American Idol season 2

Did You Know?

• Amber Riley was rejected by producers and did not audition for the judges, but later co-starred on Glee as Mercedes Jones.
• Radio DJ Angie Martinez was originally signed as a fourth judge but quit after a few days, stating it became uncomfortable to tell someone to give up on their dream.
• The finale episode remains the most-watched single episode in Idol history at 38.1 million viewers.

Hollywood week

In the first round, 234 contestants performed a song and 114 were eliminated. The remaining 120 then composed a melody for one of five sets of lyrics, cutting 40 more. For the third round, contestants were separated by gender and performed in small groups: the 48 boys chose from "Superstar," "Kiss from a Rose," or "Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again," while the 32 girls chose from "Don't Cry Out Loud," "Band of Gold," or "You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)." In the final round, each of the 48 remaining contestants performed solo, then were divided into three groups of sixteen; one group was eliminated, leaving 32 to proceed to the semifinals.

Top 12 finalists

Ruben Studdard, born September 12, 1978, in Frankfurt, Germany, was 24 and from Birmingham, Alabama; he auditioned in Nashville with "Ribbon in the Sky." Clay Aiken, born November 30, 1978, in Raleigh, North Carolina, was 24 and auditioned in Atlanta with "Always and Forever." Kimberley Locke, born January 3, 1978, in Hartsville, Tennessee, was 25 and from Nashville, where she auditioned with "Over the Rainbow." Joshua Gracin, born October 18, 1980, in Westland, Michigan, was 22 and from Oceanside, California, where he was stationed in the Marine Corps; he auditioned in Los Angeles with "All or Nothing."

Trenyce, born March 31, 1980, in Memphis, Tennessee, was 22 and from Bartlett, Tennessee; she auditioned in Nashville with "I Learned from the Best." Carmen Rasmusen, born March 25, 1985, in Edmonton, Canada, was 17 and from Bountiful, Utah; she auditioned in Los Angeles and made the top 12 via the Wild Card round. Kimberly Caldwell, born February 25, 1982, in Katy, Texas, was 20 and auditioned in Austin with "Superstition"; she learned of her Wild Card participation on her 21st birthday.

Rickey Smith, born May 10, 1979, in Keene, Texas, was 23 and auditioned in Nashville with "One Last Cry." Corey Clark, born July 13, 1980, in San Bernardino, California, was 22 and auditioned in Nashville with "Never Can Say Goodbye"; he was disqualified on March 31, 2003, after The Smoking Gun revealed his misdemeanor charges. Julia DeMato, born March 7, 1979, in Danbury, Connecticut, was 24 and from Brookfield, Connecticut; she auditioned with "Un-Break My Heart."

Charles Grigsby, born September 15, 1978, in Oberlin, Ohio, was 24 and auditioned in Detroit. Vanessa Olivarez, born April 7, 1981, was 21 and from Atlanta, Georgia, where she auditioned with "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Finals

Guest judges included Lamont Dozier, Gladys Knight, Olivia Newton-John, Verdine White, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, Diane Warren, Neil Sedaka, and Robin Gibb. Lionel Richie's week had contestants perform Billboard number one hits. Smokey Robinson's week featured songs from the Billy Joel discography; Joel recorded snippets reflecting on each song's backstory. Diane Warren served as both guest mentor and judge. Neil Sedaka's week required two songs: one from the 1960s and one from Sedaka's discography. Robin Gibb's week had two songs from the Bee Gees discography. Later, contestants performed three songs each: one drawn from a fishbowl, one chosen by a judge, and one chosen by the contestant. The two finalists performed three songs each.

Controversies

The finale vote was controversial due to the small margin; Ryan Seacrest mistakenly announced the difference as 13,000, then 1,335, before revealing it was around 130,000. Over 150 million votes were reportedly dropped due to phone system overload, making results suspect. Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe later stated that Clay Aiken had led fan voting from the wild card week until the finale. Frenchie Davis was disqualified after topless photos surfaced online; she later joined the Broadway musical Rent.

Corey Clark was disqualified for an undisclosed police record; in 2005, he alleged an affair with judge Paula Abdul and claimed she gave him preferential treatment and song tips. An independent investigation hired by Fox could not corroborate Clark's allegations, and Abdul was exonerated, though an enhanced non-fraternization policy was implemented. During the Top 10, a telephone system problem caused some votes for Julia DeMato not to register, but Fox said the mistake would not have changed her elimination.

Ruben Studdard, known for wearing 205 Flava jerseys, sued the company for $2 million for using his image; 205 Flava produced eight cashed checks allegedly showing Studdard accepted over $10,000 to wear the shirts, which would violate Idol rules. The lawsuit was settled out of court.