It may not be a shock that "American Idol" winners can go on to riches,
but do you know exactly how much they make? Keep watching to learn
about the American Idol winners who have the biggest bank accounts.
Before winning Season 9, Lee DeWyze was working for minimum wage in a paint store to afford
to be able to play his music at night. Today, he's worth an estimated $500,000,
according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Over the last decade, it hasn't been easy for DeWyze to get adjusted to the level of
fame that the competitive series brought him, either, telling Elmore Magazine -
"Suddenly I'm in a multi-million dollar studio in New York or LA.
And I loved all of the people I worked with, don't get me wrong — but it was all very quick.
I had to fight hard to write on every song on my first record."
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Fantasia Barrino admitted that she had neither money
nor a car before her big break. When she showed up to her "American Idol" audition, she had only $50
in her pocket, but the Season 3 winner is now worth an estimated $1 million,
according to Celebrity Net Worth.
"But once you win, that life - whoa."
In addition to her seven studio albums, multiple hits, and a Grammy win,
Barrino has become a lot more than just a singer. Only three years after leaving the
competitive singing series, she starred as Celie in the Broadway production "The Color Purple."
Barrino has also written her own book called "Life Is Not a Fairy
Tale," which became a New York Times Bestseller and even a movie on Lifetime.
Taylor Hicks nearly didn't make it to Hollywood during his "American Idol" audition for Season 5.
Yet, crazy enough, he walked away the winner and has since made himself worth nearly $1 million,
according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Afterwards, Hicks was signed to a record company and released his first single
called "Do I Make You Proud" that ended up No. 1 that year on Billboard's Top 40 Hits.
From there, Hicks landed a role in the Broadway musical "Grease".
He also became the very first winner of the singing series to receive a residency in Las
Vegas before taking his talents to television, hosting the reality series "Slate Plate."
Notably, Hicks was reportedly offered a hefty paycheck of
$750,000 to release a memoir all about his career, according to People.
Candice Glover was a part of three different seasons of "American Idol"
before finally winning the show in Season 12. Even after that,
her transition into the music industry wasn't as easy as you'd expect, explaining to Rated R&B,
"When you're on 'American Idol,' you have to sing other people's music. When you come out
with something totally different, they can either love it or hate it. It can be nerve wracking."
Hopefully her nerves have calmed some now that she's made herself
worth somewhere around $1 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Shortly after winning the show, Glover released her first album, "Music Speaks." The highly
anticipated album ended up at No. 14 on The Billboard 200 chart. Up next, she starred in
the play "The Love Shack," which led her to an acting career on both the big and small screens.
Winning Season 13 of "American Idol" seemed to be exactly what
Caleb Johnson needed before entering the music industry, telling Glide Magazine -
"That was like a crash course in music business 101. I learned a whole lot."
He learned so much that he's made himself a millionaire,
with an estimated worth of $1 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
After being crowned the winner of "American Idol," Johnson released his first album called
"Testify," which ended up on the Billboard 200 chart. From there, his music career took off.
After touring with numerous famous acts, he formed his own band called Caleb Johnson and
the Ramblin' Saints, released an album with them, and even created his own record label.
Nick Fradiani may have not made it far on "America's Got Talent," but he definitely
got the attention of the judges on "American Idol" during Season 14 when he was crowned the winner.
Today, he's worth an estimated $1 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
As soon as Fradiani stepped off the set of the competitive singing series,
he released multiple singles as both a solo artist and with his band, Beach Avenue. His
solo single called "Beautiful Life" landed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 2019,
Fradiani took his performing skills to the next level and decided to act,
too — that year he began touring across the country in the musical "A Bronx Tale".
Ruben Studdard has certainly kept busy since winning Season 2 of "American Idol." In fact,
he's made himself worth somewhere around $3 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
The first single Studdard released into the world that wasn't a cover,
"Flying Without Wings," was the one he performed on the finale of the competitive
series. It even ended up on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. When it came time to release
his first album called "Soulful," it ended up as number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
After that, he released seven more albums and even got a Grammy nomination.
Studdard eventually partnered up with the runner-up from his season, Clay Aiken,
and they began touring the country together. As Studdard explained on "Pickler & Ben" -
"I enjoyed the family energy that we had on the road. Like, everybody,
even some of the background singers we took on the road were actually on 'American Idol' with us.
So it was just great, and it's always a great time when Clay and I are together."
The two even starred on their own Broadway show in 2018.
Kris Allen was completely shocked to hear that he had won Season 8 of "American Idol." What
may be even more wild is that he's made himself worth about $3.5 million today,
according to Celebrity Net Worth.
The very first album that Allen ever released brought in more than $1.7 million in sales,
according to Degy Entertainment. It included his popular single "Live
Like We're Dying," which ended up on the Billboard Hot 100.
Allen has now released multiple albums and has had seven of his songs end up on the Billboard charts.
After a successful solo career, Allen formed his own band called The Dames.
Even before Phillip Phillips ever set foot on the set of "American Idol," he
was performing at various venues — but it wasn't easy, admitting to Cleveland.com -
"I would play shows and no one would be at it. I'd play for food. I'd play for
50 bucks for three hours. I played on the streets for three hours."
However, once he won Season 11 of "American Idol," he gained fans from all over the world.
Now, he's even worth somewhere around $3.5 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Upon leaving the show, Phillips released his first album "The World From the Side of the Moon,"
which quickly went platinum. It included his most popular single "Home," which hit
No. 1 on the Billboard charts and brought in $4.7 million alone, according to USA
Today. At that point, it was the most popular single released by any "American Idol" winner.
Scotty McCreery was only 16 years old when he auditioned for "American Idol."
"How are you? How old are you Scott?" "16 years old, I'm doin' good."
"You're 16? You have a deep voice!" "I get that a lot. Thank you."
"I get that a lot."
After winning season 10, and today,
he's worth an estimated $4 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
After winning "American Idol," McCreery went on to release his first single out in the world,
which was met with a huge amount of success. "I Love You This Big" was the biggest debut
single for a country star in two decades. It hit No. 1 on iTunes and also went gold,
according to USA Today. Since then, he has released five more successful albums.
In 2016, McCreery released his own memoir called "Go Big or Go Home:
The Journey Toward the Dream," in which he described all the details of his "American
Idol" journey. That wasn't the only story the world wanted to hear from him either. In 2021,
a Hallmark movie called "Five More Minutes" was made based off of his song with the same name.
Before Season 7 of "American Idol" David Cook was a bartender. Since winning,
he's made himself worth about $5 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Cook's album "David Cook" sold over 1 million copies in the U.S.
and even went platinum. He went on to release two more albums and has had 11
of his songs end up on the Billboard Hot 100 list in 2008 — more than any other artist in
the music industry at the time. He also signed a global deal to be the spokesperson of Skechers,
and in 2018 when he landed a role in the Broadway musical "Kinky Boots."
Out of everything this millionaire has done,
his charity work continues to be his favorite, saying -
"I lost my brother Adam to a brain tumor in 2009;
every year I am part of the Race for Hope-DC and my fans alone have raised over 1 million
dollars for this charity. Far and away, that is the proudest of all my achievements."
Growing up, Jordin Sparks always had one goal in mind and shared
it in an interview with Hallmark Channel, saying -
"I remember telling my nana this when I was like 12 years old,
is all I want to do is tell stories and make people feel."
Since winning Season 6 of "American Idol," she's certainly done exactly that. In fact,
her successful career in the entertainment industry has now made her worth $8 million,
according to Celebrity Net Worth.
After leaving "American Idol," Sparks released her debut album called, which went platinum
and one of the songs, "No Air," ended up at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
She made her acting debut in the popular Disney Channel series "The Suite Life on Deck."
In addition to appearing in TV shows and movies, Sparks also landed a starring role
for a limited time in the successful Broadway musical "Waitress." In 2021,
the "American Idol" winner starred in her very first Hallmark film called "A Christmas Treasure".
Shortly before Kelly Clarkson appeared on "American Idol,"
her house had burned down, and she needed a job.
"And then I moved home and I just was literally just doing
anything because I didn't have anything."
Today, she's worth $35 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Once Clarkson won the competitive singing series, she released her very first single
"A Moment Like This," which ended up on the top of the Billboard Hot 100 list and
was the most purchased single of the year. When she released the rest of the album,
it went double-platinum. She's since released eight more and has won three Grammys.
Clarkson also starred in the film "From Justin to Kelly" before lending her voice
to many animated characters in films like "UglyDolls," and "Trolls World Tour." Today,
the singer has her own talk show, writes children's books and her career has even come
full circle as a judge on "The Voice," where she reportedly makes $560,000 each episode.
Though Carrie Underwood won Season 4 of "American Idol,"
she admitted during an interview with Toyota's "Legends and Icons,"
"I don't know if I legitimately ever thought I could be a singer."
But today, she's the richest "Idol" winner with
a net worth around $140 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
After winning the series, Underwood released her first album called "Some Hearts."
It was the No. 1 country album sold that year, made it on the Billboard 200 chart,
and ended up 8x platinum. It also became the highest certified country album since 2000.
Underwood went on to release seven more albums and so far has earned herself seven Grammys,
too. Each time Underwood tours the country and sings her songs in person,
she rakes in more than $1 million for every show, according to Billboard.
In 2015, Underwood added fashion designer to her resume with her line, Calia by Carrie
Underwood. She also released a New York Times Bestseller about it called "Find Your Path:
Honor Your Body, Fuel Your Soul, and Get Strong with the Fit52 Life."
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