American Idol season 2

The second season of American Idol premiered on January 21, 2003, and continued until May 21, 2003. The title of show was shortened from American Idol: The Search for a Superstar of Season 1 to just American Idol. Brian Dunkleman quit after the first season, and Seacrest therefore became the lone host in Season 2 as well as all subsequent seasons. Kristin Holt was a special correspondent.

It was won by Ruben Studdard. It was the first season to crown a male winner, and the first season to have a finale with two male contestants, Studdard and Clay Aiken, being followed by the seventh season with David Archuleta and David Cook, then the eighth season with Adam Lambert and Kris Allen, and the fourteenth season with Clark Beckham and Nick Fradiani.

Studdard released his coronation song "Flying Without Wings" after the show and reached number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Aiken also released a single with "This Is the Night", written by Chris Braide, Aldo Nova and Gary Burr. It became the first non-winning contestant to have a Billboard Hot 100 number-one It was the biggest US single of 2003, selling over one million copies and reaching six times platinum status in Canada as well as number 1 in New Zealand.

In addition to Studdard and Aiken, Kimberley Locke, Joshua Gracin, Kimberly Caldwell, and Carmen Rasmusen have signed with various record labels.

Eighth-place finisher, Rickey Smith was killed in a car crash on May 6, 2016, making him the second American Idol finalist to die, following the death of season 7 finalist, Michael Johns in August 2014.

Regional auditions

Auditions were held in the fall of 2002 in the following cities:

Episode Air Date	Audition City	Date	Audition Venue	Callback Venue	Tickets to Hollywood
January 21, 2003	New York, New York	October 24–28, 2002	Regent Wall Street Hotel	Rhiga Royal Hotel	35
	Miami, Florida	November 2–6, 2002	Fontainebleau Hilton Hotel		20
	Austin, Texas	November 6–10, 2002	Doubletree Hotel	Hyatt Regency	36
January 22, 2003	Los Angeles, California	November 18–20, 2002	Rose Bowl	Renaissance Hollywood Hotel	45
	Detroit, Michigan	October 21, 2002	Atheneum Suites Hotel		22
January 28, 2003	Atlanta, Georgia	October 27, 2002	AmericasMart	Callanwolde Fine Arts Center	46
	Nashville, Tennessee	October 30, 2002	Nashville Municipal Auditorium	Wildhorse Saloon	30
Total Tickets to Hollywood					234

The number of auditioners increased significantly after the success of the Season 1, and arenas and stadia started to be used to hold the first auditions from this season onwards when the Rose Bowl in Pasadena was used this season instead of the hotel originally planned. Around 70,000 attended the auditions this season and 234 were selected to proceed on to the Hollywood round. Radio DJ Angie Martinez was originally signed up as a fourth judge, but quit after a few days, stating that "it became too uncomfortable for me to tell someone else to give up on their dream". Paula Abdul was absent from the Atlanta audition.

At the Miami auditions, one failed auditioner was Edgar Nova who, after being rejected, tried to get back again and had to be escorted off the premise. Nova then auditioned in Los Angeles, but with a different hairstyle to avoid recognition, and was again unsuccessful. He also tried further in Season 3 and 4.

Another auditioner named Bryan Washington auditioned in Atlanta, Georgia, and made it to Hollywood, but did not make it into the top 32. He was also overweight at the time of his American Idol audition, and later became a contestant on The Biggest Loser (Season 4.)

Auditioner Amber Riley was rejected by producers and did not get to audition for the judges, but later went on to co-star on the television series Glee as Mercedes Jones.

Hollywood week

The contestants performed in a series of rounds and number of contestants trimmed in each round. In the first round they performed a song, in the second round they were asked to compose a melody for one of five set of lyrics, and 80 remained after this round. In the third round the contestants were separate into the girls and boys and they performed in small groups. They chose a song from "Superstar", Seal's "Kiss from a Rose", Barry Manilow's "Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again", Freda Payne's "Band of Gold", and Dionne Warwick's "You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)". During the group performance, Corey Clark, who was later to claim a relationship with Paula Abdul, sang to Paula directly and kissed her hand. 48 contestants were left at the end of this round.

In the last round each contestants performed solo. After their performances, the contestants were then divided into 3 group of 16 and placed in separate rooms. One group was eliminated, and 32 contestants proceeded on to the semi-final rounds.

Semi-finals

The format changed slightly in Season 2; instead of three groups of 10, the semi-finalists were grouped into four groups of 8. The singers performed solo in a new improved stage with piano accompaniment by Michael Orland, and the performance pre-taped. There were no live audience although family members of contestants were present in the Red Room where the contestants were placed.

The results of the public vote were announced live the next day. From each group, two were selected to proceed on to the top 12, and those selected reprised their performance in the result show. Nine of those who failed at any of previous stages (including the Hollywood rounds and the initial regional auditions) were given one more chance to perform again in the wild-card show. Each of the three judges put one contestant from the wild-card group through to the top 12, with the final one selected by the public vote.

Semi-final Group 1

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Kimberly Caldwell	"Come to My Window (Melissa Etheridge)	Top 3/Wild Card
2	Patrick Fortson	"Un-Break My Heart" (Toni Braxton)	Eliminated
3	J.D. Adams	"All in Love Is Fair" (Stevie Wonder)	Eliminated
4	Trenyce	"Love Sneakin' Up On You" (Bonnie Raitt)	Wild Card
5	Meosha Denton	"How Do I Live" (LeAnn Rimes)	Eliminated
6	Bettis Richardson	"Thank You" (Boyz II Men)	Eliminated
7	Charles Grigsby	"Overjoyed" (Stevie Wonder)	Advanced
8	Julia DeMato	"Son of a Preacher Man" (Dusty Springfield)	Advanced

Semi-final Group 2

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Clay Aiken	"Open Arms" (Journey)	Top 3/Wild Card
2	Candice Coleman	"Piece of My Heart" (Erma Franklin)	Eliminated
3	Rebecca Bond	"Caught Up in the Rapture" (Anita Baker)	Eliminated
4	Jacob John Smalley	"Anytime" (Brian McKnight)	Eliminated
5	Hadas	"You Light Up My Life" (Kasey Cisyk)	Eliminated
6	Ruben Studdard	"Superstar" (Delaney & Bonnie)	Advanced
7	Kimberley Locke	"Over the Rainbow" (Judy Garland)	Advanced
8	Jennifer Fuentes	"I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (Whitney Houston)	Eliminated

Semi-final Group 3

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Kimberly Kelsey	"It's All Coming Back to Me Now" (Pandora's Box)	Eliminated
2	Jordan Segundo	"For Your Love" (Stevie Wonder)	Eliminated
3	Vanessa Olivarez	"Out Here On My Own" (Irene Cara)	Advanced
4	Rickey Smith	"One Last Cry" (Brian McKnight)	Advanced
5	Samantha Cohen	"Something He Can Feel" (Aretha Franklin)	Eliminated
6	Louis Gazzara	"How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" (Laura Branigan)	Eliminated
7	Equoia Coleman	"The Way We Were" (Barbra Streisand)	Top 3/Eliminated
8	George Trice	"Unchained Melody" (Todd Duncan)	Eliminated

Semi-final Group 4

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Sylvia Chibiliti	"Didn't We Almost Have It All" (Whitney Houston)	Eliminated
2	Chip Days	"A Song for You" (Leon Russell)	Wild Card
3	Juanita Barber	"What About the Children" (Yolanda Adams)	Eliminated
4	Patrick Lake	"When I See You Smile" (Bad English)	Top 3/Eliminated
5	Nasheka Siddall	"Open My Heart" (Yolanda Adams)	Wild Card
6	Joshua Gracin	"I'll Be" (Edwin McCain)	Advanced
7	Ashley Hartman	"Touch Me in the Morning" (Diana Ross)	Eliminated
8	Corey Clark	"Foolish Heart" (Steve Perry)	Advanced

Wild Card

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Kimberly Caldwell	"I Feel the Earth Move" (Carole King)	Selected (Randy's choice)
2	Clay Aiken	"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (Elton John)	Selected (Public vote)
3	Nasheka Siddall	"Wind Beneath My Wings" (Mighty Clouds of Joy)	Eliminated
4	Carmen Rasmusen	"Can't Fight the Moonlight" (LeAnn Rimes)	Selected (Simon's choice)
5	Olivia Mojica	"Because You Loved Me" (Celine Dion)	Eliminated
6	Janine Falsone	"We Belong" (Pat Benatar)	Eliminated
7	Chip Days	"Rock with You" (Michael Jackson)	Eliminated
8	Aliceyn Cooney	"Angel" (Sarah McLachlan)	Eliminated
9	Trenyce	"Let's Stay Together" (Al Green)	Selected (Paula's choice)

Finalists

Back - Joshua Gracin, Clay Aiken, Kimberly Caldwell, Kimberley Locke, Charles Grigsby, Carmen Rusmusen, Trenyce, Ruben Studdard
Seated - Julia DeMato, Corey Clark, Vanessa Olivarez, Rickey Smith

• Ruben Studdard (born September 12, 1978 in Frankfurt, Germany, 24 years old at the time of the show) is from Birmingham, Alabama and auditioned in Nashville, Tennessee with Stevie Wonder's "Ribbon in the Sky".
• Clay Aiken (born November 30, 1978 in Raleigh, North Carolina, 24 years at the time of the show) auditioned in Atlanta, Georgia with Heatwave's "Always and Forever". He studied at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he graduated with a degree in special education.
• Kimberley Locke (born January 3, 1978 in Hartsville, Tennessee, 25 at the time of the show) is from Nashville, Tennessee where she auditioned with Judy Garland's "Over the Rainbow".
• Joshua Gracin (born October 18, 1980 in Westland, Michigan, 22 years old at the time of the show) is from Oceanside, California, where he was stationed while serving in the Marine Corps. He auditioned in Los Angeles with O-Town's "All or Nothing".
• Trenyce (born March 31, 1980 in Memphis, Tennessee, 22 years old at the start of the season) is from Bartlett, Tennessee and auditioned in Nashville with Whitney Houston's "I Learned from the Best". She turned down a record deal at 14 and she auditioned using her full name, LaShundra "Trenyce" Cobbins.
• Carmen Rasmusen (born March 25, 1985, in Edmonton, Alberta in Canada, 17 at the start of the season) is from Bountiful, Utah and auditioned in Los Angeles. She did not make the semi-final initially but was brought back for the wild card show and put through to the final.
• Kimberly Caldwell (born February 25, 1982 in Katy, Texas, 20 at the start of the season) – Prior to American Idol, she had appeared on Star Search, where she won five times as a junior vocalist, and in Popstars: USA.
• Rickey Smith (born May 10, 1979 in Keene, Texas, 23 at the time of the show, died May 6, 2016) auditioned in Nashville with Brian McKnight's "One Last Cry". He worked as a teacher before the show. Smith was killed in a car crash on May 6, 2016, making him the second American Idol finalist to die after season 7 finalist, Michael Johns.
• Corey Clark (born July 13, 1980 in San Bernardino, California, 22 at the time of the show) is from San Bernardino, California, and auditioned in Nashville with Jackson 5's "Never Can Say Goodbye". He was disqualified hours after the website The Smoking Gun revealed his misdemeanor charges of battery and resisting arrest on March 31, 2003.
• Julia DeMato (born March 7, 1979 in Danbury, Connecticut, 23 at the start of the show) is from Brookfield, Connecticut and auditioned with Toni Braxton's Un-Break My Heart.
• Charles Grigsby (born September 15, 1978 in Oberlin, Ohio, 24 at the time of the show) auditioned in Detroit.
• Vanessa Olivarez (born April 7, 1981, 21 at the start of the season) is from Atlanta, Georgia and auditioned in Atlanta with Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody".

Finals

In this season, guests were introduced as celebrity judges, some of whom who may also act as a mentor in for the week they were on.

During Top 9, it was announced that Corey Clark had been disqualified.

In most weeks the bottom vote-getter performed his or her song again after their elimination was announced, but at Top 5 and Top 9 both the bottom 2 vote-getters performed their song.

Top 12 – Motown

• Guest judge and mentor: Lamont Dozier

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Kimberley Locke	"(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave" (Martha and the Vandellas)	Bottom 3
2	Joshua Gracin	"Baby I Need Your Loving" (The Four Tops)	Safe
3	Charles Grisgby	"How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" (Marvin Gaye)	Safe
4	Kimberly Caldwell	"Nowhere to Run" (Martha and the Vandellas)	Safe
5	Rickey Smith	"1-2-3" (Len Barry)	Safe
6	Julia DeMato	"Where Did Our Love Go" (The Supremes)	Bottom 2
7	Clay Aiken	"I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" (The Four Tops)	Safe
8	Vanessa Olivarez	"You Keep Me Hangin' On" (The Supremes)	Eliminated
9	Corey Clark	"This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)" (The Isley Brothers)	Safe
10	Carmen Rasmusen	"You Can't Hurry Love" (The Supremes)	Safe
11	Trenyce	"Come See About Me" (The Supremes)	Safe
12	Ruben Studdard	"Baby I Need Your Loving" (The Four Tops)	Safe

• Group performance: "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave" (Martha and the Vandellas)

Top 11 – Movie Soundtracks

• Guest judge: Gladys Knight

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Featured film	Result
1	Corey Clark	"Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" (Phil Collins)	Against All Odds	Bottom 2
2	Ruben Studdard	"A Whole New World" (Brad Kane & Lea Salonga)	Aladdin	Safe
3	Trenyce	"I Have Nothing" (Whitney Houston)	The Bodyguard	Safe
4	Clay Aiken	"Somewhere Out There" (Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram)	An American Tail	Safe
5	Kimberly Caldwell	"The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" (Betty Everett)	Mermaids	Safe
6	Joshua Gracin	"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (Aerosmith)	Armageddon	Safe
7	Carmen Rasmusen	"Hopelessly Devoted to You" (Olivia Newton-John)	Grease	Safe
8	Charles Grigsby	"You Can't Win" (Michael Jackson)	The Wiz	Eliminated
9	Rickey Smith	"It Might Be You" (Stephen Bishop)	Tootsie	Safe
10	Julia DeMato	"Flashdance... What a Feeling" (Irene Cara)	Flashdance	Bottom 3
11	Kimberley Locke	"Home" (Stephanie Mills)	The Wiz	Safe

• Group performance: "Footloose" (Kenny Loggins) and "(I've Had) the Time of My Life" (Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes)

Top 10 – Country rock

• Guest judge: Olivia Newton-John

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Joshua Gracin	"Ain't Goin' Down ('Til The Sun Comes Up)" (Garth Brooks)	Safe
2	Trenyce	"I Need You" (LeAnn Rimes)	Safe
3	Kimberley Locke	"I Can't Make You Love Me" (Bonnie Raitt)	Safe
4	Corey Clark	"Drift Away" (John Henry Kurtz)	Safe1
5	Carmen Rasmusen	"Wild Angels" (Martina McBride)	Safe
6	Rickey Smith	"I've Done Enough Dyin' Today" (Larry Gatlin)	Bottom 3
7	Kimberly Caldwell	"Anymore" (Travis Tritt)	Bottom 2
8	Ruben Studdard	"Sweet Home Alabama" (Lynyrd Skynyrd)	Safe
9	Julia DeMato	"Breathe" (Faith Hill)	Eliminated
10	Clay Aiken	"Someone Else's Star" (Davis Daniel)	Safe

• Group performance: "Where the Blacktop Ends" (Keith Urban) and "God Bless the USA" (Lee Greenwood)

Note 1: Corey Clark was later disqualified due to his controversy.

Top 8 (first week) – Disco

• Guest judge: Verdine White

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Rickey Smith	"Let's Groove" (Earth, Wind & Fire)	Safe
2	Carmen Rasmusen	"Turn the Beat Around" (Vicki Sue Robinson)	Bottom 2
3	Kimberly Caldwell	"Knock on Wood" (Eddie Floyd)	Safe
4	Clay Aiken	"Everlasting Love" (Robert Knight)	Safe
5	Trenyce	"I'm Every Woman" (Chaka Khan)	Bottom 2
6	Ruben Studdard	"Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" (Barry White)	Safe
7	Kimberley Locke	"It's Raining Men" (The Weather Girls)	Bottom 3
8	Joshua Gracin	"Celebration" (Kool & the Gang)	Safe

• Group performance: "A Night to Remember" (Shalamar) and "Boogie Wonderland" (Earth, Wind & Fire & The Emotions)
• Guest Performance: "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood (video)

Top 8 (second week) – Billboard Number Ones

• Guest judge: Lionel Richie

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Clay Aiken	"At This Moment" (Billy Vera)	Safe
2	Kimberley Locke	"My Heart Will Go On" (Celine Dion)	Bottom 3
3	Rickey Smith	"Endless Love" (Lionel Richie & Diana Ross)	Eliminated
4	Kimberly Caldwell	"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" (Bryan Adams)	Bottom 2
5	Joshua Gracin	"Amazed" (Lonestar)	Safe
6	Carmen Rasmusen	"Call Me" (Blondie)	Safe
7	Trenyce	"The Power of Love" (Jennifer Rush)	Safe
8	Ruben Studdard	"Kiss and Say Goodbye" (The Manhattans)	Safe

• Group performance: "All Night Long (All Night)" (Lionel Richie)
• Guest Performance: Kelly Clarkson - "Miss Independent"

Top 7 – Billy Joel

• Guest judge: Smokey Robinson

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist when applicable)	Result
1	Kimberly Caldwell	"It's Still Rock and Roll to Me"	Eliminated
2	Ruben Studdard	"Just the Way You Are"	Safe
3	Kimberley Locke	"New York State of Mind"	Safe
4	Carmen Rasmusen	"And So It Goes"	Bottom 2
5	Joshua Gracin	"Piano Man"	Safe
6	Trenyce	"Baby Grand" (Billy Joel & Ray Charles)	Bottom 3
7	Clay Aiken	"Tell Her About It"	Safe

• Group performance: "The Longest Time" (Billy Joel) and "God Bless the USA" (Lee Greenwood)

Top 6 – Diane Warren

• Guest judge and mentor - Diane Warren

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Kimberley Locke	"If You Asked Me To" (Patti LaBelle)	Safe
2	Clay Aiken	"I Could Not Ask for More" (Edwin McCain)	Safe
3	Trenyce	"Have You Ever?" (Brandy)	Bottom 3
4	Joshua Gracin	"That's When I'll Stop Loving You" ('N Sync)	Bottom 2
5	Carmen Rasmusen	"Love Will Lead You Back" (Taylor Dayne)	Eliminated
6	Ruben Studdard	"Music of My Heart" ('N Sync and Gloria Estefan)	Safe

• Group performance: "Shine" (Ashanti)

Top 5 – 1960s/Neil Sedaka

Guest judge - Neil Sedaka

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist when applicable)	Result
1	Ruben Studdard	"Ain't Too Proud to Beg" (The Temptations)	Bottom 2
2	Trenyce	"Proud Mary" (Creedence Clearwater Revival)	Eliminated
3	Joshua Gracin	"Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" (Don Cherry)	Safe
4	Kimberley Locke	"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (The Miracles)	Safe
5	Clay Aiken	"Build Me Up Buttercup" (The Foundations)	Safe
6	Ruben Studdard	"Breaking Up is Hard to Do"	Bottom 2
7	Trenyce	"Love Will Keep Us Together"	Eliminated
8	Joshua Gracin	"Bad Blood"	Safe
9	Kimberley Locke	"Where the Boys Are" (Connie Francis)	Safe
10	Clay Aiken	"Solitaire"	Safe

• Top 5 group performance: 1960's medley (Various)
• Top 10 group performance without Corey Clark: "What the World Needs Now Is Love" by Jackie DeShannon
• Guest Performance: Justin Guarini - "I Saw Your Face"

Top 4 – Bee Gees

Guest judge - Robin Gibb

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist when applicable)	Result
1	Joshua Gracin	"Jive Talkin'"	Eliminated
2	Clay Aiken	"To Love Somebody"	Safe
3	Kimberley Locke	"I Just Want to Be Your Everything" (Andy Gibb)	Bottom 2
4	Ruben Studdard	"Nights on Broadway"	Safe
5	Joshua Gracin	"To Love Somebody"	Eliminated
6	Clay Aiken	"Grease" (Frankie Valli)	Safe
7	Kimberley Locke	"Emotion" (Samantha Sang)	Bottom 2
8	Ruben Studdard	"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart"	Safe

• Group performance: Bee Gees medley

Top 3 – Random from a bowl of Producers' picks, Judges' Choice, Idol's Choice

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Kimberley Locke	"Band of Gold" (Freda Payne)	Eliminated
2	Ruben Studdard	"Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" (Stevie Wonder)	Safe
3	Clay Aiken	"Vincent" (Don McLean)	Safe
4	Kimberley Locke	"Anyone Who Had a Heart" (Dionne Warwick) - Randy Jackson	Eliminated
5	Ruben Studdard	"Smile" (Charlie Chaplin) - Simon Cowell	Safe
6	Clay Aiken	"Mack the Knife" (Louis Armstrong) - Paula Abdul	Safe
7	Kimberley Locke	"Inseparable" (Natalie Cole)	Eliminated
8	Ruben Studdard	"If Ever You're in My Arms Again" (Peabo Bryson)	Safe
9	Clay Aiken	"Unchained Melody" (Todd Duncan)	Safe

• Group performance: "Up Where We Belong", "Reunited", "Solid"
• Guest Performance: Tamyra Gray - "Somewhere Over The Rainbow"
• Guest Performance: Justin Guarini - "Unchained Melody"

Top 2 – Finale

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Ruben Studdard	"A House is Not a Home" (Dionne Warwick)	Winner
2	Clay Aiken	"This Is the Night" (Clay Aiken)	Runner-Up
3	Ruben Studdard	"Imagine" (John Lennon)	Winner
4	Clay Aiken	"Here, There and Everywhere" (The Beatles)	Runner-Up
5	Ruben Studdard	"Flying Without Wings" (Westlife)	Winner
6	Clay Aiken	"Bridge Over Troubled Water" (Simon & Garfunkel)	Runner-Up

• Guest Performance: Paul Anka - "My Way"

Finale result show
Performer	Song	Artist
Top 121 and Kelly Clarkson	"One Voice"	Barry Manilow
Kelly Clarkson	Miss Independent	Kelly Clarkson
Top 121	Let's Groove Baby Love Tears of a Clown Midnight Train to Georgia Words Physical That's Where The Music Takes Me Hello Rhythm of the Night	Earth, Wind & Fire The Supremes Smokey Robinson Gladys Knight Bee Gees Olivia Newton-John Neil Sedaka Lionel Richie Debarge
Top 3	Superstar (Ruben) Over the Rainbow (Kimberley) On the Wings of Love (Clay)	The Carpenters Judy Garland Jeffrey Osborne
Ruben Studdard	Flying Without Wings	Westlife
Clay Aiken	Bridge Over Troubled Water	Simon & Garfunkel
Top 2	"Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now"	McFadden & Whitehead
Ruben Studdard	Flying Without Wings	Westlife

• Note 1: Corey Clark and Joshua Gracin were absent from the group.

The two night season finale was held at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California.

Ruben Studdard emerged as the winner with Clay Aiken as a very close runner-up. Out of 24 million votes recorded, Studdard finished just 134,000 votes ahead of Aiken, and the smallness of the margin of victory made this result highly controversial.

Elimination chart

Top 32

Wild Card

Top 12

Winner

Did Not Perform

Safe

Bottom 3

Bottom 2

Eliminated

Stage:		Semi-Finals				Wild Card	Finals
Week:		2/5	2/12	2/19	2/26	3/5	3/12	3/19	3/26	4/1	4/9	4/16	4/23	4/30	5/7	5/14	5/21
Place	Contestant	Result
1	Ruben Studdard		1st											Bottom 2			Winner
2	Clay Aiken		3rd Wild Card			1st											Runner-Up
3	Kimberley Locke		2nd				Bottom 3			Bottom 3	Bottom 3				Bottom 2	Elim
4	Joshua Gracin				1st								Bottom 2		Elim
5	Trenyce	Wild Card				Top 12				Bottom 2		Bottom 3	Bottom 3	Elim
6	Carmen Rasmusen					Top 12				Bottom 2		Bottom 2	Elim
7	Kimberly Caldwell	3rd Wild Card				Top 12			Bottom 2		Bottom 2	Elim
8	Rickey Smith			1st					Bottom 3		Elim
9	Corey Clark				2nd			Bottom 2		Disq
10	Julia DeMato	2nd					Bottom 2	Bottom 3	Elim
11	Charles Grigsby	1st						Elim
12	Vanessa Olivarez			2nd			Elim
13–17	Aliceyn Cooney					Elim
	Chip Days				Wild Card
	Janine Falsone
	Olivia Mojica
	Nasheka				Wild Card
18–36	Juanita Barber				Elim
	Sylvia Chibiliti
	Ashley Hartman
	Patrick Lake				3rd Elim
	Samantha Cohen			Elim
	Equoia Coleman			3rd Elim
	Louis Gazzara			Elim
	Kimberly Kelsey
	Jordan Segundo
	George Trice
	Rebecca Bond		Elim
	Candice Coleman
	Jennifer Fuentes
	Hadas
	Jacob John Smalley
	J.D. Adams	Elim
	Meosha Denton
	Patrick Fortson
	Bettis Richardson

Other 'Idol' contestants

• Rhian and Cara Morgan of The Morgan Twins who auditioned for this season of American Idol but was cut in Hollywood, later auditioned for the fourth season of The Voice. They made it to the battle rounds, but were eliminated.

Season 3 Contestant

• Lisa Leuschner - Auditioned in season 2 and didn't make it through to Hollywood.
• Matthew Metzger - Auditioned in season 2 and made it to the Top 48.

Controversy

The finale vote had been controversial due to the smallness of the margin. Ryan Seacrest also added fuel by mistakenly announcing the difference in vote count first as 13,000, then 1,335, but eventually revealed later to be around 130,000. There was much discussion in the communication industry about the phone system being overloaded, and that more than 150 million votes were dropped, making the voting results suspect. In an interview prior to the start of the fifth season, executive producer Nigel Lythgoe revealed that Aiken had led the fan voting from the wild card week onward until the finale.

A mini-controversy emerged after the finale when Simon Cowell alleged that Clay Aiken knew the results of the show nearly an hour before they were announced on-air because he had snuck a peek at Ryan Seacrest's handheld cue card backstage. On Larry King Live the next day, Aiken admitted he had indeed seen the card but could not read it in the backstage light; however, he had seen enough to determine that the name on it was too long to be "Clay Aiken". On the live broadcast, Aiken can be seen turning his body to face Studdard and whispering something in his ear right before the results were announced, a visual clue fans took as confirmation that Aiken had somehow found out he was not the winner.

There was controversy when contestant Frenchie Davis was disqualified from the competition after topless photos of her surfaced on the Internet. Shortly afterwards, she landed a role in the Broadway musical Rent.

Corey Clark was also disqualified from the show because, according to the Idol producers, Clark had a police record he had not disclosed to the show. However, in 2005, contestant Corey Clark alleged in an interview on ABC's Primetime Live and in a book, They Told Me to Tell the Truth, So... The Sex, Lies and Paulatics of One of America's Idols, that he and judge Paula Abdul had an affair while he was on the show and that this contributed to his removal. Clark also alleged that Abdul gave him preferential treatment on the show and tips on song choice. A subsequent investigation by an independent counsel hired by Fox "could not corroborate the evidence or allegations provided by Mr. Clark or any witnesses". Paula Abdul was therefore considered exonerated but an "enhanced non-fraternization policy" was put in place after the investigation.

Trenyce was also found to have been arrested on felony theft charge, however Nigel Lythgoe considered her offence to be minor and one which she has been honest about, therefore "warranted no concern regarding her participation in the show."

During the Top 10, a problem with the telephone system resulted in some votes not being registered for Julia DeMato, however, Fox insisted that the mistake would not have made any difference in Julia DeMato being voted off.

During the course of the contest, Studdard became known for wearing 205 Flava jerseys representing his area code; when asked about them early in the season, Studdard told Seacrest that he was "just representing 205". Shortly after the end of the contest, Studdard sued 205 Flava, Inc. for $2 Million dollars for using his image for promotional purposes. 205 Flava responded by alleging that Studdard had accepted over $10,000 in return for wearing 205 shirts, and produced eight cashed checks to validate their claim. The allegations, if true, were a clear violation of the American Idol rules. The lawsuit was settled out of court.

Some questions were raised about the participation of Joshua Gracin, who was then in the Marine Corps, in American idol during the time of the Iraq War. He later missed both the finale performance night as well as the Idol tour that year after being recalled to duty by the Marines.

Some speculation about Vanessa Olivarez' dismissal and treatment by American Idol surfaced in 2007. During the show, Olivarez took part in a scripted joke where, after Seacrest had asked Olivarez to read a cue card taking the viewers to a commercial, Olivarez would reply by saying, "Ryan, I'm a real artist, not a performing monkey like you, so why don't you read your own script?" However, viewers booed, and Olivarez was voted off afterwards, a result of what some thought to be negative public perception of her due to the joke. It was suggested that she was deliberately ousted because she had come out as a lesbian to other contestants. She had also posed nude for an ad campaign for the animal rights group PETA after she was voted off. Olivarez was the only finalist omitted from the Season 2 CD, and she was not chosen for the tour after Joshua Gracin was recalled to the Marines.

US Nielsen ratings

The number of average viewers per episode this season was 21.7 million, an increase of 71% over season 1. Its Wednesday episodes finished as the third most-watched show of the year averaging 21.93 million, and the Tuesday episodes fifth at 21.56 million. The show ranked second in the coveted 18/49 demographic for the 2002-2003 season. This season's finale episode still ranks as the most-watched single episode in Idol history at 38.1 million, the finale night itself averaged 33.7 million when the pre-show special is taken into consideration. The show also helped Fox become the season's number three network in total viewers for the first time.

Episode list

Show Episode Air date Week rank 18-49 rating Viewers (in millions) 1 "New York, Miami & Austin Auditions" January 21, 2003 4 12.4 26.5 2 "Special: American Idol revisited" January 21, 2003 7 11.3 23.6 3 "Pasadena & Detroit Auditions" January 22, 2003 5 11.8 24.9 4 "Atlanta & Nashville Auditions" January 28, 2003 4 11.6 24.1 5 "Hollywood Week" January 29, 2003 2 12.6 26.0 6 "Top 32: Group 1" February 4, 2003 9 9.7 20.1 7 "Top 32: Group 1 results" February 5, 2003 10 9.4 19.3 8 "Top 32: Group 2" February 11, 2003 8 9.7 20.0 9 "Top 32: Group 2 results" February 12, 2003 11 9.0 18.7 10 "Top 32: Group 3" February 18, 2003 9 9.2 19.7 11 "Top 32: Group 3 results" February 19, 2003 19 7.4 12 "Special: Best of the Worst" February 19, 2003 11 8.8 19.5 13 "Top 32: Group 4" February 25, 2003 5 9.7 20.0 14 "Top 32: Group 4 results" February 26, 2003 12 8.7 17.1 15 "Wildcard Show" March 4, 2003 3 8.5 18.7 16 "Wildcard Results" March 5, 2003 4 8.5 18.0 17 "Top 12 Perform" March 11, 2003 2 10.3 22.0 18 "Top 12 Results" March 12, 2003 9 8.7 18.3 19 "Top 11 Perform" March 18, 2003 2 10.0 21.1 20 "Top 11 Results" March 19, 2003 4 7.9 17.2 21 "Top 10 Perform" March 25, 2003 1 9.4 19.8 22 "Top 10 Results" March 26, 2003 2 8.7 19.0 23 "Top 9 Perform" April 1, 2003 2 9.6 21.2 24 "Top 9 Results" April 2, 2003 4 9.7 20.3 25 "Top 8 Perform" April 8, 2003 2 9.7 20.1 26 "Top 8 Results" April 9, 2003 3 9.4 19.2 27 "Top 7 Perform" April 15, 2003 1 8.8 20.0 28 "Top 7 Results" April 16, 2003 4 8.4 18.1 29 "Special: Halfway Home" April 21, 2003 12 6.2 14.1 30 "Top 6 Perform" April 22, 2003 4 9.6 20.6 31 "Top 6 Results" April 23, 2003 6 9.3 19.5 32 "Top 5 Perform" April 29, 2003 2 9.7 20.4 33 "Top 5 Results" April 30, 2003 3 9.0 20.2 34 "Top 4 Perform" May 6, 2003 4 10.1 22.2 35 "Top 4 Results" May 7, 2003 2 10.4 22.7 36 "Top 3 Perform" May 13, 2003 4 10.7 23.4 37 "Top 3 Results" May 14, 2003 2 11.4 25.3 38 "Top 2 Special" May 19, 2003 8 7.4 16.9 39 "Top 2 Showdown" May 20, 2003 3 11.2 25.7 40 "Finale Pre-show Special" May 21, 2003 2 13.1 30.4 41 "American Idol Season 2 Finale" May 21, 2003 1 16.8 38.1

A couple of specials were aired later in the year - From Justin To Kelly: The Rise of Two American Idols on June 20, 2003, and American Idol: Christmas Songs on November 25, 2003, the latter of which was ranked number 30 with total viewer number of 10.9 million, and number 28 in the 18/49 demo with a 4.1 rating.

Releases

Major releases

• American Idol Season 2: All-Time Classic American Love Songs (Compilation - CD)
• "Bridge over Troubled Water"/"This Is the Night" (Clay Aiken - single)
• "Flying Without Wings"/"Superstar" (Ruben Studdard - single)
• Measure of a Man (Clay Aiken - CD)
• Soulful (Ruben Studdard - CD)
• "Sorry 2004" (Ruben Studdard - single)
• "8th World Wonder" (Kimberley Locke - single)
• "The Way/Solitaire" (Clay Aiken - single)
• "Photograph" (Carmen Rasmusen - single)
• "What If" (Ruben Studdard - single)
• One Love (Kimberley Locke - CD)
• Josh Gracin (Josh Gracin - CD)
• Merry Christmas with Love (Clay Aiken - Holiday CD)
• I Need an Angel (Ruben Studdard - Gospel CD)
• Carmen (EP) (Carmen Rasmusen - CD)
• Corey Clark (Corey Clark - CD)
• "Coulda Been" (Kimberley Locke - single)
• '"Favorite State of Mind" (Josh Gracin - single)
• A Thousand Different Ways (Clay Aiken - CD)
• The Return (Ruben Studdard - CD)
• "All Is Well" (Clay Aiken - Holiday EP)
• "Nothin' Like the Summer" (Carmen Rasmusen - single)
• Based on a True Story (Kimberley Locke - CD)
• Nothin' Like the Summer (Carmen Rasmusen - CD)
• We Weren't Crazy (Josh Gracin - CD)
• On My Way Here (Clay Aiken - CD)
• Tried and True (Clay Aiken - CD/DVD)
• Without Regret (Kimberly Caldwell - CD)

Minor or independent releases

(This list does not include pre-Idol releases)

• The One (Vanessa Olivarez)
• Jordan (Jordan Segundo)
• Charles Grigsby (Charles Grigsby)
• Use Your Gift (Quiana Parler)
• George Trice (George Trice) - released in the summer of 2007

Source: Idolsmusic.com

External links

• Official American Idol Contestants Website
• American Idol (Season 2) at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com show

See also

• American Idol
• American Idols LIVE! Tour 2003