The third season of American Idol belonged to the ladies.  No offense to any of the top male contenders, there was some talent there, but every meaningful alumni of Idol's third go around is of the female variety.  Controversy was mostly lacking in season three, though it did bring us our first exposure to one William Hung, whose presence and subsequent infamy informed how FOX would package (and viewers would digest) those opening audition episodes each season.  Previously, Idol glossed over the auditions, trying to get to the meat of the season as fast as possible. William Hung cemented the “bad” auditions as a national phenomena, to be exploited by FOX and Idol.  Whether or not you enjoy these episodes (the ratings would contest that you do) is moot; since season three, the auditions (especially the embarrassing ones) have become a staple of American Idol.  The funny thing about William Hung (well, besides everything) is that he accepted his inevitable Simon Cowell tongue-lashing with the utmost respect and modesty.  He was just happy to be there.

Format:

The format was unchanged from seasons two to three. 


Notable Season 3 Alumni:

William Hung: 

Hung's debut album, Inspirational, sold almost 200,000 copies.  Please tell me you're as baffled as I am about this.  Hung became a gimmick after his audition on American Idol, where he performed a horrific version of Ricky Martin's “She Bangs”.  He's faded from the spotlight since that first album, though he'll live on forever as the butt of obscure jokes.

Diana DeGarmo:

DeGarmo was a mere sixteen years old when she competed on American Idol.  She was the somewhat surprising runner-up, possessor of a mature voice for her age.  She gave numerous power-house performances and showed none of the inconsistency one expects from singers her age.  Since Idol, DeGarmo has found success on Broadway, most recently appearing in Hairspray. 

Jennifer Hudson:

Though she didn't win American Idol, Hudson is probably the most famous alumni of Idol's third season.  After being eliminated in seventh place, Hudson didn't again surface until the hit film musical Dreamgirls was released, in which Hudson played Effie White.  Her performance earned her overwhelming critical praise, and Hudson ended up winning both the Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.  Most recently, Hudson accepted a role in the upcoming Sex and the City movie. 

Fantasia Barrino:

Fantasia seemed destined to win American Idol from her first audition, where she sang “Proud Mary.”  The explosive soul singer continued to give incredible performances as the season went along and was routinely praised by the judges.  Simon even went so far as to call Fantasia the best contestant Idol had ever seen.  Fantasia's debut album, “Free Yourself” has sold over two million copies worldwide and was nominated for multiple Grammys.  Fantasia has most recently been starring in the Broadway musical version of The Color Purple.


Controversy: 

The Three Divas

Amid the poor vote showing of Jennifer Hudson, LaToya London and Fantasia (all African-American) early in the season, there were claims of racism from none other than Elton John, who would not qualify or recant his statement.  The most realistic explanation for the poor voting (Hudson being voted off in seventh place) has to be a simple dilution of the votes for the R&B singers.  After all, Fantasia won in the end. 

VotefortheWorst.com

The third season of American Idol saw the birth of one of FOX's most hated entities: Vote For the Worst.  VFTW is a website dedicated to messing with the American Idol vote.  The website decides who the “worst” remaining contestant is and urges the masses to send in as many votes as they can for the “worst” contestant in an attempt to make Idol lose credibility.  If that's why Sanjaya stuck around for so long, it worked.


-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of FOX)