American Idol season 3

The third season of ''American Idol'' premiered on Monday, January 19, 2004, and continued until May 26, 2004. The third season was won by Fantasia Barrino, who defeated Diana DeGarmo by an approximate margin of 2% (1.3 million votes); the vote total (65 million votes) was then the highest recorded vote total in the show's history. This season also featured future EGOT winner Jennifer Hudson, who finished seventh in the competition.

Both Fantasia and Diana DeGarmo released a single after the finale. Fantasia's first single, released in June 2004 on the RCA record label, entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number one, making Fantasia the first artist in the history of ''Billboard'' to debut at number one with their first single. In addition to Fantasia and Diana DeGarmo, Jasmine Trias, LaToya London, George Huff, Jennifer Hudson, and Camile Velasco all released albums since the season ended. This is also, to date, the only season in the show's history to produce multiple Grammy Award winners, courtesy of Fantasia (in 2011) and Hudson (in 2009 and 2017), as well as produce an Academy Award and Tony Award winner, courtesy of Hudson (in 2007 and 2022, respectively). Provided by Wikipedia