American Idol is one of the most entertaining shows on TV. This is only because many of the contestant’s joke around, or have absolutely no singing skills to offer the judges.

This results in unplanned comedy sketches that take the life out of us laughing. Currently, there are 18 seasons of American Idol. If we are to count all the untalented people that have appeared on our TV screens during shooting, we’d end up losing track by season one.

With all that said, there are some pretty talented people entering the show with hopes to make a name for themselves in the music industry. That’s why we’ve decided to write an article regarding the X most successful American Idol contestants of all time.

We’ll be taking into account the people that have truly left us breathless with their singing, so let’s start.

1. Season 4 Winner: Carrie Underwood

Ever since Carrie Underwood won season 4 of American Idol, she went on to make a name for herself and even has 13 Grammy Awards nominations.

To this day, Carrie is probably the most successful contestant the show has ever seen. She has a total net worth of around $70 million, 5 albums to her name, and won 7 out of those 13 nominations.

But her success doesn’t only come from the music industry. We’ve understood that Carrie has her very own line of nail polish and fitness wear. It stems from the brand Nicole by OPI, but she also has a few other projects.

Carrie is said to be quite the humanitarian. In her hometown of Checotah, Oklahoma, Carrie has opened an animal shelter that takes care of stray dogs, cats, and anything alike.

Furthermore, she has used her wealth to launch two funds; one for flood victims and the other for country music singers that are on the streets.

The country music singer has been introduced to the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame back in 2009 and has even appeared as a guest in a couple of TV shows.

2. Season 1 Winner: Kelly Clarkson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3NEN0xott4

If we go back to the very first season of American Idol, then we’d remember Kelly Clarkson and her magnificent performance in the final.

Since winning season 1, Kelly’s carrier boomed. The singer has numerous Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and has even expanded her knowledge in a couple of other fields.

First off, she sells greeting cards for Walmart, courtesy of American Greeting, and has published a few children’s books. All that, along with her 3 Grammy wins from 13 nominations, resulted in a net worth of around $30 million.

3. Season 3 3RD Place Finisher: Jennifer Hudson

With an estimated net worth of around $30 million dollars, many were surprised to see Jennifer Hudson take the number 3 spot in Season 3 of American Idol back in 2004.

With 1 Grammy Award to her name, from 5 nominations, Jennifer has released three albums to her name and even an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe, and many more prestigious awards.

Furthermore, the singer has appeared in numerous TV shows and musicals such as Dreamgirls, The Secret Life of Bees, Chi-Raq and many more. She has also appeared in the mega-popular TV show Empire on numerous occasions.

4. Season 8 Runner-Up: Adam Lambert

If you’re a fan of the show, then you also probably know that Adam Lambert actually finished as a runner up in Season 8 back in 2009.

However, Lambert quickly came to fame after that and sort of dropped off pretty fast. He only has a single Grammy Award nomination and has released three albums throughout his career.

Being a huge spokesperson for the LGBTQ community has been a contributing factor as to why his career has been put to a hold. Since there are a lot of issues revolving around people in the LGBTQ community, Lambert spends much of his time focusing on these core issues.

He has a few cameos in a couple of shows and movies, of whom the biggest ones include Glee and Pretty Little Liars. Back in 2011, Lambert was the lead vocalist for the mega-popular rock band Queen, emulating Freddy himself.

Make sure to follow follownews.com to know more about Lambert and his net worth.

5. Season 5 Winner: Jordin Sparks

With a net worth of $10 million, the 1-time Grammy nominee Jordin Sparks has had a mixed career, to say the least.

While still regarding as one of the most successful American Idol contestants, Jordin Sparks has released three albums since her Season 5 win back in 2007.

After 2008, Jordin decided to spend the wealth she accumulated into launching her very own clothing line labeled Wet Seal. As with the rest of the nominations on this list, Jordin has appeared in multiple shows and even did a few cameos for a couple of movies.

Jordin is quite the humanitarian and has even launched her very own campaign initiative “I’m M.A.D. Are You? which aims to urge younger people to take care of their communities and those in need.

6. Season 6 4th Place Finisher: Craig Daughtry

It seems that the guys on American Idol don’t seem to want to win the show. After all, we’ve only had Adam on this list so far, and both and Craig didn’t win the competition.

However, that’s not to say that Craig, and Adam, don’t have successful music careers.

Craig Daughtry has managed to accumulate more Grammy Awards nominations than Jordin and Jennifer Hudson, surpassing them both with 4.

With $8.5 million to his name, Craig has launched 7 albums with three bands.

His music career might be successful, but so is his acting career. While not much of an actor, Craig has appeared on numerous Fox shows including CSI: New York, Studio City, and the Fox musical The Passion.

Craig is one of the most successful American Idol contestants due to having the third-highest record sales since the show’s existence.

He is only surpassed by Kelly Clarkson and country megastar Carrie Underwood.