Season three's LaToya London, who now goes by London, amazed the judges from the very outset of her stint on American Idol. As a member of the third group of eight semifinalists, her rendition of "All By Myself" elicited a standing ovation from Randy and Paula, while Simon called her the "best of the group." She sailed through to the Top 12 where she drew rave reviews from several celebrity guest judges. Quentin Tarantino called her a "powerhouse" after her performance of "Somewhere" from West Side Story. Nickolas Ashford of Ashford and Simpson called her performance of "Ooh Baby Baby" "beautiful." Right after being eliminated from the show (she took ninth place), London was featured alongside Christina Aguilera and Andre 3000 in a voting campaign by famous photographer David LaChapelle. Her appearance on Ryan Seacrest's television talk show at the time was one of the highest-rated episodes. To boot, her song on the season three compilation disc, "If You Don't Know Me By Now" was praised as one of the album's greatest. In the summer of 2004, London performed on the season three international tour with her fellow Top 10 Idols. She held a co-hosting gig on a prominent entertainment news show and performed at various high profile galas. She has also performed the national anthem for numerous NFL games, including the '05 Super Bowl NFL Commissioner pre-game party. In November of that same year, London signed with Concord Records, the same label of the legendary Ray Charles before his death. The CD single, "Appreciate/Every Part of Me/All By Myself," soared to #8 on the Billboard Singles Sales Chart. London has since split with Concord Records and is currently writing songs for her second album, which she is shopping around for a new label. Her debut album, Love & Life, which released in September of '05, was a critically acclaimed R & B, jazz, soul and hip-hop CD. She was given a chance to prove herself at songwriting and worked with some iconic producers, including David Foster. iTunes named the album one of the best albums of 2005 with the San Francisco Chronicle calling it "impassioned and polished." Love & Life sold 12,546 albums in its first week, landing at #82 on Billboard Top 200 Albums chart and at #27 on Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. London made her L.A. professional stage debut with a starring role in "Beehive" at a theater in North Hollywood. The cast, along with London, was nominated for Best Ensemble Performance by the '06 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards. Incredibly, London was also asked to star in an extended Chicago run as Nettie in Oprah Winfrey's Broadway musical The Color Purple. She starred alongside fellow Idol and AI winner Fantasia, who played Celie. London received rave reviews for her reprisal of Nettie from media outlets across the board. Here is an interesting bit of trivia about Londonâ?¦she attended the same high school in Oakland as Tom Hanks and football player Gary Payton. Check out this photo of London belting out a tune during season three! Happy Birthday London, who was born on December 29th!

On top of initiating work on his debut album, Phil Stacey is the Grand Marshal of the Winn-Dixie Hometown Gator Bowl Parade and will be the star performer at the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl on New Year's Day as he sings the National Anthem. Phil won the hearts of Jacksonville citizens with his humor and charm while on "Idol." The theme of the Winn-Dixie Hometown Gator Bowl Parade, "Take a Walk on the Wild Side," suits Phil well because of his time spent serving the Navy and even more dangerously surviving Simon during his stint with American Idol. The Gator Bowl Parade has nearly 100 participants which include bands, giant helium balloons, floats, and performers. The parade has hosted some of the best high school and college bands in the country and this year is no exception. 14 high schools bands coming from as far as Pennsylvania and Arizona will be joined by marching bands from both Texas Tech University and the University of Virginia. Congratulations Phil! Check out this behind-the-scenes pic of Phil as he prepared to wow the "Idol" audience this past season. This is another great photo of Phil as he performed with fellow Idols LaKisha and Blake Lewis!

As 2007 comes to a close, it has been quite the year for Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood. Between the release and success of her second album Carnival Ride, nominations, and awards, you would think that it was good to call it a year. However, Carrie made it on one more "Best of" list before year's end â?? ELLE Magazineâ??s 25 Best Dressed Women 2007! Carrie joins a list of top names from Hollywood, fashion, and music in the magazine's tribute to well-dressed stars. ELLE wrote of Carrie, "At just five feet three inches, American Idol winner Carrie Underwood has managed to pack a lot of style into a very small frame. She successfully made the transition from just another teen star to a sophisticated woman." A few years and a few outfits away from her time on American Idol, congratulations to Carrie on a successful and well-dressed year! Stop by Carrieâ??s transformation gallery to check out her looks from her time as a contestant on the show to her return as a music superstar! Have a favorite picture of your favorite Idolâ??s outfit? Share it in the forums!

Season 2 runner-up and UNICEF Ambassador Clay Aiken is spending time in Mexico to help raise funds for those affected by recent flooding, the most destructive in some regions in the past 50 years. UNICEF estimates that 70% of the schools and all of the crops in the city of Tabasco, where Clay will be spending much of his time, have been damaged by the recent disaster. Clay and his family are foregoing their own holiday vacation to spend time with affected families in hopes of spreading some holiday cheer in the affected areas. As a UNICEF Ambassador, this international trip is not Clayâ??s first humanitarian effort. Over the past three years, Clay has spent time in Afghanistan, Uganda, and Indonesia on behalf of the organization. With particular focus on families affected by respective situations in each country, Clayâ??s help and hands-on experiences within the regions has helped to raise tens of thousands of dollars for humanitarian causes around the world. On Christmas Day, Clay wrote about his experience in Mexico, "Yesterday we were privileged to travel with the First Lady of Chiapas to the mountain village of Ostuácan. People here were severely affected by the recent flooding and mudslides. In fact, more than 2,000 people, many of whom are children, have lost their homes and are celebrating Christmas in shelters this year. But, they rolled out the red carpet for us and we celebrated the holiday together singing Jingle Bells and other holiday songs and even taking a whack at a piñata (and, believe it or not, I didnâ??t hit anyone!)." Hopeful that his involvement will help raise $100,000 through UNICEFâ??s website before the end of 2007, Clayâ??s presence in Mexico is undoubtedly a bright spot in what has been a difficult time for the people of Tabasco and Chiapas, Mexico. Best of luck to Clay as he continues his international humanitarian efforts! He has come a long way since becoming one of American Idolâ??s best known finalists back in Season 2. Check out this picture of Clay and the gang from Season 2 hanging out with Ryan Seacrest! Clay joins a gaggle of other American Idol finalists that have been helping out in different communities after they have left the Idol stage. Join MyIdol and get in on the discussion in our forums!

While thousands of Chris Daughtry fans were heartbroken when he reached the end of the "Idol" road, they have to be nothing but pleased with his post-Idol career thus far. He busted on to the AI scene as one of the first big rock stars the show has seen. While Simon might have been skeptical at first, calling him "robotic" at his initial audition, the judges gave him high praise for having the kind of voice and style that was sure to make him a huge hit on the rock scene. He was even getting some extremely substantial offers prior to leaving the show. As Randy Jackson initially reported in March of 2006, Chris had even been offered the chance to become Fuel's new lead singer, as the popular band was without one at the time. Chris ultimately declined the offer but didn't rule out the chance of working with them down the road. His far-reaching effects were also felt just after the finale that year. During that show, he performed the song "Mystery" with one of his favorite bands, Live. After the show, that song suddenly shot as high as #80 on the iTunes top 100 songs. His version was even made available later on Live's MySpace profile page. Chris became great friends with fellow Idol Ace Young while on the show, who actually helped him to write his hit song "It's Not Over." Ryan Seacrest jokingly dubbed them "the Ben Affleck and Matt Damon of the season." Chris's presence was felt during nearly ever show during season six as well, as the American Idol departure song ended up being the very popular Daughtry song "Home." Chris also sang this song live with his band at the May 22nd finale. With the momentum of "Idol" and thousands of fans behind him, Chris hit the ground running after his time on the show. His debut album with his band Daughtry sold more than 1 million copies after just five weeks of release, making it the fastest selling debut rock album in Soundscan history. It reached number one on the Billboard charts after a mere nine weeks of release, even edging out the popular soundtrack for Dreamgirls. Chris is the fourth most successful "Idol" contestant in history, behind Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Clay Aiken. He is the most successful Idol who was not in the finale. And his career is really just at the beginning! His cover of Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive," which he also sang on the show, charted at #43 on the Billboard Hot 100. Billboard also just recently announced that Daughtry's debut CD was the top-selling album on the Billboard 200 during the chart year. Much like his fellow Idol Carrie Underwood, Chris's band Daughtry has been racking up the awards these days. They won three honors at the 2007 American Music Awards (Favorite Album, Favorite Artist, Favorite Breakthrough Artist). They have been nominated for two People's Choice Awards (Favorite Group & Favorite Rock Song for "Home"), and the results will be announced in January. To boot, they have also received four Grammy nominations for this coming year's prestigious awards (Best Pop Peformance By A Duo or Group With Vocals: "Home," Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals: "It's Not Over," Best Rock Song: "It's Not Over," and Best Rock Album: DAUGHTRY). Amidst all this craziness, Chris has managed to use his celebrity status for good, joining celebs like Ben Affleck, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Liv Tyler who stand together for the organization ONE. ONE is a campaign to end poverty worldwide. 2008 will surely bring many more blessings for Chris Daughtry, one of which is having his band open for Bon Jovi on the US leg of their tour! Happy Birthday Chris! Chris was born on December 26, 1979! While his hair might not have changed during season five, you can almost see his growing sense of confidence in each photo in his transformation gallery-check it out now!

As reported on Jordin Sparks' website, the seventeen-year-old season six winner is adding another landmark event to her already impressive resume by performing at this year's Super Bowl! Jordin will be in excellent company, having joined the likes of Diana Ross, Neil Diamond, Whitney Houston, and Billy Joel, each of whom has sung the national anthem at the Super Bowl in previous years. Mark your calendars for the event, which takes place in Jordin's hometown of Glendale, Arizona on Feb. 3, 2008, and will air on FOX!

It's good to be Bucky Covington, as the singer wraps the year as Country Aircheck's #1 New Artist for 2007. His top slot ranking is based on the strength of his top 5 first single "A Different World" and his current hit, "It's Good To Be Us," which is currently #26 and rising. Cumulatively, both singles earned more than 643 million audience impressions in 2007 as reported by MediaBase. Bucky's self-titled debut CD released in April 2007 and opened at #1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart. With sales of 61,000 units in the first week of release, Bucky ends the year as not only 2007's biggest unit debut from a new country artist, but also the best first week sales and highest Top 200 debut for any new male country artist in fifteen years. As a result of his radio and sales success, Clear Channel recently selected Bucky as one of only five country artists in their "Best of 2007" class. Country radio programmers also chose Bucky for 2008's CRS New Faces Show. In early 2008 Bucky is scheduled to open select dates on Trace Adkins' "American Man" tour. He'll also team up in the new year with Dierks Bentley for the singer's "Throttle Wide Open" tour. Speaking of his current hit, "It's Good To Be Us," Bucky took us behind the scenes with him for the making of this video-check it out now!

With rumors swirling that this year's contestants are going to yield the strongest Top 12 in "Idol" history, Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe took time out of his insanely busy schedule to give his own two cents, and he didn't hold back in issuing his opinions either. Nigel said that there are a number of "strong individuals," but he still stands by his comment that last year's Top 12 was one of the strongest as a group. Whereas he felt that Melinda, Blake, Chris and many others from last year formed very a talented group, Nigel says we can expect to see a number of "stand-out individuals right from the beginning this year." This is in contrast to Jordin, who Nigel says actually grew quite a bit throughout the season. As has also been discussed quite a bit during the off-season, Nigel does admit that the focus last year went too much toward the mentors and that, this season, the show will definitely spend a lot more time talking to the kids about their lives and what they want from the competition. They might even go to the parents for this kind of information. Another thing we can expect to see is less specialized genres, such as '60's/'70's music, instead of dedicating an entire night to one particular artist. Don't expect an entirely new concept, however. Nigel says that they will be sticking by the tried and true "Idol" format, while keeping the show as fresh as possible. This includes showing the good and the bad auditions. He went on to say that the bad auditions are usually what make people smile and laugh, calling it a virtual "Cirque du Lack of Talent." This also means that there won't necessarily be a complete equality of screen time when it comes down to it. As Nigel so frankly puts it, it's their job to show the entertaining ones, so if someone does something interesting or good, he or she will end up on camera. Another thing that won't change is the talent. Don't expect Nigel to ever change the lineup of judges or enlisting Ryan Seacrest as the host. As he says, he would never "mess with the chemistry." He does say, however, that we can expect the usual bickering amongst them, jokingly calling the dynamics between them "pitiful, childish, same as every year." While Nigel prefers to keep the themes a surprise, he did say that he always keeps his fingers crossed for a Beatles night. Sadly, he says that Paul McCartney will not be on the show this year despite the many rumors that he will be! Nigel is still holding out hope, though, that the Lennon/McCartney songbook will be opened up to the Idols. As far as what Nigel likes to see in contestants, he says that there is no real set criterion. He doesn't care if the person came from a musical background or if they've had absolutely no musical training whatsoever. He says that this year we will see about three 16 to 17-year-olds that are "brilliant," but admits that when the show increased the age limit a few years back, he was quite impressed with many of the older contestants, like Bo Bice. As far as the season seven audition cities go, Nigel did say that he thought that San Diego was the clear winner for producing the most talent. As for the best "Idol" alumni, Nigel wasn't able to pinpoint a clear favorite, citing the greatest things about each season's winner. He says that Kelly Clarkson has made herself into a legitimate star. He calls Ruben "probably one of the best cross-over artists," like Donny Hathaway or Luther Vandross. Fantasia is so unique that Nigel feels she stands out amongst the others. He calls Carrie Underwood a "beautiful and talented" girl that will have the most longevity because of her success in country music. Nigel says that Taylor brought fun to the show, although he does feel like America might have gotten it wrong that season. The person he thinks should have won is Chris Daughtry, saying he was the real "musical star." Nigel calls Jordin a "young, fresh pop singer" who will develop into a fine artist. He does admit that American Idol doesn't mean automatic success, even for the winners. Instead, he calls the show the perfect springboard, but says that the rest is up to them. He's also thrilled with the huge amount of Grammy nominations the Idols received this year, saying that it definitely validates the program. According to Nigel, Idol Gives Back will be even better this year, as they have longer to plan the event. As opposed to having six weeks to put it together, as they did last year, they will now have plenty of time to enlist the talent they want to make it an incredible evening once again. They also plan on separating it out from the show and giving the event its own evening, with the most probable format being the performances on Tuesday, Idol Gives Back on a Wednesday, and the results show on a Thursday. While many have wondered whether American Idol will pick up the slack that the writers' strike is leaving in the TV schedule, Nigel says that this will just not be so. As they also only like to air the show once per year, they wouldn't want to expand the nights in order to protect the successful brand that has been created. Want to see if you can catch a glimpse of some of these talented season seven individuals? Check out our audition preview video #1, audition preview video #2, and our just-added audition preview video #3!

As Jordin Sparks' self-titled debut album continues to soar on the charts, she has been extremely busy.¶ÿ Jordin has joined many recording artists to support the U.S. troops.¶ÿ She is taking part in a program entitled "Voices from America," which allows bands/recording artists to leave voice messages for the troops. In fact, anyone can call the "Voices from America" number (888.312.2612) to hear artists' message and leave a holiday message of their own. Jordin also performed at the Jingle Ball, hosted by Z100, on Friday, December 14th, and will be joining Blake Lewis from Times Square on New Year's Eve, live on Monday, December 31st, at 11p, only on FOX.

Season 3 finalist LaToya London will be starring as Nettie in Oprah Winfrey Presents "The Color Purple." The musical will be playing in Los Angeles from December 13, 2007 through March 9, 2008, at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles.