There are lots of reality shows that are all about finding the next big singing talent. There are so many shows that you can’t turn on your TV without seeing someone standing in front of judges singing their heart out wanting to fulfill their dreams of becoming a singer. Once the show’s over, you never hear from most contestants again, though there are some singers who have broken the mold and have gone on become very successful singers. Here are successful singers that started on realty shows.
-
Leona Lewis
Leona won the third series of The X Factor in the UK and went on to become one of the biggest artists of 2008, thanks to smash single ‘Bleeding Love’, which topped the charts in more than 30 countries, and her album Spirit, which has sold over 8 million copies. Nearly nine years after her win, she’s still releasing music.
-
Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer found fame on the third season of American Idol. Despite only coming 7th, she’s gone on to become one of the show’s most successful contestants, both in singing and in other ventures. As well as selling millions of records, she’s even bagged herself an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
-
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly won the first season of American Idol and is widely regarded as the show’s most successful contestant to this date. Not only has she sold millions of records around the world, she’s also won lots of awards, including three Grammys, and has certainly proved that reality show contestants can indeed have longevity in the music business.
-
Susan Boyle
The Scottish singer stunned the world when she auditioned for the third season of Britain’s Got Talent. Her audition went viral and won her an army of loyal fans throughout the world. Even though she came second, she went on to sell bucket loads of albums around the world; in fact, her debut album I Dreamed a Dream was the world’s bestselling album in 2009.
-
Miranda Lambert
Now one of the biggest and most successful US country singers, Miranda got her start on Nashville Star. Though she only came third, she’s had five consecutive platinum albums and has won a ton of country music awards.
-
Carrie Underwood
Another country singer who found fame on a reality show, Carrie won the fourth season of American Idol and is the show’s bestselling contestant to date, as well as its biggest earner. She was the highest-ranked female on Billboard’s Best Country Artists of the 2000s list and is widely respected both in the music industry as a whole and in the country music industry.
-
Adam Lambert
Another American Idol alumnus, Adam came second on the show’s eighth season and as well as releasing three successful albums, he partnered up with Queen to become their vocalist on a world tour. As well as this, Adam has dabbled in acting and has done a lot of work to promote LGBT rights.
-
Chris Daughtry
Yet another American Idol alumnus, Chris came fourth on the fifth season of the show and went on to form a band, Daughtry, for which he is the lead vocalist. Daughtry are one of the most commercially successful acts to come from the show, only behind Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson. The group has released four albums and has sold over 8 million albums.
