol contestants and their elimination dates. Who are some of your favorites who got eliminated early? Stories to tell? Memorable moments? After the list, I post mine.

Season 1 (2002)

Kelly Clarkson Winner
Justin Guarini 4 September
Nikki McKibbin 28 August
Tamyra Gray 21 August
RJ Helton 14 August
Christina Christian 7 August
Ryan Starr 31 July
A.J. Gil 24 July
Jim Verraros 17 July
EJay Day 17 July

Season 2 (2003)

Ruben Studdard Winner
Clay Aiken 21 May
Kimberley Locke 14 May
Joshua Gracin 7 May
Trenyce 30 April
Carmen Rasmusen 23 April
Kimberly Caldwell 16 April
Rickey Smith 9 April
Corey Clark Disqualified
Julia DeMato 26 March
Charles Grigsby 19 March
Vanessa Olivarez 12 March

Season 3 (2004)

Fantasia Barrino Winner
Diana DeGarmo 26 May
Jasmine Trias 19 May
LaToya London 12 May
George Huff 5 May
John Stevens 28 April
Jennifer Hudson 21 April
Jon Peter Lewis 15 April
Camile Velasco 7 April
Amy Adams 31 March
Matthew Rogers 24 March
Leah LaBelle 17 March

Season 4 (2005)

Carrie Underwood Winner
Bo Bice 25 May
Vonzell Solomon 18 May
Anthony Fedorov 11 May
Scott Savol 4 May
Constantine Maroulis 27 April
Anwar Robinson 20 April
Nadia Turner 13 April
Nikko Smith 6 April
Jessica Sierra 30 March
Mikalah Gordon 24 March
Lindsey Cardinale 16 March

Season 5 (2006)

Taylor Hicks Winner
Katharine McPhee 24 May
Elliott Yamin 17 May
Chris Daughtry 10 May
Paris Bennett 3 May
Kellie Pickler 26 April
Ace Young 19 April
Bucky Covington 12 April
Mandisa 5 April
Lisa Tucker 29 March
Kevin Covais 22 March
Melissa McGhee 15 March

We caught part of Season 1 of this show in Richfield, UT doing some "away" medical school rotations and got hooked (after the initial confusion of "Wait, it's on again? Tuesdays? Wednesdays? This isn't a repeat though. Wait. Two times a week? They sing and then people vote? What?"). We love this show!

Season 1 -- Not having caught the season in its entirety, we like both of the top 2 and no question that Kelly is amazing.

Season 2 -- Okay, I have a lot to say about this season--one of my favorite seasons to watch! REALLY wanted Clay to win, but we do like Ruben, too. This was the season I learned about online forums. :P I never really liked Kimberley Locke (still don't think she's all that). I always resented Simon trying to play her up so there'd be some drama about the top 2 and 3. AS IF we didn't all know it would be a Clay-Ruben finale. I was amazed how many people jumped on Simon's bandwagon thinking she could actually give either one of those 2 amazing guys a run for their money. She's good. She's not that good. I'm glad the 3 of them are friends, but no question, Clay and Ruben are tops.

Didn't ever care for Josh Gracin. He's cocky and weirds me out when he sings for some reason. Decent voice, but I'm not a country fan. And that was weird when he switched all of a sudden to a twangy voice. Very strange. I can do a mean Trenyce impersonation. :P Didn't ever like Kim Caldwell (still don't). Not my style at all--she's too "harsh" and abrasive. I liked Carmen okay, but didn't think she was all that, though it's admittedly fun to have an LDS competitor to watch.

I LOVE RICKEY Smith!! Hercules! Hercules! Hercules! He's one of my favorites. Love his Brian McKnight sound!

Corey Clark was always annoying. Couldn't stand him. His disqualifiation was interesting and cool that they didn't eliminate anyone and did a show anyway.

Julia DeMato. When I saw her perform "Son of a Preacher Man" to try to get in the top 12, I voted for the first time. I didn't know that you get multiple votes, so I called once and voted and figured that was it. :P

I LOVE CHARLES GRIGSBY! And I'm still annoyed that they cut him off during his farewall song for some sort of national news.

Season 3 -- quick blurb for some of these as this season wasn't that interesting since Fantasia really had no competition. She's amazing. I love to watch her perform whether or not it's my style of music.

Diana DeGarmo - Such a cute girl, I cringed and slept horribly the night before the finale. She hit a REALLY sour note and I really, truly *ached* for her. She's amazing at such a young age, too!

LaToya London-- too snobby for me to ever get into her nice voice. She's amazing, but not unique. She blew it (and I predicted it) when she interviewed with Ryan after a performance and actually said she didn't need the show to go places. See ya! Duh.

George Huff -- very, very fun to watch. Reminds me of Tennessee Ernie Ford.

John Stevens-- love the crooners!

Jennifer Hudson-- she's always weirded me out when she sings, but she IS amazing. I still think it's INCREDIBLY exciting that she's got a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination (so far)!

Jon Peter Lewis-- LOVE him, love his album, love his style, another fun LDS one

Matthew Rogers-- annoying as all get out, cocky

Season 4 -- My favorites are Constantine and Bo. I'm not really a "rocker," but I love how true they are to their own respective styles. And I have a great deal of respect for Constantine's chutzpa on the show with EVERY SINGLE ONE of his performances, particularly Queen's, Reba's, and The Partridge Family's. "I THINK I LOVE YOU!!" I was so upset when he got booted.

Not a big Carrie fan, though she's undoubtedly amazing, too. Again, not a country fan. And she was too aloof for my liking. I like some personality.

I liked Anwar until he hit the big stage. It was too much for him. Too bad.

I liked Nadia but she did weird things with her hair.

I LOVE NIKKO!! That guy was PHENOMENAL and should've advanced SO MUCH MORE than he did. He got eliminated after a stellar "West Side Story" performance, I might add. LOVE NIKKO. Was so glad when he got Mario Vasquez's spot.

Mikalah Gordon-- so annoying I almost don't even want to mention her

Season 5 - GREAT seaon, so many good and great performers. I'm fine with Taylor as the winner, because he's amazing. I think the final 2 would've been FAR more interesting as an all-male finale. Katharine is GORGEOUS and very good, but a no brainer runner up to at least 3 of the guys on the show that season. Taylor-Chris or Taylor-Elliot would've been a fantastic edge-of-your-seat finale. Taylor-Katharine was fine, but we always knew Taylor would win it, so it wasn't as exciting. Though, she looked amazing and sounded great.

I LOVE ELLIOTT!! That guy chose difficult songs and always nailed them time and time again. He's extremely likeable, so genuine and kind hearted, such a good sport, and SUCH a great singer! His "Moody's Mood For Love" is one of the most challenging songs to sing and he did it and nailed it and earned his way right into the top 12. I would've loved to see him in the finale. I love Elliott!! EVERY song he sings has HIS OWN STYLE and his fantastic voice. He can sing anything and I love, love, love his style. Can hardly wait for his album. My favorite of the season.

Chris Daughtry--AMAZING! Shocker of an elimination, no question. He should've stayed longer, too. This is the season I wanted 3 winners as a tie. :P I think he's phenomenal, but I did find his attitude to be very poor when he got eliminated and came up with lots of excuses for his elimination but never ONCE was gracious enough to say, "I'm up against great singers and they deserve this, too" or something to that effect anyway! Anything.

Ace was amazing on the tour--one of my favorites after the fact. And I have always loved his falsetto. "Butterflies" is one of my favorite performances by him.

Mark does a mean Bucky impersonation in so many formats! LOL!

The others, a mix of okay, not my thing, etc.

So, basically, my favorites are Kelly, Charles Grigsby, Rickey Smith, Nikko, Clay, Fantasia, JPL, Bo, Constantine, Chris Daughtry, Taylor, and Elliott. Hmmmm, I really love the guys, eh?