Idol Season 3 Contestants - Where are they now?

Season three of American Idol was the season of the ladies.  It seemed that the contestants of that cycle were truly unique, but more than anything there were several females that were equipped with powerhouse voices! 
Attention must be paid to the season three winner Fantasia Barrino.  Fantasia won fans from the moment that she started the show who fell in love with her, her story, and her little girl.  An early favorite Fantasia made a big impression on judges and viewers alike with her unique performance style.  After her big win, Fantasia released her single “I Believe” which debuted as a number one single on the Billboard charts.  She later released her debut album, Free Yourself, which quickly shot up to number eight on the Billboard charts.  Fantasia spent a great deal of time promoting her album on television, and she even guest starred on shows like American Dreams and The Simpsons.  Fantasia then went on to have her memoirs published in Life Is Not A Fairy Tale, and the book became number seven on the New York Times bestseller list.  In her book, she chronicles her struggle as an illiterate person who had struggled to get by.  Fantasia’s next big accomplishment was her four Grammy nominations in 2006.  She quickly followed that up by starring in a television movie based on her life story.  In the spring of 2007, Fantasia took to the Broadway stage as Celie in The Color Purple.  Barrino received fantastic reviews for her performance, and was even included in the 2007 Tony awards as a performer.  Barrino is still going strong, and is currently working on her third album, which is scheduled to drop in 2009.  She is also cast in Oprah Winfrey’s film adaptation of the musical The Color Purple.  It seems certain that Ms. Barrino will be around for quite a while. 

Another big name from season three of American Idol is Jennifer Hudson.   Though Hudson was unable to win American Idol, and only came in seventh, that has not stopped her career path.  Shortly after her stint on American Idol, she received the coveted role of “Effie White” in the film adaptation of Dreamgirls.  She joined an all-star cast that included Beonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy, and Jaime Foxx.  With all of these stars on board no one could have predicted that Hudson would eclipse all of their performances with her epic portrayal of Effie.  Her performance in the role has garnered 29 different awards for her.  Perhaps the biggest honor that she could have received was the Best Supporting Actress Oscar that she won on February 25, 2007.  Hudson wasted no time in finding her next great project, and she began working on the much-anticipated Sex and the City movie.  She was cast as Louise, the assistant who helps to bring Carrie Bradshaw back to life.  Hudson’s big screen success has not stopped as she has also been working on the feature films Winged Creatures and The Secret Life Of Bees.  Her personal life has also been soaring as she is currently engaged.  Hudson has also been signed with Arista Records, and is still making music.  However, not everything in Jennifer Hudson’s life has been fantastic.   In fact, on October 24, 2008 Jennifer Hudson and her family suffered an unspeakable tragedy.  Her mother, brother, and nephew were barbarically killed.  The case is still under investigation, and Jennifer and her family have banded together to get through this horrific tragedy. 
Diana DeGarmo narrowly came in second to Fantasia Barrino, only losing by about 2%.  However, as the youngest competitor on the show her career aspirations have not slowed.  DeGarmo released her debut album Blue Skies in December of 2004.  She also featured songs for the Disney movie Ice Princess in 2005.  Later she began recording another album, but quickly pulled the plug on that project as it started to go in a direction that she did not want to go. Instead, she went back to her country roots, and is currently working on her first country album.  DeGarmo also followed in the steps of Barrino as she too made her way to Broadway.  She performed the role of Penny Pingleton in Hairspray.  Later she played the lead role on the first national tour of Brooklyn: The Musical.  After her tour had completed she returned to the Broadway production of Hairspray for five more months, and eventually made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2007. 
Viewers were stunned when Latoya London was voted off season three.  Many of the viewers, critics, and judges had pegged her to take the competition.  However, as soon as she was eliminated, she was picked to participate in a Declare Yourself voting campaign.  Soon after that, London was hired to be one of the co-hosts on Access Hollywood.  Peak Records signed her to a recording deal in 2004.  She released her debut album Love & Life the next year, and it garnered a fair amount of critical acclaim.  London has also made her way into The Color Purple family by taking on the role of Nettie, and is currently under contract with the show. 
Season three of American Idol truly was the year of the ladies.  Though there were a few others on the show that season these four girls have kept their careers going and have achieve accolades that would make anyone proud.  American Idol was created to find the next American music superstar, but season three did not just find one music superstar.  Instead, season three produced four multitalented stars.  Apparently, Paula Abdul was right.  These girls are a triple threat.  They are good at music, movies, and TV!