American Idol (season 2) - Finalists

Finalists

• Ruben Studdard (born September 12, 1978 in Frankfurt, Germany, 24 years old at the time of the show) is from Birmingham, Alabama and auditioned in Nashville, Tennessee with Stevie Wonder's "Ribbon in the Sky".
• Clay Aiken (born November 30, 1978 in Raleigh, North Carolina, 24 years at the time of the show) auditioned in Atlanta, Georgia with Heatwave's "Always and Forever". He studied at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he graduated with a degree in special education.
• Kimberley Locke (born January 3, 1978 in Hartsville, Tennessee, 25 at the time of the show) is from Nashville, Tennessee where she auditioned with Judy Garland's "Over the Rainbow".
• Josh Gracin (born October 18, 1980 in Westland, Michigan, 22 years old at the time of the show) is from Oceanside, California, where he was stationed while serving in the Marine Corps. He auditioned in Los Angeles with O-Town's "All or Nothing".
• Trenyce (born March 31, 1980 in Memphis, Tennessee, 22 years old at the start of the season) is from Bartlett, Tennessee and auditioned in Nashville with Whitney Houston's "I Learned from the Best". She turned down a record deal at 14 and she auditioned using her full name, LaShundra "Trenyce" Cobbins.
• Carmen Rasmusen (born March 25, 1985, in Edmonton, Alberta in Canada, 17 at the start of the season) is from Bountiful, Utah and auditioned in Los Angeles. She did not make the semi-final initially but was brought back for the wild card show and put through to the final.
• Kimberly Caldwell (born February 25, 1982 in Katy, Texas, 20 at the start of the season) – Prior to American Idol, she had appeared on Star Search, where she won five times as a junior vocalist, and in Popstars: USA.
• Rickey Smith (born May 10, 1979 in Keene, Texas, 23 at the time of the show) auditioned in Nashville with Brian McKnight's "One Last Cry". He worked as a teacher before the show.
• Julia DeMato (born March 7, 1979 in Danbury, Connecticut, 23 at the start of the show) is from Brookfield, Connecticut and auditioned with Toni Braxton's Un-Break My Heart.
• Corey Clark (born July 13, 1980 in San Bernardino, California, 22 at the time of the show) is from San Bernardino, California, and auditioned in Nashville with Jackson 5's "Never Can Say Goodbye". He was disqualified hours after the website The Smoking Gun revealed his misdemeanor charges of battery and resisting arrest on March 31, 2003.
• Charles Grigsby (born September 15, 1978 in Oberlin, Ohio, 24 at the time of the show) auditioned in Detroit.
• Vanessa Olivarez (born April 7, 1981, 21 at the start of the season) is from Atlanta, Georgia and auditioned in Atlanta with Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody".