The third season of American Idol premiered on 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 the highest recorded vote total in the show's history until the May 23, 2007 finale of American Idol 6. This season also featured Academy Award-winner Jennifer Hudson.
The third season is t...
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The third season of American Idol premiered on 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 the highest recorded vote total in the show's history until the May 23, 2007 finale of American Idol 6. This season also featured Academy Award-winner Jennifer Hudson.
The third season is the first season where both the winner and the runner-up ended up in the bottom 2 or 3 prior to the finale, being followed by season 8. It is the first season to have a finale with two female contestants, while the second, seventh and eighth seasons had a finale with two male contestants. It is also the first season where a Wild Card contestant is eliminated in the first episode of the finals, who is Leah LaBelle, with Jasmine Murray following suit in season 8. It is the first season to have a gender imbalance among the finalists, followed by...
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