Blog

Every American Idol winner, ranked by career after the show

Figures as of October 10, 2026. American Idol finalists only.

By the career score, Carrie Underwood (season 4) is the most successful American Idol winner: 92 of 100. Kelly Clarkson (season 1) is next with 87. The lowest score of the 24 winners with a score is 8, for Noah Thompson (season 20).

Median career score of the winners
22.5 to 24.5
Highest winner score
92
Lowest winner score
8
Seasons where the winner has the top score
13 of 24

A median shown as two numbers includes a score that is a lower bound ("at least"): the median is between the two numbers.

American Idol winners ranked by career score

Choose a period to rank only its winners. A season under a name opens the season page.

All winners: 24 ranked.

ContestantCareer scorepoints of 100Points by part
1
Carrie UnderwoodS4 · Winner
92
  • Certified units 24.3
  • Billboard charts 22.5
  • Grammy Awards 18.7
  • Studio albums 9
  • Current interest 17.5
2
Kelly ClarksonS1 · Winner
87
  • Certified units 19.6
  • Billboard charts 22
  • Grammy Awards 17.7
  • Studio albums 9.3
  • Current interest 18.3
3
Fantasia BarrinoS3 · Winner
63
  • Certified units 8.7
  • Billboard charts 17.6
  • Grammy Awards 15.4
  • Studio albums 8.1
  • Current interest 13.7
4
Scotty McCreeryS10 · Winner
57
  • Certified units 16.3
  • Billboard charts 19.1
  • Grammy Awards 0
  • Studio albums 7.6
  • Current interest 13.8
5
Jordin SparksS6 · Winner
53
  • Certified units 10.4
  • Billboard charts 14.5
  • Grammy Awards 6.4
  • Studio albums 7
  • Current interest 15.1
6
Ruben StuddardS2 · Winner
51
  • Certified units 8.7
  • Billboard charts 16.1
  • Grammy Awards 4
  • Studio albums 8.6
  • Current interest 13.3
7
Phillip PhillipsS11 · Winner
50
  • Certified units 13.3
  • Billboard charts 16.3
  • Grammy Awards 0
  • Studio albums 6.3
  • Current interest 14
8
David CookS7 · Winner
44
  • Certified units 10.4
  • Billboard charts 17.2
  • Grammy Awards 0
  • Studio albums 5.4
  • Current interest 11.3
9
Kris AllenS8 · Winner
40
  • Certified units 5.8
  • Billboard charts 15.6
  • Grammy Awards 0
  • Studio albums 7.6
  • Current interest 11.4
10
Taylor HicksS5 · Winner
37
  • Certified units 7.5
  • Billboard charts 11.5
  • Grammy Awards 0
  • Studio albums 4.3
  • Current interest 13.8
11
Lee DeWyzeS9 · Winner
30
  • Certified units 0
  • Billboard charts 12.5
  • Grammy Awards 0
  • Studio albums 8.1
  • Current interest 9
12
Nick FradianiS14 · Winner
23
  • Certified units 0
  • Billboard charts 8.4
  • Grammy Awards 0
  • Studio albums 4.3
  • Current interest 10.2
13
Chayce BeckhamS19 · Winner
22
  • Certified units 5.8
  • Billboard charts 3.6
  • Grammy Awards 0
  • Studio albums 2.7
  • Current interest 9.6
14
Caleb JohnsonS13 · Winner
at least 20
  • Certified units 0
  • Billboard charts 7.2
  • Grammy Awards 0
  • Studio albums 4.3
  • Current interest 8.5
14
Candice GloverS12 · Winner
20
  • Certified units 0
  • Billboard charts 8.4
  • Grammy Awards 0
  • Studio albums 2.7
  • Current interest 8.8
16
Jamal RobertsS23 · Winner
19
  • Certified units 0
  • Billboard charts 0
  • Grammy Awards 4
  • Studio albums 2.7
  • Current interest 12.2
17
Iam TongiS21 · Winner
16
  • Certified units 0
  • Billboard charts 0
  • Grammy Awards 0
  • Studio albums 2.7
  • Current interest 13.1
18
Abi CarterS22 · Winner
14
  • Certified units 0
  • Billboard charts 0
  • Grammy Awards 0
  • Studio albums 2.7
  • Current interest 11.3
19
Maddie PoppeS16 · Winner
12
  • Certified units 0
  • Billboard charts 0
  • Grammy Awards 0
  • Studio albums 2.7
  • Current interest 9.3
20
Hannah HarperS24 · Winner
11
  • Certified units 0
  • Billboard charts 0
  • Grammy Awards 0
  • Studio albums 0
  • Current interest 10.9
20
Laine HardyS17 · Winner
11
  • Certified units 0
  • Billboard charts 0
  • Grammy Awards 0
  • Studio albums 2.7
  • Current interest 8.8
22
Trent HarmonS15 · Winner
10
  • Certified units 0
  • Billboard charts 0
  • Grammy Awards 0
  • Studio albums 2.7
  • Current interest 7.3
23
Just SamS18 · Winner
9
  • Certified units 0
  • Billboard charts 0
  • Grammy Awards 0
  • Studio albums 0
  • Current interest 9.1
24
Noah ThompsonS20 · Winner
8
  • Certified units 0
  • Billboard charts 0
  • Grammy Awards 0
  • Studio albums 0
  • Current interest 8.2

Every winner's latest career update

The first ten seasons against the later ones

PeriodWinners with a scoreMedian scoreHighestLowest
Seasons 1–10 (Fox, 2002–2011)10 of 105292 (Carrie Underwood)30 (Lee DeWyze)
Seasons 11–15 (Fox, 2012–2016)5 of 520 to 2350 (Phillip Phillips)10 (Trent Harmon)
Seasons 16–24 (ABC, 2018–2026)9 of 91222 (Chayce Beckham)8 (Noah Thompson)

The winners of seasons 1 to 10 have a median score of 52. The winners of the ABC seasons, seasons 16 to 24, have a median of 12. The score counts the career after the show, so the later winners have had fewer years: the finales of seasons 16 to 24 were from May 21, 2018 to May 11, 2026. A median shown as two numbers includes a score that is a lower bound ("at least"): the median is between the two numbers.

The lowest career score among the winners

  • Noah Thompson

    Career score 8. Season 20, finale on May 22, 2022. Points by part: Certified units 0, Billboard charts 0, Grammy Awards 0, Studio albums 0, Current interest 8.2.

    Noah Thompson won American Idol on May 22, 2022. 19 Recordings and BBR released the EP Middle of God Knows Where on June 9, 2023. One Day Tonight reached number 48 on Hot Country Songs. In May 2024 19 Recordings confirmed he was no longer on its roster, and on June 11, 2024 he said he would continue as an independent artist. Next Chapter Records released Upbringing in August 2024, and Find Em in a Bar followed in September 2025. He is a writer on Front Door Famous, the first song on Luke Combs's Fathers & Sons.

Each winner against the finalists of the season

In 13 of 24 seasons, the winner has the highest career score of the season's finalists. In 3 (seasons 4, 13 and 23), the comparison is open: a finalist has no career score yet. In 8, a finalist who did not win has a higher score than the winner:

SeasonHigher than the winnerWinnerHead to head
Season 2Clay Aiken, 53Ruben Studdard, 51Ruben Studdard vs Clay Aiken
Season 5Chris Daughtry, 69; Mandisa, 54; Kellie Pickler, 45; Elliott Yamin, 43; Katharine McPhee, 39Taylor Hicks, 37Chris Daughtry vs Taylor HicksMandisa vs Taylor HicksKellie Pickler vs Taylor HicksElliott Yamin vs Taylor HicksTaylor Hicks vs Katharine McPhee
Season 8Adam Lambert, 53; Danny Gokey, 50Kris Allen, 40Kris Allen vs Adam LambertDanny Gokey vs Kris Allen
Season 14JAX, 27Nick Fradiani, 23JAX vs Nick Fradiani
Season 15La'Porsha Renae, 20Trent Harmon, 10Trent Harmon vs La'Porsha Renae
Season 16Gabby Barrett, 49Maddie Poppe, 12Maddie Poppe vs Gabby Barrett
Season 17Alejandro Aranda, 16Laine Hardy, 11Laine Hardy vs Alejandro Aranda
Season 18Arthur Gunn, 17Just Sam, 9Just Sam vs Arthur Gunn

Non-winners against winners, in numbers

Questions

Who is the most successful American Idol winner?

By the career score, Carrie Underwood (season 4) is the most successful American Idol winner: 92 of 100. Kelly Clarkson (season 1) is next with 87.

Who is the least successful American Idol winner?

By the career score, the lowest of the 24 winners with a score is Noah Thompson (season 20), with 8 of 100. The score counts the career after the show, so a recent winner has had fewer years.

Who is more successful, Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood?

By the career score, Carrie Underwood: 92 against 87 for Kelly Clarkson. Each part side by side.

How many American Idol winners have a song on the Billboard Hot 100?

14 of the 24 winners with a career score have at least one Hot 100 entry from the start of the show on. Hot 100 ranking.

Sources

A career score adds up figures from the rankings of its parts. Their sources are listed at the end of each ranking and of each profile.