 | | With a vocal style that landed somewhere between a jazzy croon and a throaty, soulful belt, Haley Reinhart became an American Idol finalist in 2011. |
 | | The runner-up on the 2011 season of Fox's American Idol, Lauren Alaina is a Southern singer with a bent toward contemporary country-pop. |
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 | | Every season of American Idol has at least one rocker vying for the crown, but few have an honest-to-god metalhead like James Durbin, who wailed his way to a fourth-place finish during the show’s 2011 season. |
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 | | Willie Perryman went by two nicknames during his lengthy career, both of them thoroughly apt. He was known as Piano Red because of his albino skin pigmentation for most of his performing life. |
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 | | The winner of Fox TV's first American Idol competition during the summer of 2002, Kelly Clarkson went from an anonymous talent to a nationally known singer in a matter of months, performing for an audience of millions. |
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 | | The first country singer to win American Idol, Carrie Underwood grew up in the small town of Checotah, Oklahoma, and began singing with her church at the tender age of three. |
 | | Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Casey Abrams became an overnight celebrity in January 2011, when he was selected to be a contestant on the popular televised talent competition American Idol. |
 | | When the U.K. press began dubbing Adele "the next Amy Winehouse" in late 2007, the hype didn't touch upon the heavy singer/songwriter influence found in the Londoner's music. |
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 | | Taking cues from her favorite songwriters -- including Melissa Etheridge, Janis Joplin, and Sista Otis -- Crystal Bowersox brought a relaxed, folksy vibe to the ninth season of American Idol. |
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 | | Due to a wide range of influences, restless/relentless creative energies, and a supporting cast that's too numerous to list in full, random peeks into the catalog of the Glen Johnson-helmed Piano Magic -- from super limited-edition singles on Spanish independents to full-length soundtracks -- rarely result in the same thing twice. |
 | | Taylor Swift became one of country's brightest (and youngest) faces in 2006, when the 16-year-old released her first album. |
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 | | Before becoming a front-runner in the eighth season of American Idol, Adam Lambert made his name in the theater world, where he performed alongside Val Kilmer in the debut production of Ten Commandments: The Musical and landed an understudy role in a touring production of Wicked. |
 | | Bo Bice proved that American Idol could have a rocker as a finalist, but Chris Daughtry proved that the show could generate a successful rocker outside the context of the show. |
 | | Combining the vocal prowess of Beyoncé, the genre-hopping sounds of Gwen Stefani, and the feisty attitude of P!nk, songwriter Jessie J eventually overcame various career setbacks and health problems to become a star in her own right. |
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 | | Piano Choir has eight keyboardists, electric and acoustic, led by Stanley Cowell, Harold Mabern, and Sonelius Smith. |
 | | Jordin Sparks may have been the youngest American Idol when she won the title on the reality show's sixth season, but the Glendale, AZ, resident had already packed plenty of accomplishments into 17 years. |
 | | The third-place finalist on season four of American Idol, Vonzell Solomon -- also known as Baby V -- has a sweet but powerful voice that suited the soul and Motown fare she sang on the show perfectly. |
 | | Though Taylor Hicks' quirky soulfulness made him 2006's American Idol, runner-up Katharine McPhee's classic good looks and voice and affinity for traditional pop made her a strong contender throughout the season. |
 | | David Archuleta became one of the most recognizable figures on television in 2008, when his tenor vocals and boyish charm helped earn him a second-place finish on American Idol. |
 | | Before releasing her debut album in 2009, Selena Gomez began her career as a child actress. Born in 1992, she grew up in Texas and got her first break as a cast member on the kids TV show Barney and Friends. |
 | | The runner-up on American Idol's 11th season, Jessica Sanchez is a big-voiced singer in the mold of Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. |
 | | Actress/singer Jennifer Lopez was born in the Bronx, New York, on July 24, 1969; after starting out in musical theater as a child, she made her film debut at age 16 in the little-seen My Little Girl, but her career then stalled until she was tapped to become one of the dancing "Fly Girls" on the television sketch comedy series In Living Color. |
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 | | Although initially viewed as another face in the late-'90s crowd of teen pop acts, Pink (professionally known as P!nk) quickly transcended and outgrew that label with her combination of pop songcraft and powerhouse, rock-influenced vocals. |
 | | Vocalist Elliott Yamin first gained recognition as the second runner-up on the fifth season of the reality show American Idol. |