American Idol is about to come to a head, with the grand finale of season 21 taking place this weekend.
Following on from a glitzy and fun-filled Disney night during Sunday’s (May 14) episode, there are three contestants in the running to scoop the coveted title.
Five became three as America decided on who would be going through to the final, with Iam Tongi, Megan Danielle and Colin Stough all triumphant.
But what about the past contestants of the show, from seasons gone by, who were close to garnering fame on the show but didn't quite make it to the end?
Well, there are quite a few former contestants who ended up paving their own ways and garnering huge success and fame, despite not winning the show - or doing well in the overall competition.
From an Oscar winner to joining one of the most famous bands in the world, and even collaborating with Taylor Swift - scroll on as we take a look at contestants who lost the first place but won fame in the end.
Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Hudson competed on the third season of the beloved national talent show, with her placing seventh when Fantasia Barrino won the show a few episodes later.
Although Jennifer didn't win American Idol, she went on to amass huge fame, with her even segueing into the world of Hollywood.
Two years after her stint on the signing show, she began acting and in 2005 she was cast as Effie White in the film adaptation of Dreamgirls.
Starring alongside the likes of Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles and Eddie Murphy, she even scooped the gong for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars.
Jennifer has also starred in Sex and the City, Cats and many more, with her also maintaining a glowing singing career too.
With three studio albums to date, Jennifer is known for her hits such as Spotlight and If This Isn't love.
More recently, Jennifer bagged her own show, The Jennifer Hudson Show, which launched in September 2022.
Adam Lambert
Adam missed out on winning the eighth series of American Idol, with Kris Allen declared as the winner instead - which left America up in arms.
But in the end, Adam came out on top when he bagged a spot in British rock band Queen.
Racking up a bank account balance worth millions of dollars, Adam made his money through touring the world with the much-loved band.
Branding themselves as Queen + Adam Lambert, the American Idol alum took over as lead singer, which came as a result of Freddie Mercury passing away in 1991.
His solo debut album, For Your Entertainment, debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, with one of his singles even garnering a Grammy nomination.
Releasing another four studio albums, Adam's most recent, High Drama, dropped in February 2023.
In 2019 he starred in Taylor Swift's music video for her track You Need To Calm Down - which was from her Lover album.
Kellie Picker
Finishing sixth place in the fifth season of American Idol, Kellie has gone on to garner a lot of success despite not winning the show.
The country singer released her debut album in 2006, which was entitled Small Town Girl, with her then releasing a further three since.
In 2008, from her self-titled album, Kelly released Best Days Of Your Life, which was written alongside Taylor Swift.
Taylor provides backing vocals for the bouncy country track, with both blonde beauties even starring in the music video for the song.
10 years ago Kellie competed in Dancing With The Stars, with her winning the series with dance partner Derek Hough.
From 2017 to 2019, Kellie co-host the talk show, Pickler and Ben, with comedian, Ben Aaron, with her now currently working as a DJ on SiriusXM's country music station, The Highway.
Todrick Hall
Dancer and singer Todrick Hall competed on the ninth series of the hit talent show.
During his stint on the show judge Simon Cowell dismissively told Todrick that he "wouldn't amount to anything beyond a Broadway actor".
He was eliminated from the show in the top 16 on March 11, 2010, after his rendition of Queen's Somebody to Love.
Todrick later stated that he regretted hiding his sexuality on the show, which came after he had a girl wait for his post-audition walk outside with his golden ticket.
After leaving American Idol Todrick paved his own way to fame, with him starting a YouTube channel and even getting his own self-titled reality show.
He then became a choreographer and judge on RuPaul's Drag Race, before featuring in Taylor Swift's You Need To Calm Down music video.
Todrick was the runner-up on the sixth season of The Masked Singer US, with him also competing and placing second in Big Brother US.
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