American Idol (season 7)

• Luke Menard (born December 1, 1978 in Crawfordsville, Indiana) is a 31-year-old (29 at the time of the show) who auditioned in Omaha with "Bend and Break" by Keane. In Hollywood, he sang "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" by Christopher Cross and "Grace Kelly" by Mika. Previously, he auditioned for the sixth season in Memphis and sang "How Deep Is Your Love" but did not make it to Hollywood. Prior to Season 7 of Idol, he was a member of the a cappella group Chapter 6 and has toured with them for the past 6 years, as well as appearing on their albums and DVD. After leaving Idol, Menard was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.^[9] He successfully went through chemotherapy and will soon be undergoing radiation therapy.^[10]. He was declared cancer free on December 18, 2008.^[11]

• Robert "Robbie" Carrico (born November 13, 1981 in Beckley, West Virginia)^[12] is a 28-year-old (26 at the time of the show) from Melbourne, Florida who auditioned for the show in Miami. His professional singing career prior to American Idol includes being a member of the pop group Boyz N Girlz United, which opened for Britney Spears during her "...Baby One More Time" tour in 1999.^[13][14][15] The band's song "Messed Around" was written and produced by JC Chasez from *NSYNC.^[13] It was revealed that he also dated Britney Spears briefly around that time.

• Jason Yeager (born August 26, 1979) is a 30-year-old (28 at the time of the show) from Grand Prairie, Texas who auditioned in Dallas. He appeared and was a finalist on the first season of Making the Band, the MTV reality show that led to the formation of boy band O-Town. He released a Christian album called The Heart of Me in 2008

• Colton Berry (born October 11, 1989) is a 20-year-old (18 at the time of the show) from Staunton, Virginia who auditioned in Charleston.

• Garrett Haley (born August 1, 1990) is a 19-year-old (17 at the time of the show) from Elida, Ohio,^[16] who auditioned in San Diego.

• Asia'h Epperson (born August 20, 1988) is a 21-year-old (19 at the time of the show) from Joplin, Missouri who auditioned in Atlanta singing "How Do I Live." Two days before the auditions, her father died in a car accident. Her elimination song was "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" by Whitney Houston. She currently has a few songs of her own on her MySpace page, including a cover of "Can't Buy Me Love". She now lives in Atlanta, GA and is working on her new album.

• Kady Malloy (born May 9, 1989) is a 20-year old (18 at the time of the show) from Houston, Texas who auditioned in Dallas. She became known on the show for her impersonation of Britney Spears and can also impersonate several other artists. Malloy is trained in opera singing. Her elimination song was "Who Wants to Live Forever" by Queen. She has released several songs to her MySpace and shot a video for a cover of "Time After Time" with Colton Berry. Simon's comment after her audition was: "Out of all of the people we have seen during this season you are the best." She was in the trio Whitaker Malloy with Alaina and Brittney Whitaker (Alaina was a fellow Idol contestant). The group had opened at least one show for Travis Tritt.

• Alaina Whitaker (born February 21, 1991) is a 18-year-old (17 at the time of the show) contestant from Tulsa, Oklahoma who auditioned in Dallas. She is a member of the female country group Chasing Dixie along with Andrea Young and Erin James. Before the show, she and her sister won a talent competition in Tulsa, beating one of David Cook's bands, Midwest Kings. Whether or not Cook was in the band at the time is unknown. Her group Chasing Dixie is working on their debut album in Nashville. The group has opened up for numerous major country acts including Travis Tritt, and Keith Anderson, who is also known as the groups Mentor.

• Alexandréa Lushington (born February 13, 1991) is a 18-year-old (17 at the time of the show) from Douglasville, Georgia who auditioned in Atlanta. In 2004, she sang against fellow Idol semi-finalist David Archuleta on an episode of the television show Star Search.^[15]

• Joanne Borgella (born May 29, 1982) is a 27-year-old (25 at the time of the show) model from Hoboken, New Jersey who auditioned in Philadelphia. Before auditioning for Idol, she appeared in and won Mo'Nique's Fat Chance.

• Amy Davis (born June 19, 1982) is a 27-year-old (25 at the time of the show) professional model from Lowell, Indiana. She auditioned in Dallas.

David Cook

David Cook (born December 20, 1982 in Houston, Texas) is a 27-year-old (24 at the time of the auditions and 25 at the time of the show) native of Blue Springs, Missouri who auditioned in Omaha, Nebraska. Cook's interest in music began early in life; he received his first guitar at the age of 2.^[17] Prior to Idol he worked as a bartender at the "Blank Slate" in Tulsa, where he would also occasionally play shows. He released an album entitled Analog Heart. He enjoys doing crossword puzzles in his spare time and calls himself a "word nerd."^[17] On May 21, 2008, he was declared winner over finalist David Archuleta. Since the Top 12 week, he has also been wearing an orange wristband to support a seven-year-old fan with leukemia. He was never in the "bottom three".

David Archuleta

David Archuleta (born December 28, 1990 in Miami, Florida) is a 19-year-old (16 at the time of the auditions and 17 at the time of the show) from Murray, Utah who auditioned in San Diego. In 2003, at the age of 12, he sang on several episodes of the television show Star Search^[15] and went on to win the season finale and the $100,000 grand prize.^[18] On one episode, he competed against Alexandréa Lushington, who was a fellow semi-finalist this season. He was never in the "bottom three".^[15]

Syesha Mercado

Syesha Mercado (born January 2, 1987 in Bridgeport, Connecticut) is a 23-year-old (21 at the time of the show) from Sarasota, Florida who auditioned in Miami. 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 audition, 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 aborted US version of Star Academy (known as The One: Making a Music Star when it aired on ABC in July 2006 for two weeks). Ironically, Kara DioGuardi, who was one of the coaches on the Endemol franchise, joined Idol for Season 8.^[19]

Jason Castro

Jason Castro (born March 25, 1987) is a 23-year-old from (20 at the time of the show) Rockwall, Texas who auditioned in Dallas.^[20] He started in music playing the drums. In high school, he played for a band, Keeping Lions, which has since disbanded.^[21] 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.

Brooke White

Brooke White (born June 2, 1983 in Mesa, Arizona) is a 26-year-old (24 at time of show) nanny from Van Nuys, California who auditioned in Philadelphia. 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.^[22]

Carly Smithson

Carly Smithson (born September 12, 1983 in Dublin, Ireland) is a 26-year-old (24 at the time of that show) 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 also a contestant in season five, but was dropped from the show due to a problem with her visa.

Kristy Lee Cook

Kristy Lee Cook (born January 18, 1984) is a 25-year-old (24 at the time of that show) horse trainer from Selma, Oregon who sold her prized horse in order to afford the trip to audition in Philadelphia. In 2001, she was signed to a major label, Arista Nashville.^[15][23] Cook also signed with Britney Spears' production company, and Spears herself was supposed to have a cameo in Cook's first video.^[15][23] At the time of signing, she was managed by the former manager of LeAnn Rimes.^[15][23] In 2005, she released a CD called Devoted with Ren-Hen Records.^[24] Since appearing on the show, Kristy Lee Cook has released an album entitled "Why Wait", which peaked on #8 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.^[25]

Michael Johns

Michael Johns (born as Michael Lee on October 20, 1978 in Perth, Western Australia) is a 31-year-old (29 at the time of that show) Australian rock/soul singer/songwriter. He 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.^[26] Before focusing on his singing career, he was a sportsman, winning a tennis scholarship^[27] and playing Australian rules football for the USAFL club Atlanta Kookaburras.^[28][29]

Ramiele Malubay

Ramiele Malubay (born September 6, 1987 in Saudi Arabia^[30]) is a 22-year-old (20 at the time of that show) Filipino-American from Miramar, Florida who auditioned in Miami. She was raised in the Philippines. 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.^[31].

Chikezie

Chikezie (born Chikezie Eze on September 11, 1985 in Inglewood, California) is a 24-year-old (22 at the time of that show) Nigerian American from Inglewood, California who auditioned in San Diego. During the competition, he dropped using his last name because it was so frequently mispronounced ('eh-zee' and not 'EE-zee').^[32] 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

Amanda Overmyer (born October 26, 1984) is a 25-year-old (23 at the time of that show) Harley-riding nurse from Mulberry, Indiana who auditioned in Atlanta. 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. Before Hollywood week, she was in a near-fatal car accident. She is engaged to Casey Taylor. Since her elimination, she has been slated to play at The Whisky a Go Go bar in West Hollywood, and is also reportedly in talks to play her real-life musical influence Janis Joplin in a film about the aforementioned bar. 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

David Hernandez (born May 31, 1983 in Glendale, Arizona) is a 26-year-old (24 at the time of that show) from Glendale, Arizona and 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.^[33] This did not prevent him from being on the show.^[34][35]