Octagon First Call

American ‘Marketing’ Idols

FOX’s American Idol is back tonight for its 11^th season. Host Ryan Seacrest and judges Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler will scour the nation once again to find the next superstar. We took a look back at the top 5 most marketable personalities from past seasons, and found that it’s not always the winner who comes out on top:

Carrie Underwood – Carrie won the fourth season of Idol and has enjoyed major music and brand success since. She has won Grammys, hosted the CMAs and partnered with Olay, Skechers, Nintendo DS, Pedigree, Hershey’s and VitaminWater.

Kelly Clarkson- The inaugural winner of Idol, Clarkson has remained a musical powerhouse. Numerous #1 songs, Grammys and ad appearances for Candies Footwear, ProActiv, Acuvue, got milk?, and VitaminWater.  Most recently in a spot for Toyota featuring ESPN anchor Chris Berman, chef Andrew Zimmern and Bravo’s James Lipton.

 Jennifer Hudson - Shockingly voted off in the third season after being named part of the top 12, Hudson went on to star alongside Beyonce in Dreamgirls, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. In 2011, Hudson was revealed as a brand ambassador for Weight Watchers and has been featured prominently in their advertising.

 Daughtry - He made it to the top 4 in Season 5, but Taylor Hicks walked away with the win. Despite his fourth place finish, Daughtry has been nominated for 4 Grammys and has partnered with Duracell, Toys R Us and the ONE Campaign, which fights HIV/AIDS.

 Katharine McPhee – Also on Season 5 of Idol, McPhee came in second behind Hicks. Since the show, she has appeared on Broadway, toured to promote her album and been the face of Sexy Hair and Neutrogena. Most recently will star in the NBC show Smash, which is set to debut the day after the Super Bowl.

Season 11 of American Idol premieres tonight at 8pm EST.