The Hollywood Reporter (Weekly)
The Real Way to Win American Idol … Is by Not Even Winning
Series vets talk what it takes to milk the show for all it’s worth
If you asked me season one, I’d say that’s what you’re playing for, that’s why you’re auditioning. You want to be the winner, of course … why would it be anything else?” says Ryan Seacrest, reflecting on American Idol’s race to the top spot these past 20 years. “Looking back, that’s so far from the truth.”
Yes, Idol champions like Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood have gone on to have massive careers, but those who didn’t win — including Adam Lambert (second place), Katharine
McPhee (second place), Chris Daughtry (fourth place) and, most famously, Jennifer Hudson (seventh place) — have achieved their own significant stardom.
Tori Kelly, Gabby Barrett, Haley Reinhart, Lauren Alaina, Todrick Hall and The Bold Type actress
Katie Stevens found success as well despite their own early exits from the show.
“We tell them it’s not about the number, it’s what do you do with this experience and how fast can you move forward building on what we’ve given you,” says judge Lionel Richie of the advice he gives to the contestants. “It’s not about winning American Idol; it’s being on it somewhere around the top 20. From that point on, you have a shot at a career that’s unbelievable.”
What separates those who do and don’t have thriving postshow careers, though, comes from those next steps and taking advantage of the fact that TV fans “still have a bit of investment in them, whether they won or didn’t win,” says showrunner Megan Michaels Wolflick. “The show’s a
springboard, but you still have to get in the water and swim. I think there are people who want it.”
Wolflick cites Barrett — who came in third place in 2018 and since has gone on to country music fame — as a recent example: “She was [always] going to hustle. She worked her butt off. And American Idol, we gave her that springboard, and the sky was the limit for her.”
Post-Idol success also depends on how much contestants absorbed from their time on the show, says executive in charge of production Wylleen May. Once they make the top 10, notes May, contestants start working with stylists and doing press for the first time. They learn how to navigate the public side of the industry. (Listening to the judges and top-tier musicians they’re working with doesn’t hurt, either.)
“They’re provided with all these fabulous record producers to work with to determine and target that initial album, which is so important to making a name for them in the marketplace,” says May. “Idol opens the door. They have to be willing to do the work and walk through it.
“If they think they’re a star just because they were in the top 10 or they won American Idol, that lasts until the finale,” May continues. “You’ve got to be willing to take some guidance, because they are a novice. Some people did not do that, and they happen to be some of my favorites, but they just didn’t do it. If you lose that momentum, it’s very hard to get it back.”
Social media also has become an increasingly pivotal factor of the show over the years, allowing contestants to build fan bases online throughout the season that ideally will carry over to their debut singles and albums. And, of course, there is a bit of “magic and some timing” that decides who breaks out and who doesn’t, notes Seacrest.
“The memorable people that have come on the show that are talented — that for some reason maybe didn’t get a certain amount of votes one week, one night — doesn’t mean that they aren’t as great as the others that have made it all the way to the end or won,” Seacrest adds. “It just means maybe something happened along the way that took them down a different path.”