Idols Far From Idle

Tue., Dec. 12, 2006 5:00 PM PST by Sarah Hall

With the sixth season of American Idol around the corner, what better time to check in on some of the stars of seasons past?

Win or lose, there are some contestants who are better at maintaining the spotlight than others—and while winning may help, it definitely isn't everything.

THE SILVER FOX:

As he prepares to step down as the reigning Idol champ, Taylor Hicks has no plan to let the momentum he gained from the show subside.

The gray-haired crooner released his self-titled debut album Tuesday and announced plans to kick off a supporting tour in February.

He'll also perform at the halftime of the Orange Bowl in Miami on Jan. 2, along with Gladys Knight.

Though Hicks recently told Relix magazine that he never watched American Idol and that the show was "fizzling out" as far as he was concerned, he later clarified that he meant no offense.

"I'm giving up my crown soon. That's what I meant. I'm just now learning about how the media can turn things around," Hicks told Ryan Seacrest in a radio interview.

THE COUNTRY-FRIED CUTIE:

Before there was Hicks, there was Carrie Underwood. Proving that she's not merely the product of a reality show, the season four winner recently beat out Faith Hill for CMA Female Vocalist of the Year and earned two Grammy nominations.

Next up, Underwood is off on a USO tour of the Persian Gulf, where she'll perform for and meet with U.S. troops. Dates of the jaunt were not released for security reasons.

THE GIRL WHO SHOULD'VE WON:

Then there's Jennifer Hudson. Though she was eliminated relatively early from the third season, the budding movie star is currently earning Oscar buzz for her debut role in Dreamgirls, opposite Beyoncé Knowles.

"I feel very honored because that’s such a high accolade to receive and to think back to last year when I just got the part, it never crossed my mind," Hudson told MSNBC in a recent interview. "So, to be here today and hear that, I can’t even grasp it all."

Though there were rumors that Knowles was jealous of all the attention her costar was receiving for the film, the "Dangerously in Love" singer has since denied any bad blood.

"It's really unfortunate that everyone is saying I'm jealous of Jennifer. It hurts my heart because it's so clichéd," Knowles told reporters at a press event.

The film opens in limited release Friday and wide on Christmas.

THE DO-GOODER:

Season two runner-up Clay Aiken created a stir at a Pennsylvania high school Monday, when he turned up at an assembly celebrating a group of elementary students who wrote a book called Our Friend Mikayla, about a classmate who suffers from cerebral palsy.

The book was published by the Bubel/Aiken Foundation, an organization cofounded by Aiken that behalf of children with special needs.

Aiken read from the book to an audience of more than 680 students and posed for pictures, before surprising the students by having them driven back to their school in limousines.

Earlier this year, the "Measure of a Man" singer was named to the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities.

THE OTHERS:

Season three winner Fantasia Barrino released her sophomore album, Fantasia, on Tuesday. The singer cut ties with American Idol over the summer, trading 19 Management for Violator Management.

Kimberley Locke, who finished third on the second season, currently has a number one hit on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, with her version of "Jingle Bells." She is also participating in the fifth season of VH1's Celebrity Fit Club, which premieres in April.

Elliott Yamin, who finished third on the fifth season, recently underwent 20 hours of dental surgery to fix his crossbite—a $50,000 procedure that he received free of charge. "I've always wanted to have a nicer smile," he told People.

And so ends our roundup of some of the Idols of seasons past, as we ready ourselves for a new crop of aspiring singers. The sixth season kicks off Jan. 16 and 17 on Fox.