38 million watched Ruben Studdard win. 2026 finales drew under 6 million.

38 million watched Ruben Studdard win

Ruben Studdard beat Clay Aiken in the season 2 finale on May 21, 2003. His single Flying Without Wings (2003) went Gold.

In 2018 he released Ruben Sings Luther, an album of Luther Vandross songs, and made his Broadway debut with Clay Aiken in a Christmas show at the Imperial Theatre. In 2024 the two sang as Beets on The Masked Singer.

Big finales crowned gold winners, except Lee DeWyze

Every winner crowned in front of 20 million viewers or more went gold, except Lee DeWyze, who won in 2010 in front of 24.2 million. He released the album Gone For Days in August 2024.

Finale TV viewers, 2003 to 2026

One column per Idol, Voice and X Factor finale with a reported U.S. audience, in date order. A gold column: the winner has a record released after the finale that went Gold or higher.

010203040 million viewers

AJ

2003201320182023

• Ruben Studdard 2003 · 38.1 million
• Lee DeWyze 2010 · 24.2 million
• AJAlexia Jayy 2026 · 3.6 million

Winner went goldOther winner20 million viewers

1. American Idol season 2 finale, May 21, 2003 · 38.1 million viewers · Ruben Studdard won · went gold: Flying Without Wings (2003), Gold.
2. American Idol season 3 finale, May 26, 2004 · 28.8 million viewers · Fantasia Barrino won · went gold: Free Yourself (2004), Platinum.
3. American Idol season 4 finale, May 25, 2005 · 30.3 million viewers · Carrie Underwood won · went gold: Some Hearts (2005), 9× Platinum.
4. American Idol season 5 finale, May 24, 2006 · 36.4 million viewers · Taylor Hicks won · went gold: Do I Make You Proud (2006), Gold.
5. American Idol season 7 finale, May 21, 2008 · 31.7 million viewers · David Cook won · went gold: The Time of My Life (2008), Platinum.
6. American Idol season 8 finale, May 20, 2009 · 28.8 million viewers · Kris Allen won · went gold: Live Like We're Dying (2009), Platinum.
7. American Idol season 9 finale, May 26, 2010 · 24.2 million viewers · Lee DeWyze won.
8. American Idol season 10 finale, May 25, 2011 · 29.3 million viewers · Scotty McCreery won · went gold: I Love You This Big (2011), Platinum.
9. The Voice season 1 finale, June 29, 2011 · 11.1 million viewers · Javier Colon won.
10. The X Factor season 1 finale, December 22, 2011 · 12.6 million viewers · Melanie Amaro won.
11. The Voice season 2 finale, May 8, 2012 · 11.9 million viewers · Jermaine Paul won.
12. American Idol season 11 finale, May 23, 2012 · 21.5 million viewers · Phillip Phillips won · went gold: Home (2012), 4× Platinum.
13. The Voice season 3 finale, December 18, 2012 · 14.1 million viewers · Cassadee Pope won · went gold: Wasting All These Tears (2013), Platinum.
14. The X Factor season 2 finale, December 20, 2012 · 9.7 million viewers · Tate Stevens won.
15. American Idol season 12 finale, May 16, 2013 · 14.3 million viewers · Candice Glover won.
16. The Voice season 4 finale, June 18, 2013 · 15.6 million viewers · Danielle Bradbery won · went gold: The Heart of Dixie (2013), Gold.
17. The Voice season 5 finale, December 17, 2013 · 14.0 million viewers · Tessanne Chin won.
18. The Voice season 6 finale, May 20, 2014 · 11.7 million viewers · Josh Kaufman won.
19. American Idol season 13 finale, May 21, 2014 · 10.5 million viewers · Caleb Johnson won.
20. The Voice season 7 finale, December 16, 2014 · 12.9 million viewers · Craig Wayne Boyd won.
21. American Idol season 14 finale, May 13, 2015 · 8.0 million viewers · Nick Fradiani won.
22. The Voice season 8 finale, May 19, 2015 · 11.6 million viewers · Sawyer Fredericks won.
23. The Voice season 9 finale, December 15, 2015 · 12.7 million viewers · Jordan Smith won.
24. American Idol season 15 finale, April 7, 2016 · 13.3 million viewers · Trent Harmon won.
25. The Voice season 10 finale, May 24, 2016 · 10.6 million viewers · Alisan Porter won.
26. The Voice season 11 finale, December 13, 2016 · 12.1 million viewers · Sundance Head won.
27. The Voice season 12 finale, May 23, 2017 · 9.3 million viewers · Chris Blue won.
28. The Voice season 13 finale, December 19, 2017 · 10.9 million viewers · Chloe Kohanski won.
29. American Idol season 16 finale, May 21, 2018 · 8.6 million viewers · Maddie Poppe won.
30. The Voice season 14 finale, May 22, 2018 · 8.8 million viewers · Brynn Cartelli won.
31. The Voice season 15 finale, December 18, 2018 · 9.9 million viewers · Chevel Shepherd won.
32. American Idol season 17 finale, May 19, 2019 · 8.7 million viewers · Laine Hardy won.
33. The Voice season 16 finale, May 21, 2019 · 7.4 million viewers · Maelyn Jarmon won.
34. The Voice season 17 finale, December 17, 2019 · 8.7 million viewers · Jake Hoot won.
35. American Idol season 18 finale, May 17, 2020 · 7.3 million viewers · Just Sam won.
36. The Voice season 18 finale, May 19, 2020 · 7.5 million viewers · Todd Tilghman won.
37. The Voice season 19 finale, December 15, 2020 · 7.3 million viewers · Carter Rubin won.
38. American Idol season 19 finale, May 23, 2021 · 6.5 million viewers · Chayce Beckham won.
39. The Voice season 20 finale, May 25, 2021 · 6.7 million viewers · Cam Anthony won.
40. The Voice season 21 finale, December 14, 2021 · 7.0 million viewers · Girl Named Tom won.
41. American Idol season 20 finale, May 22, 2022 · 6.5 million viewers · Noah Thompson won.
42. The Voice season 22 finale, December 13, 2022 · 6.9 million viewers · Bryce Leatherwood won.
43. American Idol season 21 finale, May 21, 2023 · 6.6 million viewers · Iam Tongi won.
44. The Voice season 23 finale, May 23, 2023 · 6.2 million viewers · Gina Miles won.
45. The Voice season 24 finale, December 19, 2023 · 6.7 million viewers · Huntley won.
46. American Idol season 22 finale, May 19, 2024 · 5.6 million viewers · Abi Carter won.
47. The Voice season 25 finale, May 21, 2024 · 5.1 million viewers · Asher HaVon won.
48. The Voice season 26 finale, December 10, 2024 · 5.7 million viewers · Sofronio Vasquez won.
49. American Idol season 23 finale, May 18, 2025 · 6.5 million viewers · Jamal Roberts won.
50. The Voice season 27 finale, May 20, 2025 · 4.2 million viewers · Adam David won.
51. The Voice season 28 finale, December 16, 2025 · 4.3 million viewers · Aiden Ross won.
52. The Voice season 29 finale, April 14, 2026 · 3.6 million viewers · Alexia Jayy won.
53. American Idol season 24 finale, May 11, 2026 · 5.7 million viewers · Hannah Harper won.

Named: Ruben Studdard · Lee DeWyze · Alexia Jayy

Phillip Phillips won in front of 21.5 million

Phillip Phillips won season 11 in 2012 in front of 21.5 million viewers, and his single Home (2012) went 4× Platinum. No Idol winner since has a gold record released after the finale. Chayce Beckham’s single 23, released nine days before his 2021 finale, went Platinum.

In 2023 Phillips released Drift Back, his first independent album. In 2026 he finished runner-up on The Masked Singer as Pugcasso and released the EP Let’s Go Far: Vol. 1.

The Voice’s biggest finale crowned Danielle Bradbery

Danielle Bradbery’s 2013 win drew 15.6 million viewers, the most for any Voice finale. Her single The Heart of Dixie (2013) went Gold. In 2024 she released Danielle, her first independent album.

The Voice’s season 2 premiere, after Super Bowl XLVI in February 2012, drew 37.6 million viewers, more than twice any Voice finale. Jermaine Paul won that season in front of 11.9 million; his single I Believe in This Life premiered on The Voice that November.

Hannah Harper won in front of 5.7 million

No finale since 2020 has drawn 8 million viewers. Hannah Harper won season 24 of American Idol in May 2026. In June she made her Grand Ole Opry debut alongside Carrie Underwood, and in July she released Married Into This Town, an original she sang in the finale.

Alexia Jayy won The Voice in April 2026 in front of 3.6 million. She sang at Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular and released the single Good Example of Love in September.