Main article: American Idol (Season 3)
The third season of American Idol premiered on January 19, 2004.
The early part of the season introduced William Hung, a UC Berkeley student, who became popular following his rendition of Ricky Martin's "She Bangs". His performance as well as his attitude facing Simon's criticisms (which was a stark contrast to other contestants' confrontational, angry reactions) landed him a record deal with Koch Entertainment Records making over $500,000 in record sales.
During the season, controversy over the legitimacy of the contest increased as rocker Jon Peter Lewis and young crooner John Stevens stayed afloat while others were unexpectedly eliminated. Jasmine Trias, despite some negative comments from Simon Cowell survived elimination and took the third spot over Latoya London. Jasmine later released a CD and attracted fans in her home state of Hawaii and in the Philippines, Singapore, Guam and other South East Asian countries. The third season was also shown in Australia on Network Ten about half a week after episodes were shown in the US.
After a nationwide vote of more than 65 million votes in total - more than the first two seasons combined - Fantasia Barrino won the "American Idol" title and Diana DeGarmo was runner up. Fantasia has enjoyed commercial success and has been labeled by many respected individuals as a future musical legend. Fantasia also has the honor of being the first artist in history to debut at number one on the US Hot 100 with a first record which was "I Believe". Fantasia has also taken part in writing and acting projects. These include her life memoir, "Life is Not a Fairy Tale", and an original Lifetime movie about her life story, scheduled for a Summer 2006 release on the cable network. Fantasia was a major contender for the role of Effie White in the 2006 film adaptation of Dreamgirls, but she was turned down in favor of fellow season 3 contestant Jennifer Hudson. Diana DeGarmo's first CD, Blue Skies, was not a commercial success and she was dropped from RCA. She has since received a role in the Broadway production of Hairspray.
Diana wasn't the only non-winner of the season to land herself a record deal, however. Jasmine Trias signed with an independent label, and although she has failed to achieve commercial success in the mainland USA, she has become a major celebrity in other countries, such as the Phillipines. Latoya London signed with Peak Records and released an album of slow jams, which didn't sell well. George Huff signed with Word Records to release a gospel album and has since had mild success in that genre. John Stevens, the red-haired crooner who many say made it farther than he should have, landed a deal with Maverick Records, but was dropped due to low album sales. Jennifer Hudson is starring alongside Beyonce and Jamie Foxx in the upcoming Dreamgirls movie, and is expected to release her album sometime in 2007. Camile Velasco was once signed to Motown Records, but left the label after her first single flopped. Still, like Jasmine, she has become somewhat popular in the Phillipines. Eleventh place contestant Matthew Rogers is now a TV personality, starring alongside Mikalah Gordon on "Idol Extra," which goes behind the scenes of the current American Idol season.
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