American Idol (season 7) - Finalists

David Cook (born December 20, 1982 in Houston, Texas, 24 at the time of the auditions and 25 at the time of the show) is a native of Blue Springs, Missouri who auditioned in Omaha, Nebraska with Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer". Cook's interest in music began early in life; he received his first guitar at the age of 2. He formed a band while still at high school called Axium which was chosen as the best band in Kansas City in 2004. He later joined Midwest Kings in Tulsa, but left to pursue a solo project where he released an album titled Analog Heart. Prior to Idol he worked as a bartender at the "Blank Slate" in Tulsa, where he would also occasionally play shows. He enjoys doing crossword puzzles in his spare time and calls himself a "word nerd." His Hollywood performance of Bryan Adams's "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" did not impress Simon Cowell but did so with his second performance Edwin McCain's "I'll Be". He wore an orange wristband to support a seven-year-old fan with leukemia from Top 12 week onwards. He was never in the "bottom three". On May 21, 2008, he was declared the winner. He was signed to RCA Records and released a self-titled album on November 18, 2008, that was certified platinum in January 2009.

David Archuleta (born December 28, 1990 in Miami, Florida, 16 at the time of the auditions and 17 at the time of the show) is from Murray, Utah who auditioned in San Diego with John Mayer's "Waiting on the World to Change". In 2003, at the age of 12, he sang on several episodes of the television show Star Search and went on to win the season finale and the $100,000 grand prize. In one episode, he competed against Alexandréa Lushington, who was a fellow semi-finalist this season. He suffered from vocal paralysis after that show which affected one of his vocal cords. He impressed the judges with his performance of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" and Bryan Adams's "Heaven" during the Hollywood round. He was never in the "bottom three" in American Idol and finished as the Season 7 runner-up. He was signed to Jive Records and has since released a number of albums.

Syesha Mercado (born January 2, 1987 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, 21 at the time of the show) is from Sarasota, Florida who auditioned in Miami with Aretha Franklin's "Think". She is a student at Florida International University and has been singing and dancing since she was a child. During Hollywood week, she became ill and almost completely lost her voice. In preparation for her final Hollywood performance with Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools", she went on voice rest and wrote down everything she had to say on a pad of paper. Prior to American Idol, she appeared on the short-lived US version of Star Academy (known as The One: Making a Music Star when it aired on ABC in July 2006 for two weeks). Kara DioGuardi, who was one of the coaches on the Endemol franchise, joined Idol for Season 8. She was voted off as a third-place finisher and has since pursued a career in musical theatre.

Jason Castro (born March 25, 1987, 20 at the time of the show) Rockwall, Texas auditioned in Dallas with Keith Urban's Once in a Lifetime and Ray LaMontagne's version of Gnarls Barkley's Crazy. He started in music playing the drums. In high school, he played for a band, Keeping Lions, which has since disbanded. In 2006, he appeared on Cheyenne Kimball's MTV reality TV series, as her real-life dating interest. Castro is the first person in his family, which is originally from Colombia, to be born in the United States. He is a student at Texas A&M University, with a construction science major and music minor. He began growing his hair out for dreadlocks during his senior year of high school. He exited the competition in fourth place. He has since been signed to Atlantic Records and released a number of albums and EPs.

Brooke White (born June 2, 1983 in Mesa, Arizona, 24 at time of show) was a nanny from Van Nuys, California auditioned in Philadelphia with Corinne Bailey Rae's Like a Star. During her audition, she admitted to never having seen an R-rated movie, prompting Cowell to state that the show will "bring her over to the dark side." In 2005, she released an album titled Songs from the Attic under New Millennium Records. She performed Carole King's "Beautiful" on Hollywood week. She finished in fifth place on Idol. After the contest, she started her own record label "June Baby Records" with Randy Jackson, and released an album, High Hopes & Heartbreak.

Carly Smithson (born September 12, 1983 in Dublin, Ireland, 24 at the time of that show) is a professional singer and bartender/waitress from San Diego, California, where she has been living for the past three years. Smithson previously signed a recording contract with major USA label MCA Records and released an album in 2001 entitled Ultimate High under her birth name, Carly Hennessy. The album sold approximately 300 copies in the first three months following its release. Smithson was originally auditioned in Las Vegas during season five, but was dropped from the show due to a problem with her visa. She auditioned in San Diego with Whitney Houston's I'm Every Woman, and performed Leo Sayer's version of "When I Need You" and Heart's version of "Alone" in the Hollywood rounds. She finished sixth in the show. She later teamed up with former members of Evanescence and formed a new band We Are The Fallen as its lead singer.

Kristy Lee Cook (born January 18, 1984, 24 at the time of that show) is a horse trainer from Selma, Oregon. She sold her prized horse in order to afford the trip to audition in Philadelphia where she auditioned with Amazing Grace, a song she also performed during the Hollywood week. In 2001, she was signed to a major label, Arista Nashville. Cook also signed with Britney Spears' production company, and Spears herself was supposed to have a cameo in Cook's first video. At the time of signing, she was managed by the former manager of LeAnn Rimes. In 2005, she released a CD called Devoted with Ren-Hen Records. Since appearing on the show, Kristy Lee Cook has released an album entitled "Why Wait", which peaked on number eight on the Billboard country charts. The album contained a single, "15 Minutes of Shame", which peaked in the Top 30 on the Billboard country charts. As of December 2008, she has been dropped from Arista Nashville.

Michael Johns (born as Michael Lee on October 20, 1978 in Perth, Western Australia, 29 at the time of that show) auditioned in San Diego with Otis Redding's I've Been Loving You Too Long. He is Australian and moved to the United States from Australia in 1998 and lived in Buckhead (Atlanta) for six years, performing at local venues solo and with local band Film. He has since lived in Los Angeles, California. After recording a demo and traveling to Los Angeles to showcase for a number of labels in 2001, he signed with Maverick Records and formed a rock band called The Rising. Before focusing on his singing career, he was a sportsman, winning a tennis scholarship and playing Australian rules football for the USAFL club Atlanta Kookaburras. During the Hollywood round, he performed The Doors' "Light My Fire" but it was his performance of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody that was one of the highlights of that week. He was surprisingly eliminated on April 10, 2008 and finished in eighth place. He released an album independently Hold Back My Heart in 2009.

Ramiele Malubay (born September 6, 1987 in Saudi Arabia, 20 at the time of that show) Filipino-American from Miramar, Florida auditioned in Miami with Aretha Franklin's Natural Woman. Prior to auditioning on Idol, she was a nursing student at Broward Community College and worked part-time at a sushi restaurant. She started Polynesian Dancing when she was in the first grade and started singing at the age of twelve. Since the age of 12, Ramiele has sung at various Filipino-American events. She performed Aretha Franklin's Until You Come Back to Me and The Kiki Dee Band's "I've Got The Music In Me" at the Hollywood rounds. She was eliminated as a ninth place finisher.

Chikezie (born Chikezie Eze on September 11, 1985 in Inglewood, California, 22 at the time of that show) is a Nigerian American from Inglewood, California who auditioned in San Diego with Luther Vandross's version of "All the Woman I Need". During the competition, he dropped using his last name because it was so frequently mispronounced ('eh-zee' and not 'EE-zee'). He previously auditioned for the show's sixth season, and made it into the Hollywood Round, where he was cut before the top 44. Before auditioning for Idol, he worked as a TSA officer at Los Angeles International Airport.

Amanda Overmyer (born October 26, 1984, 23 at the time of that show) Harley-riding nurse is from Mulberry, Indiana who auditioned in Atlanta with Janis Joplin's Turtle Blues and Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Travelin' Band". She received a nursing degree from Ivy Tech Community College and deals predominantly in respiratory issues. She has been the lead singer of several local hard rock bands, including Steeleto and Ruinaces. A week before the Hollywood week, she was injured in a serious car accident. She performed The Doors' "Light My Fire" at the Hollywood rounds. After the season ended she married her fiancé Casey Taylor. Since her elimination, she has played at The Whisky a Go Go bar in West Hollywood and various venues. Since appearing on the show, Amanda has released a rock album entitled "Solidify". The album is only available on the official Amanda Overmyer website as of January 3, 2009.

David Hernandez (born May 31, 1983 in Glendale, Arizona, 24 at the time of that show) is from Glendale, Arizona and auditioned with The Temptations' "Ain't Too Proud to Beg". He was a student at Arizona State University with a major in Broadcast Journalism. He gave up his apartment to move to Hollywood. Until September 30, 2007, Hernandez worked as a male stripper named "Caden" at Dick's Cabaret in Phoenix, Arizona, performing fully nude and giving lap dances to male patrons. This did not prevent him from being on the show. He performed Stephen Stills's Love the One You're With on Hollywood week. He was voted off in twelfth place soon after his stripper past was publicized by Vote for the Worst.