| In a competition you always strive to be number | | | | doesn't have the fame that Clay Aiken or Kelly |
| one, the best, the winner. However, there can | | | | Clarkson has. |
| only be one winner and this is true in music | | | | In season four the top two contestants were Bo |
| competitions as well. The winner from a music | | | | Bice and Carrie Underwood. The winner of this |
| competition gets a lot of attention that likely | | | | was Carrie Underwood which left Bo as the |
| result in fame and fortune. Sometimes though the | | | | runner up. Both of these contestants were not |
| runner up becomes more successful than or just | | | | known for their pop music style. Bo sings |
| as successful as the winner. We've seen this | | | | southern rock and Carrie sings country music. Bo |
| happen over time in music competitions such as | | | | has only released two albums which are called |
| Star Search and American Idol. Pop sensations | | | | The Real Thing and See the Light. In this case, |
| Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears were | | | | the runner up didn't have as much success as the |
| runners- up on Star Search. Here are the | | | | winner. |
| runners-up from a more modern music | | | | Season five was a fun one to watch and had a |
| competition, American Idol. | | | | lot of character. The runner up was Katharine |
| Starting in order of seasons, the runner up of | | | | McPhee and Taylor Hicks was the winner. |
| season one was Justin Guarini. He lost to Kelly | | | | Katharine released two albums, and has great |
| Clarkson, who is now one of the world's | | | | success as an actress. She has had roles in |
| recognized recording artists. I would say in this | | | | different movies and television shows such as the |
| instance, he had some fame but now as much as | | | | House Bunny and CSI: New York. |
| Kelly. He released two albums after American Idol | | | | In 2007, season six aired. The competition was |
| that were called Justin Guarini and Stranger Things | | | | great and the runner up was Blake Lewis. The |
| Have Happened. | | | | winner that year was Jordin Sparks. He has |
| Season Two, which aired in 2003, had some | | | | released two albums, A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream) |
| tough competition. The two finalists were Ruben | | | | and Heartbreak on Vinyl. The second album has |
| Studdard and Clay Aiken. The runner up that year | | | | some songs that will be release this year as |
| was Clay Aiken. After the show, he had a lot of | | | | singles and will have to be determined their |
| success in the mainstream pop music industry. | | | | position on the Billboard music chart. |
| Maybe even more than Ruben Studdard did. Clay | | | | Season seven had a young runner up, David |
| has won numerous music awards and has | | | | Archuleta. He was beat out by David Cook. |
| released five albums. Ruben has released four | | | | Archuleta got a lot of attention because of his |
| albums, and is better known as an R&B | | | | age, looks, and great voice. He can also play |
| singer. | | | | musical instruments like the guitar and piano. He |
| The runner up in season three was Diana | | | | has been nominated and won a lot of Teen |
| DeGarmo. She was beat out by Fantasia Barrino. | | | | Choice awards for his music and talent. |
| She released two albums called Blue Skies and | | | | Season eight which aired last year had so many |
| Unplugged in Nashville. Soon after American Idol, | | | | great singers. It was narrowed down to Adam |
| she decided to sing country music instead of pop | | | | Lambert and Kris Allen. Adam Lambert was the |
| music. I would say that Fantasia got more of the | | | | runner up, but that hasn't stopped him from being |
| spotlight in this scenario. However, Fantasia | | | | so successful. |