American Idol Season Two

From LoveToKnow Music

Season 2 of American Idol debuted on January 19 and ran through to May 20, 2003. This season brought in some changes to the Idol format and is mostly remembered for having the only male winner of the contest, Ruben Studdard. Also, it is remembered for the amount of controversy that surrounded the various contestants.

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American Idol, Season Two Personnel

Ryan Seacrest became the sole host in season 2. Brian Dunkelman parted ways with the show in a mutual decision – he was open about his dislike of the show, and Fox Networks were said to be unhappy with his performance.

Simon Cowell, Paula Adbul, and Randy Jackson remained on as judges. They were also joined by a number of guest judges throughout the series. The guest judges, in order of appearance, were:

Lamont Dozier
Gladys Knight
Olivia Newton-John
Verdine White
Lionel Ritchie
Smokey Robinson
Diane Warren
Neil Sedaka
Robin Gibbs

(Paul Anka also appeared during the season finale.)

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Auditions for American Idol, Season Two

Season 2 auditions were held in the fall of 2002 in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Detroit, Nashville, Austin, and Atlanta.

Instead of splitting the semifinalists into three groups of ten like season 1, season 2’s semifinalists were split into four groups of eight, for a total of 32 semifinalists, who were then joined by four “wild card” hopefuls.

The first bit of controversy in season 2 arose during the semifinalist round, when Frenchie Davis was barred from the competition after topless photos she had posed for online four years previously surfaced.

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The Top 12

Several rounds of elimination lead to the contestants being narrowed down to the top 12 who faced off weekly for the public vote. The top 12, in order of elimination, were:

Vanessa Olivarez
Charles Grigsby
Julia DeMato
Corey Clark
Ricky Smith
Kimberly Caldwell
Carmen Rasmusen
Trenyce
Joshua Gracin
Kimberly Locke
Clay Aiken
Ruben Studdard

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Theme Weeks

Season 2 featured a variety of musical theme weeks:

Motown
Movies
Country
Disco
Billboard Number 1 Hits
Billy Joel
Diane Warren
Neil Sedaka
Bee Gees

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Corey Clark

Controversy erupted again on the set when Corey Clark was dismissed from the show. He was asked to leave when it was uncovered that he had a criminal conviction for assaulting his sister. Clark popped up again in 2005, when he claimed to have had an affair with judge Paula Abdul during the filming of his season. Fox investigated the claim and found it to be false. It has been speculated that Clark was attempting to gain press attention for his then soon to be released album and tell-all book.

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Controversy over the Results

Ruben Studdard’s victory was a surprise to many Idol fans. He won by 130,000 votes, out of the 24 million votes cast. Rumors circulated that the phone system was overloaded and up to 150,000 votes went uncounted. After season 2, American Idol changed their voting system to avoid any future confusion.

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Where Are They Now?

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Clay Aiken

Though Studdard won the competition, after the show, it was runner-up Clay Aiken who found the most success. His first single went platinum and debuted in the charts at number 1, as did his debut album. Aiken has a legion of fans who maintain a tight Internet community dedicated to keeping Aiken in the spotlight as much as possible.

Aiken also has started a charity foundation called Bubel/Aiken Foundation, and works as a UNICEF ambassador.

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Ruben Studdard

The American Idol winner sold fewer copies of his debut album than Aiken. His second release, a gospel album, was more successful, and eventually went gold.

Studdard has been involved in two lawsuits post-American Idol. Shortly after the show, he sued 205 Flava, makers of the “205” area code shirt, which he famously wore throughout the competition. The area code is a reference to Studdard’s hometown. Studdard claimed that 205 Flava used his image without consent. However, 205 Flava claimed to have paid Studdard $10,000 for wearing the shirt during the show, and claimed to have the checks to prove it. If true, Studdard would have been in violation of American Idol rules. The case was settled out of court.

In 2005, Studdard sued his manager, who is also his godfather, for skimming money from him. The manager filed a countersuit, and the case is yet to be decided.

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Other Contestants

Third place contestant Kimberly Locke scored a few hit singles from her debut album, One Love, and saw her Christmas album reach to the top of the charts. She has become a spokeswoman for Lane Bryant and is a model with the Ford Agency.

Josh Gracin was nominated for Best New Country Artist at the 2005 Billboard Awards.

Carmen Rasmusen has appeared in the film Pride and Prejudice.

Vanessa Olivarez has appeared as Tracey in a Canadian production of Hairspray.

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