For the 21st time, the long-running talent competition series American Idol has revealed the season’s top 10. Ranging in age from 17 to 25 and representing different genres, the top 10 finalists of season 21 sat down with Billboard for the first in-depth interviews of their Idol run.
One by one, the hopefuls filed into an office at Red Studios in Hollywood to be grilled about their lives, their hopes and dreams and their Idol journeys to date. Although each contestant was interviewed privately, they named many of the same series alumni as their favorite Idols of all time.
Season 1 winner Kelly Clarkson – who currently hosts a hit daytime TV series on NBC — received the most mentions, with Fantasia (season 3 winner) and EGOT winner Jennifer Hudson (who finished seventh in season 3) right behind her.
“If you come on the show, you’re part of the American Idol alumni. You are part of our history. This show has changed lives in so many different ways,” executive producer and showrunner Megan Michaels Wolflick recently told Billboard. “I think American Idol is now like the NFL, where people train their [whole] lives to come on the show. It’s now bigger than a TV show. It’s something you can aspire to be a part of — young singers are born every day.”
With the revelation of who made the current top 10 announced on the air on Sunday (April 30) on ABC, here are the Billboard interviews with the top 10 finalists of season 21.
