# Has anybody who was rejected for American Idol gone on to make it big in music?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-who-was-rejected-for-american-idol-gone-on-to-make-it-big-in-music/680719>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [February 7, 2014, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-who-was-rejected-for-american-idol-gone-on-to-make-it-big-in-music/680719 "2014-02-07T01:57:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\
**Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-who-was-rejected-for-american-idol-gone-on-to-make-it-big-in-music/680719/1 "2014-02-07T01:57:02Z")

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I know that several who did not win the Number 1 spot have been very successful (several runners up have been more successful than Taylor Hicks, Ruben Studderd, and other winners), but I was curious if any who auditioned and never got to the Top 20 finalists have become successful. Does anybody know?

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**Author:** ![gus28](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6de8d8/32.png) [@gus28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gus28)\
**Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-who-was-rejected-for-american-idol-gone-on-to-make-it-big-in-music/680719/2 "2014-02-07T02:02:44Z")

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Hillary Scott, lead singer of Lady Antebellum.

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**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\
**Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-who-was-rejected-for-american-idol-gone-on-to-make-it-big-in-music/680719/3 "2014-02-07T02:05:49Z")

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Thanks. Using her as a keyword, I found [this list](http://www.accessatlanta.com/gallery/entertainment/most-successful-american-idol-rejects/g7TF/#3028678).

The only two I personally familiar with are Naya Rivera and Amber Riley, both from GLEE.

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**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\
**Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-who-was-rejected-for-american-idol-gone-on-to-make-it-big-in-music/680719/4 "2014-02-07T02:12:42Z")

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A student I had in Georgia had one of the most beautiful male tenors I have ever heard. He auditioned in Atlanta and Memphis, but was told frankly that while his voice was beautiful he did not look like an Idol. He was, honestly, homely, with more than a passing resemblance to DJ Qualls, but I’ve seen auditioners who were no more attractive make it on the show (Chris Sligh comes to mind). Then of course there are the people who are awful but passed along to the judges for sport. I wondered how many real talents were passed over to make room for “the damned” and the good looking mediocre in front of the judges.

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**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\
**Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-who-was-rejected-for-american-idol-gone-on-to-make-it-big-in-music/680719/5 "2014-02-07T03:09:30Z")

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William Hung doesn’t count.