An Ode to 15 Years of American Idol

It's hard to believe that after 15 seasons and 14 years, American Idol is finished. We've seen hundreds of singers audition and dozens upon dozens of singers rise to fame - even if they didn't win or even make the live shows. It just proves the impact that this show has had on the music business. I wanted to take this time to take a look at the last 15 seasons, now that it's officially over. I have so many fond memories of the show, and I am truly going to miss it.

Let's look at the winners. I'm pretty proud to say that I completed this from memory without looking at anything! (Of course, I did check to make sure I actually had them right.)

Season 1 (2002): Kelly Clarkson Season 2 (2003): Ruben Studdard Season 3 (2004): Fantasia Barrino Season 4 (2005): Carrie Underwood Season 5 (2006): Taylor Hicks Season 6 (2007): Jordin Sparks Season 7 (2008): David Cook Season 8 (2009): Kris Allen

Season 9 (2010):   Lee DeWyze Season 10 (2011): Scotty McCreery Season 11 (2012): Phillip Phillips Season 12 (2013): Candice Glover Season 13 (2014): Caleb Johnson Season 14 (2015): Nick Fradiani Season 15 (2016): Trent Harmon

Winner Breakdown:

5 girls, 10 guys
11 states represented:

• North Carolina (3 - Fantasia, Scotty, Caleb)
• Alabama (2 - Ruben, Taylor)
• Texas (2 - Kelly, David)
• Arizona (1 - Jordin)
• Arkansas (1 - Kris)
• Connecticut (1 - Nick)
• Georgia (1 - Phillip)
• Illinois (1 - Lee)
• Mississippi (1 - Trent)
• Oklahoma (1 - Carrie)
• South Carolina (1 - Candice)

Of those 11 states, 7 (9 if you include Arkansas and Oklahoma) are in the south/southwest! That's incredible! Not one winner from the entertainment capitals of the U.S. - California and New York! Very interesting!

There are a lot of great singers, very deserving to win the title of American Idol. However, there are a few that I have not cared for at all (if you know me, or have read this blog, you can probably guess which ones those are). So, just for fun, here is how I would rank the winners from favorite to least favorite. It's pretty hard to rank the ones I love, and it's just as hard to rank the ones I don't like. I've separated the list with a line where the ones I like ends and the ones I don't like begins. On any given days, the order could shift - it's a very fluid list because they're that close. And just to prove it...I have every album that my favorites have put out (except I don't have Jordin's newest one yet).

1. David Cook
2. Kelly Clarkson
3. Carrie Underwood
4. Jordin Sparks
5. Phillip Phillips
6. Nick Fradiani
7. Caleb Johnson
8. Kris Allen
9. Lee DeWyze
10. Trent Harmon
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11. Candice Glover
12. Ruben Studdard
13. Fantasia Barrino
14. Scotty McCreery
15. Taylor Hicks

Some seasons the most deserving singer was crowned the winner, while in others it was clear who should have won. So, here's who I wanted to win each season and who probably should have won based on sheer talent, originality, and their career success after Idol.

Season	Winner	Who I Wanted to Win	Should Have Won
1	Kelly Clarkson	Kelly Clarkson	Kelly Clarkson
2	Ruben Studdard	Kimberley Locke	Clay Aiken
3	Fantasia Barrino	Diana DeGarmo	Jennifer Hudson
4	Carrie Underwood	Carrie Underwood	Carrie Underwood
5	Taylor Hicks	Chris Daughtry	Chris Daughtry
6	Jordin Sparks	Blake Lewis	Jordin Sparks
7	David Cook	David Cook	David Cook
8	Kris Allen	Adam Lambert	Adam Lambert
9	Lee DeWyze	Casey James	Casey James
10	Scotty McCreery	James Durbin	Scotty McCreery
11	Phillip Phillips	Colton Dixon/ Phillip Phillips	Phillip Phillips
12	Candice Glover	Angie Miller	Angie Miller
13	Caleb Johnson	Caleb Johnson	Caleb Johnson
14	Nick Fradiani	Clark Beckham/ Nick Fradiani	Jax
15	Trent Harmon	Dalton Rappatoni	La'Porsha Renae

Each season (with the exception of Season 2), there have been so many singers that I've enjoyed. I've followed a lot of their careers after Idol on social media as well as buying their music. My music collection includes the music of 41 former Idols (haven't gotten around to downloading some of last season or this season's singers...so this list will grow!)

Full list of all Idols I have downloaded songs:

1	Kelly Clarkson, Justin Guarini
2
3	Diana DeGarmo, Jon Peter Lewis
4	Carrie Underwood, Bo Bice, Constantine Maroulis
5	Katharine McPhee, Chris Daughtry (Daughtry), Kellie Pickler, Ace Young
6	Jordin Sparks, Blake Lewis, Chris Richardson
7	David Cook, David Archuleta, Jason Castro, Brooke White, Carly Smithson (We Are The Fallen), Michael Johns
8	Kris Allen, Adam Lambert, Danny Gokey, Allison Iraheta, Matt Giraud
9	Lee DeWyze, Casey James, Siobhan Magnus, Tim Urban
10	James Durbin, Stefano Langone, Paul McDonald, Pia Toscano
11	Phillip Phillips, Colton Dixon
12	Angie Miller
13	Caleb Johnson, Jessica Meuse
14	Nick Fradiani, Clark Beckham, Trevor Douglas

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