During Season Five of American Idol, the signs read Pick Pickler. A few years back, the young lady from Albemarle, North Carolina was trying to pick up the pieces.

On June 28, 1986 parents Cynthia Morton and Clyde “Bo” Pickler, Jr. brought Kellie Dawn Pickler into a world that played out like many of the Country Western songs the quirky, home-spun 21-year-old would share with millions.

Morton relinquished custodial rights to baby Kellie at two years of age, while Pickler described her father Clyde Jr. as an alcoholic and drug addict. He served a 45-month sentence for a 2003 stabbing incident.

If those weren’t a lifetime of content for heartbreaking lyrics, one of Pickler’s custodial parents, Grandmother Faye Pickler, passed away during her adolescence. Participating in cheerleading and dancing, the singer-to-be tried to establish some semblance of normalcy while living with grandfather Clyde Pickler, Sr. and brother Eric Pickler.

American Idol tryouts in Greensboro offered an opportunity to the show and the small-town girl who earned a reputation as a cute, honest and sometimes ditzy competitor.

Pickler just sees it as saying what she’s thinking - a trait often diffused in a politically correct, uptight world. For Pickler, willingness to risk looking silly (”What’s a calamari?”) is a testament to character strength and unconventional logic.

“If I didn’t know the answer but acted like I did, well, isn’t that playing dumb?”

As usual, Kellie makes a lot of sense. And so does her music.

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The road to American Idol notoriety is a bumpy one for some. Born on May 4, 1985 in the Soviet Union’s Ukraine province and relocated to Trevose, Penn., it was doubtful whether Anatoliy Vladimirovich Fedorov would ever talk again, let alone share his gentle, harmonious tenor voice with millions of viewers across the United states.

Known more commonly as Anthony Fedorov, the lad originally from Yalta, Soviet Union required surgery as a toddler to birth defect in his windpipe. A faint scar is a visible reminder of how despite skepticism that he would even be able to talk again, Federov’s perseverance inevitably landed him a fourth place finish on the fourth season of American Idol.

Judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson viewed ballads as the baby faced, bookish-looking Fedorov’s strength. “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, Celine Dion’s “I Surrender” and Paul Young’s “Everytime You Go Away” are the pillars of a fan following that refers to themselves as the “Fedoration”.

Having moved to the United States in 1994, the Fedorov family of parents Vladimir and Nataliya Fedorov, older brother Denis and Anthony in reside in Trevose, Penn., a hamlet of about 8,000 persons located halfway between Philadelphia, Penn., and Trenton, N.J.

Federov’s post-Idol life has included the passing of his brother Denis to sarcoma, a visit to NBC’s reality show Fear Factor, a tour of American Air Force bases in Europe, a leading role in an off-Broadway production of “The Fantasticks,” appearances in four episodes of MTV’s Little Talent Show - Triple Threat, and work on a debut album.

More can be read about Fedorov at www.anthonyfanclub.com

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American Idol fans of season six will never forget how a lithe, quiet, flowing-haired Seattle lad nearly hijacked the reality television singing contest for a six-week period.

Enter Sanjaya Joseph Malakar.

Born on Sept. 10, 1989 to a Bengali Indian father and Italian American mother, Malakar has proven that American Idol can be much more than a singing competition, but a fashion show and a phone call driven way to keep a television love affair going.

That’s what 13-year-old audience contestant named Ashley Ferl was thinking. Ferl’s emotive tears during the Top 11 episode were one of national televisions most vivid demonstrations of the spell the long-locked Malakar had over female viewers.

It didn’t stop there, either.

During Tony Bennett Week, a white suited a slickly groomed Malakar gained raves from judge Paula Abdul. “I get it. I get why people love you. You are charming.” During rehearsals of Latin Week song “Bésame Mucho,” guest mentor Jennifer Lopez felt some of the same heat and remarked, “I like this kid. I love Sanjaya!”

Other segments of the population weren’t as thrilled. One American Idol fan on MySpace claimed to be on a hunger strike until Malakar was voted off, while multitudes of others on the site simply jeered and jammed the online community with parodies of Malakar’s often-wonky singing efforts.

Whether frizzed out, sporting a faux Mohawk (pony hawk) or shagged and fluffed, the native of Seattle, Wash., landed a seventh place finish and was part of the summer 2007 Amderican Idol tour.

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Clay Aiken, 2003’s American Idol runner-up (but the real breakout star), had his own official Handprint Ceremony at Planet Hollywood in New York City yesterday. The timing of the event coincided with both his hit Broadway show “Spamalot,” and the forthcoming release of his album, On My Way Here, due out on May 6.

See more photos from the handprinting event below!
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Born on May 7, 1979 in Lawndale, Calif., Franchelle “Frenchie” Davis is one person who probably won’t say “I want to be in pictures”- at least not the controversial variety that resulted in Davis’ expulsion from Season Two of “American Idol.” Years before her appearance on the Fox reality show, it is claimed that Davis had posed mostly nude and in lingerie on an adult website to earn money for college.

The Washington D.C. resident whose talent once drew raves and was a projected frontrunner by “American Idol” panelists in late 2002, retained a flair for the radical, appearing on the Broadway hit “Rent” in ensemble roles and as a soloist by the middle of 2003.

Through most of August 2007, Davis starred in the Hartford Stage production of “Mahalia, A Gospel Musical” in the role of Mahalia Jackson. After a West Coast tour as a member of the musical “Dreamgirls,” Davis continued her past role in “Rent” for two more seasons, supplementing her income with a weekly cabaret act at the “XL” bar in New York City.

Davis has expressed intent to return to Howard University, a private university in Washington, D.C., in the fall, to finish her undergraduate degree.

Not “Misbehavin’” now, Davis has joined with Ruben Studdard to star in the 30th anniversary national tour of the musical review “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” a revival of the 1978 Broadway show that ran for nearly 1,600 performances.

Still in the early stages of recording a debut CD, Davis’ work will be a combination of classics, Broadway and original songs.

One recently recorded track by DJ/Producer Tony Moran titled “You Are” will appear on the CD and possibly as a single release as well. A release date has not been announced.

Davis will undergo surgery to remove a vocal cord polyp - it has begun to cause fatigue and hoarseness after performances.

“I’ve talked to other singers who had surgery. One girl said her voice went up. Others’ voices got clearer. I’m just excited to see and a little nervous, of course. It’s still surgery,” Davis told The Associated Press in late March.

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A little more than five years ago a lanky, well-mannered, spiky-haired lad stood in front of three Atlanta judges hoping for a chance to sing another day. Lead panelist Simon Cowell scoffed and thought Clay Aiken lacked the stuff of superstars.

Then the youngster, born November 30, 1978 and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina, gave a clear, potent yet gentle delivery of Heatwave classic “Always and Forever” - one that even impressed the prudish Cowell.

When he walks across the stage or across the room to stoop down and chat with an autistic child, the 28-year-old Aiken does it with a grace and sincerity has established him as one of the people’s true superstars.

As a young boy, Aiken sang in musicals, the choir, and local theatre productions, along with a stint as a local band lead singer. Aiken performed the national anthem numerous times for the Raleigh Ice Caps and the National Hockey League Carolina Hurricanes.

After riding the successful Atlanta tryout to a stunningly close runner-up finish during the second season of “American Idol,” Aiken has become one of the most famous show alumni - an outcome the Opie look-alike could never have dreamed possible. It is through Aiken’s music career that he has been able to sustain charitable work with autistic children - a deed that means a great deal to the singing star.

His post-”Idol” has been a combination of composing, touring and helping. To date, Aiken as sold over 6 million copies of his three CDs, published a biography that once held the No. 2 slot on The New York Times 2004 Best Seller List and has hosted four annual Christmas tours.

Aiken created the Bubel/Aiken Foundation in 2003 to honor Mike Bubel, an autistic pupil Aiken worked with as an undergrad at University of North Carolina.

Although the Raleigh resident still has a love for performing, Aiken sees foundation work as the cornerstone to “enacting change on a much grander scale.” The grander scale has included visits to Afghanistan, Lebanon, Asia, Indonesia, Uganda and Mexico to help raise awareness for UNICEF programs and assist victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Aiken’s 2008 casting of Sir Robin in the Broadway musical “Monty Python’s Spamalot” was new ground for the singer.

True to his simple values, Aiken still resides in Raleigh. “I like surrounding myself with people I know and love,” which, knowing Aiken, is just about everyone.

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To meet Melinda Marie Doolittle on the street, one would never suspect the “American Idol” Season Six second runner-up was a performer and could never fathom that she could command a stage with saucy, assertive licks like Bon Jovi’s “Have a Nice Day” or Peggy Lee’s “I’m a Woman.”

Born October 6, 1977 in St. Louis, Mo., to parents Steve and Marguerite Duke Doolittle, the microphone is a wand that transforms the sturdily built Brentwood, Tenn. resident from mild to wild.

The unanimous front runner by all three show panelists and many fans, the “American Idol” 2007 contestant started at the rear of the pack - as a backup singer.

Singing since the seventh grade, the vocal power pack later performed in musical theater and was voted Union High’s Most Talented and Most Spirited at School.

Doolittle, a 1995 graduate of Union High School in Tulsa, Okla, briefly attended the University of Tulsa before completing a four-year degree in Commercial Music at Belmont University in Nashville.

Prior to her appearance on “American Idol,” Doolittle worked as a professional back-up singer for a host of industry notables including Michael McDonald, Kirk Franklin, Aaron Neville, BeBe and CeCe Winans, Alabama, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, and the group Anointed.

Doolittle’s sixth season appearance was foreshadowed by a cameo backup role for “American Idol” Season Three finalist George Huff’s 2004 holiday CD “George Huff Christmas.” Personal friend and Season Five competitor Mandisa Hundley helped nudge her toward the reality show and a lead singer role.

A devout Christian, Doolittle is a member of Music for the Soul, a nonprofit organization ministering through music.

On Nov. 3, 2007, Doolittle was interviewed for CNN’s “Young People Who Rock” series, where she stated support for the Malaria No More campaign and how donating bed nets can help to eradicate malaria from the African continent. She specifically mentioned supportive fans who made bed net donations at each of the 59 “American Idol” tour venues and who also made a large donation on her birthday.

A self-proclaimed “neat freak,” Doolittle admitted to suffering from borderline obsessive-compulsive disorder.

As part of a pre-performance “American Idol” personal vignette, Doolittle admitted that “I don’t step on the cracks on the sidewalk. It gives me bad luck.”

Doolittle will be joining Michael W. Smith on his upcoming Christmas tour and is currently in the studio working on a debut album, scheduled to released in June.

Her first single, “My Funny Valentine” is available (as of Feb. 12) through iTunes and Amazon MP3 Downloads. Sony BMG is the publisher.

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Former “American Idol” contestant Christopher Adam Daughtry of McLeansville, N.C., is walking proof that finishing in fourth place can mean that you’re a champion.

Daughtry, one of the most successful “American Idol” alumnus (only behind Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Clay Aiken), finished behind champion Taylor Hicks, runner-up Katherine McPhee and second runner-up Elliot Yamin during the show’s highly publicized fifth season.

With an iconic clean-shaven head and tightly trimmed side burns, the focused post-grunge rocker and former front-man of Raleigh-based Christian alternative rock band Absent Element, parlayed more than two months of “Idol” exposure into a record deal by RCA Records and 19 Entertainment plus a band bearing his surname.

The band Daughtry and its self-titled debut album sold more than 1 million copies after just 5 weeks of release and landed the top spot on Billboard charts within eight weeks.

Not bad for fourth place? (Nearly two years later, Season Five winner Hicks has not eclipsed 800,000 copies sold.)

Contrastingly, the off-stage Daughtry is a quiet, sensitive family man who cites one of his greatest accomplishments as having taught his son how to ride a bike. During “Idol’s” fifth season, Daughtry listed wife Deanna, a licensed massage therapist who backed his musical aspirations, as his “hero.” The couple has two children: Griffen Daughtry, born in 2000 and Hannah Price, born in 1998.

Daughtry’s family and life are often the muse of his writings. Smash hit “Home” talks about his homesickness of the AI process and dismissal from the competition, “It’s not over” is about a man who cleans up his act and makes a commitment to his partner.

Daughtry’s searing, resonant voice with smart, simplistic heart-on-his-sleeve lyrics mixed with a hellbent frontman and a hand-picked bag of rock assassins, and it’s a recipe for music chart gold.

On Nov. 19, 2007, the “Idol” alum Daughtry cleaned up at the American Music Awards, taking home awards for favorite pop-rock album (’Daughtry’), breakthrough artist and adult contemporary artist.

“American Idol” wasn’t Daughtry’s first foray into the world of reality television musical performance. Then a service adviser at Crown Honda car dealership in Greensboro, N.C., Daughtry tried out for CBS’s 2005 music-competition series “Rock Star: INXS,” but wasn’t chosen.

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