American Idol's 5 Biggest Success Stories of All Time

Season and place: Season three, seventh place

The fact that Hudson only finished in seventh place is a travesty, but she got the final word. She dominated award season in 2007 for her role in Dreamgirls, taking home an Oscar for her very first film role. She won a Grammy and two NAACP Image Awards for her debut album, Jennifer Hudson, in 2008. She has successfully balanced her singing career with acting, recently appearing on Empire. Her last album, JHUD, peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard 200. Pretty impressive.