American Idol Season 5 Contestants
The fifth season of American Idol began on January 17, 2006;
this was the first season of the series to be aired in high definition.
Auditions were in Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver and San Francisco, with
Greensboro, North Carolina and Las Vegas, Nevada included after the
cancellation of the Memphis auditions due to Hurricane Katrina. The season
used the same rules as Season 4.
Taylor Hicks was named American Idol on May 24, 2006; he was the third contestant to never fall into any week's "bottom three". His first post-Idol single, "Do I Make You Proud", would debut at #1 and be certified gold. Hicks' album, Taylor Hicks, has sold 690,000 copies to date.
On May 30, 2006, Telescope announced that a total of 63.5 million votes were cast in the finale round. A total of 580 million votes were cast in the entire season. Taylor Hicks is the second American Idol winner from the city of Birmingham, Alabama (the first being Ruben Studdard), and the fourth finalist with close ties to the city. The finale had surprise performances from stars such as Live, Mary J. Blige, and Toni Braxton singing duets with the members of the final 12. The unannounced appearance and live performance of Prince was said in the media to have perhaps signaled the music industry's acceptance of Idol as a promotional tool for established artists as well.
The fifth-season contestant with the most commercial success is fourth-place finisher Chris Daughtry, now lead singer of the band Daughtry. Their eponymous debut album has sold over 3.2 million copies to date - surpassing former winners Studdard and Fantasia's respective two-album totals - and produced three top-ten singles. The album, which spent two weeks at #1 in the US, is also the fastest-selling debut rock album in Soundscan history.
Runner-up Katharine McPhee's debut album has sold 350,000 copies; she has two Top 40 Billboard hits to date. Also notable: sixth-place finisher Kellie Pickler, whose Small Town Girl reached #1 on the Billboard Top County Albums chart, selling 600,000 copies to date with two Top 15 Country Songs to date; strong early sales have also been achieved by mid-2007 eponymous album releases by third-place Elliott Yamin and eighth-place Bucky Covington.
Taylor Hicks was named American Idol on May 24, 2006; he was the third contestant to never fall into any week's "bottom three". His first post-Idol single, "Do I Make You Proud", would debut at #1 and be certified gold. Hicks' album, Taylor Hicks, has sold 690,000 copies to date.
On May 30, 2006, Telescope announced that a total of 63.5 million votes were cast in the finale round. A total of 580 million votes were cast in the entire season. Taylor Hicks is the second American Idol winner from the city of Birmingham, Alabama (the first being Ruben Studdard), and the fourth finalist with close ties to the city. The finale had surprise performances from stars such as Live, Mary J. Blige, and Toni Braxton singing duets with the members of the final 12. The unannounced appearance and live performance of Prince was said in the media to have perhaps signaled the music industry's acceptance of Idol as a promotional tool for established artists as well.
The fifth-season contestant with the most commercial success is fourth-place finisher Chris Daughtry, now lead singer of the band Daughtry. Their eponymous debut album has sold over 3.2 million copies to date - surpassing former winners Studdard and Fantasia's respective two-album totals - and produced three top-ten singles. The album, which spent two weeks at #1 in the US, is also the fastest-selling debut rock album in Soundscan history.
Runner-up Katharine McPhee's debut album has sold 350,000 copies; she has two Top 40 Billboard hits to date. Also notable: sixth-place finisher Kellie Pickler, whose Small Town Girl reached #1 on the Billboard Top County Albums chart, selling 600,000 copies to date with two Top 15 Country Songs to date; strong early sales have also been achieved by mid-2007 eponymous album releases by third-place Elliott Yamin and eighth-place Bucky Covington.
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