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IdolHistory07.appFooter = "By Andy Dehnart";
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IdolHistory07[i++] = new Array("","2006: Taylor Hicks beats Katharine McPhee","","http://msnbcmedia4.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060525/060525_hickswins_hmed_7a.small.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "", "127", "198", "", "", "", "", "");
IdolHistory07[i-1].body = "Taylor Hicks: After winning last year, Taylor Hicks’ first single hit number one, beating both Fantasia and Carrie Underwood’s first-week single sales. His self-titled debut album was released last December and featured mostly covers; it debuted at number two and was certified gold. Last summer, he was named People’s hottest bachelor, and he’s currently touring to support his record. He and a ghost writer are also working on his memoir, for which Random House paid him a $750,000 advance.Katharine McPhee: Season five runner-up Katharine McPhee released her self-titled first album this January, and it debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. Last summer, she missed part of the “Idol” tour because she was sick, and is touring independently. She’s made a cameo on ABC’s “Ugly Betty,” and has talked openly in the media about her struggle with bulimia, for which she was treated shortly before her season began.
Read more: Why Taylor Hicks was a tough sell."; IdolHistory07[i++] = new Array("","2005: Carrie Underwood beats Bo Bice","","http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/050525/050525_underwood_hmed_8p.small.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "", "150", "198", "", "", "", "", ""); IdolHistory07[i-1].body = "Carrie Underwood: During the past six months, Carrie Underwood has won five Billboard awards, two Grammys, three CMT awards, and was named the Country Music Association’s female vocalist of the year. Those were all for work on her debut album “Some Hearts,” which reached the top of the Billboard country chart and is now six-times platinum. She’s touring this summer and is working on her second album.
Bo Bice: Bo Bice is also touring this summer, and hopefully it will be less eventful than the “Idol” tour two years ago, when he broke his foot and later had to leave the tour to receive emergency surgery for intestinal blockage. Also in the summer of 2005, Bo married, and that fall, he and his wife had a baby boy. After moving to Nashville that fall, he reportedly gave his old Alabama home to a family affected by Hurricane Katrina. In the meantime Bo’s first album, “The Real Thing,” and single, “Inside Your Heaven,” both went gold. His second album is scheduled to be released later this year.
Read more: Little bit country, little bit rock in season four."; IdolHistory07[i++] = new Array("","2005: Fantasia Barrino beats Diana DeGarmo","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/051222/051222_barrino_degarmo_hmed.vsmall.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "", "125", "148", "", "", "", "", ""); IdolHistory07[i-1].body = "Fantasia Barrino: After being nominated for four Grammys for her first album, for which she dropped her last name, Fantasia wrote a memoir about her life that was adapted into a Lifetime movie, in which she played herself. Like many other past “Idol” stars, she also released an album last fall. Her second was a self-titled R&B record whose most recent single, “When I See U,” has done well on various Billboard charts. Fantasia is now appearing on Broadway in the lead role of “The Color Purple.”
Diana DeGarmo: Runner-up Diana DeGarmo has spent most of her post-“Idol” time on stage, not in the studio. After her first single reached number one, her first album came out three years ago, selling only a couple hundred thousand copies, and she says she’s taking her time as she works on her second. In the meantime, she’s appeared on Broadway in “Hairspray” and took the lead role in the tour of “BKLYN: The Musical” last summer. She also recently performed at Carnegie Hall; she turns 20 this summer.
Read more: William Hung came along in season three."; IdolHistory07[i++] = new Array("","2004: Ruben Studdard beats Clay Aiken","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/051220/051220_aikenStuddard_hmed_3p.small.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "", "129", "198", "", "", "", "", ""); IdolHistory07[i-1].body = "Ruben Studdard: Ruben’s first single and record performed well, but he was outsold by runner-up Clay Aiken. After releasing a less-than-mainstream gospel record as his sophomore effort, Ruben returned with a third album, an R&B/soul collection entitled “The Return,” which came out last fall and debuted at number eight on the Billboard 200. In addition to making news after successfully suing his former manager for $2 million, Ruben also made several guest appearances on TV shows, lost 70 pounds, and became a vegetarian.
Clay Aiken: Since becoming “American Idol”’s most well-known runner-up, Clay Aiken has toured relentlessly, and that won’t change this summer, as he embarks on a “symphony tour.” Clay has also done charity work through his own foundation and as a UNICEF ambassador; found himself the subject of tabloid stories; and has released a total of three albums, the first of which was certified multi-platinum. Clay’s most recent record, “A Thousand Different Ways,” mostly cover songs, earned mixed reviews.
Read more: Season two's final ranking is still debated today."; IdolHistory07[i++] = new Array("","2003: Kelly Clarkson beats Justin Guarini","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/051213/051213_kelly_hmed_1p.vsmall.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "", "153", "148", "", "", "", "", ""); IdolHistory07[i-1].body = "Kelly Clarkson: The one “Idol” winner to become an international superstar, especially since the release of her five-times platinum album “Breakaway.” Her third album, “My December,” will be out in June, featuring autobiographical songs that Kelly wrote or co-wrote. She's admitted to Entertainment Weekly that it’s “not as mainstream,” which led to conflict with her label. She’ll tour this summer.
Justin Guarini: After being dropped by his record label, Justin independently released his second album, the jazz-themed “Stranger Things Have Happened.” He's now co-hosting the TV Guide Channel’s “American Idol” pre-show “Idol Tonight.” Justin, whose long, curly hair is no longer as long as it used to be, also has a role in an upcoming independent movie, “Fast Girls.”
Read more about the season that started it all."; // END editorial data