Clay Aiken Calls Out Current American Idol Judges for Being Too Nice
American Idol season two finalist Clay Aiken exclusively spoke to E! News about how the show has evolved into a gentler judging strategy.
That’s a no from Clay Aiken, dawg.
The American Idol season two finalist, who lost to Ruben Studdard in 2003, shared his candid thoughts on the show’s approach to judging compared to the criticism he and his fellow competitors got from original panelists Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, and Paula Abdul.
“They don’t even give them anything constructive,” Aiken exclusively told E! News of the newest generation of Idol judges. “It’s just like, ‘That was great. That was wonderful.’ Well, what are you there for then?”
The most recent set of judges on the music competition show included Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie, who have been at the helm since the show was revived on ABC network in 2023.
However, Perry stepped away from the show after the most recent 22nd season, with season four winner Carrie Underwood set to be the first alum to permanently join the judging panel in season 23. For her part, the “Blown Away” singer has previously expressed her hopes to be “honest and constructive but still kind.”
As Aiken sees it, for now, due to the feedback the judges currently give, the show could cut their comments entirely to save on airtime.
“I mean we could save so much time,” he quipped, “And we could sell like 50 more ads if we just cut out the three minutes after every performance where we listen to three people say, ‘That was wonderful. You are a star.’”
The “Invisible” singer, who is releasing his first Christmas album in more than a decade on Nov. 22, added that he is passionate about accurate critiques because he felt they helped him in his own Idol journey.
“I grew from the criticisms—many of them not all of them,” he shared. “I grew from the critiques that we got when I was on the show. And I think that the show was at its best when it did help people get better. I tried to improve every week because of what I was told.”
He added, “I don’t think we do anyone a service when we just tell them that they’re great, and don’t tell them what they could do better at.”
Aiken’s reflection on his experience with constructive criticism on American Idol comes as he embarks on his return to music with Christmas Bells Are Ringing. After taking time away from the music world to help raise his 16-year-old son Parker and to try out a political career, including a run for Congress, he was more than ready to get back into the studio.
“I realized that I could do more to improve people’s lives by singing than I ever was going to be able to do in in the political world,” he told E! “Going into something that I think has the potential to make people happier, Christmas made sense, right? Because I’m cheesy already as a person.”
As he put it, “Christmas just matches me real well but also because the whole goal of this return was to be able to do something more positive. And what’s more joyful than the holidays?”
For more about where some of your Idol favorites are today, read on.
The mom of River and Remy has come a long way since experiencing a moment like this on the inaugural season of American Idol in 2002. The New York resident has collected three Grammys and counting (with her latest disc, Chemistry, up for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2024 Grammys), notched three No. 1 hits, starred on NBC’s The Voice as a judge and is now hosting her own award-winning daytime talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show.
The season two runner-up made two big reveals in September 2008—annoucing that the birth of his son Parker (with his close friend, music producer Jaymes Foster) inspired him to come out. “I can’t raise a kid and teach him how to lie, teach him to hide things,” he reasoned on Good Morning America. “And at the same time, I also don’t ever want to raise him in an environment where it’s not OK for him to be exactly who he is, no matter what.”
Since then, the famous red-head switched from music to politics, even making a run for Congress in 2016. After losing in the election, the singer released a documentary about his journey. But he hasn’t totally left music in the rearview, announcing his plans to tour with season two champ Ruben Studdard in 2024.
After winning season two of Idol, Ruben went on to score a Grammy nomination and released a handful of successful albums. Then, in 2013, the singer starred as one of the contestants on The Biggest Loser and quickly became a fan-favorite. He was eliminated twice, but took away valuable lessons from the show.
And while he and Clay remain tight, he found his forever partner in wife Kristin, who welcomed their second child in 2024.
Truth is, the season three champion is grateful for every step of her journey. “We go through things, you fall, you get back up,” she shared with E! News in December. And though she’s weathered some tough moments, “For me, losing everything twice, having to fight to get back here, it feels good.”
Her latest high notes include welcoming daughter Keziah with husband Kendall Taylor in 2021 and receiving a Golden Globe nod for The Color Purple remake. Said the North Carolina native, also mom to 22-year-old daughter Zion, “I want to enjoy this and know that I worked hard to get here.”
She may not have won season three, but we are telling you the musician made up for it: First an Oscar for 2006’s Dreamgirls, then a Grammy for her performance The Color Purple musical adaption in 2017, plus a stint as a judge on The Voice. The latest project for the mom to David, 14: Her own eponymous talk show.
From the moment she stepped onto the Idol stage, Underwood cemented her place in pop culture. Sure enough, not only did she win season four, but she’s also gone on to become country music’s reigning princess.
She went on to co-host the CMA Awards for more than 10 years with fellow artist, Brad Paisley. And between balancing her music career with her hosting duties, the “Jesus Take The Wheel Singer” is a mom to her two sons with retired NHL center Mike Fisher.
The season four runner-up is now married with three boys and a girl. Despite suffering serious health problems in 2006, the Southern rocker has released three hit albums since his stint on Idol.
Constantine Maroulis
With his big hair and even bigger voice (who can forget his rousing rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody” during season four?), Constantine was a perfect fit for Broadway’s Rock of Ages, for which he earned a Tony nom.
Currently touring with his single “Comeback,” the dad to 13-year-old Malena is also starring in Broadway’s Rock & Roll Man.
After his season-five victory, the silver fox’s eponymous album went platinum and he starred in a Broadway production of Grease. In more recent years, he has made the switch from music to TV as a host of a show called State-Plate, which focuses on the premise of farm-to-table eating. Though he remains committed to his first love, with a slate of tour dates set for January 2024.
Long before Bieber fever, there was McPheever, which has helped Katharine land both singing and acting work, most notably in the Broadway-inspired show Smash and the drama Scorpion.
Wed to David Foster since 2019, she is now mom to musically-inclined son Rennie. “I would love for him to follow in his dad’s footsteps and just be really well-versed in all different types of musical instruments,” Katharine told E! News. “Obviously, he’s 2-and-a-half. We’re not pushing him. We’re just letting him do his thing. But, I would love for him to have a working understanding of all instruments a lot like his dad. I think he’s on his way—that’s for sure.”
Elliott Yamin
After American Idol, the season five finalist, who had a hit with the song “Wait for You,” went to Angola where he worked alongside former Idol judge Kara DioGuardi to raise awareness for Malaria No More. Elliott also made news in 2010 after experiencing Chile’s earthquake and living to tweet about it.
Still making music, he shares daughter Camilla, 3, with Karen Cruz.
While the country music singer finished sixth on the fifth season of American Idol, she has starred in Hallmark’s Christmas in Graceland and earned three Daytime Emmy nods for her TV show Pickler & Ben.
Following husband Kyle Jacobs‘ death by suicide in February 2023, she’s been reflecting on their years together. “One of the most beautiful lessons my husband taught me was in a moment of a crisis, if you don’t know what to do, ‘do nothing, just be still,'” Pickler told People in an interview published this past August. “I have chosen to heed his advice.”
As the youngest ever winner, the season six champ set off some serious, well, sparks in 2007. Her Battlefield tour took her to 35 cities around the U.S., and (if that wasn’t enough), she made her Broadway debut in 2010, starring in the musical In the Heights. Her success and good fortune has continued, with the star giving birth to her first son with husband Dana Isaiah in May of 2018.
In the years since, she made an emotional return to Idol and competed on the 31st season of Dancing With the Stars.
The season seven winner’s big hit “Time of My Life” may reflect his singing success, but the title could just as easily apply to his endeavors offstage. David visited Ethiopia in 2010 on behalf of the United Nations’ efforts to empower women in that country. He also ran in the Race for Hope in D.C. to raise money for brain cancer research in honor of his brother Adam, who lost his fight with the disease in 2009.
Married to Racheal Stump since 2015, the still-touring musician released his latest single “TABOS” in 2022.
After finishing in second place to his fellow David on season seven, the singer embarked on a two-year mission for the Church of the Latter Day Saint’s in Chile. Since his return in 2014 he has continued performing.
He came out as member of the LGBTQ+ community in June 2021. “It’s been a beautiful journey learning to accept myself,” he shared on Instagram in October, “and I hope just by living my life now I can encourage many of you out there to do the same.”
Nearly eclipsed in the media spotlight by his runner-up, Adam Lambert, the season eight champ has enjoyed quiet success with his self-titled second album. Released in November 2009, it debuted at no. 11 on the Billboard 200, and one of its singles, “I Need to Know,” was featured on an episode of The Vampire Diaries.
In the meantime, the star has been growing his family, having welcomed three children with his high school sweetheart Katy O’Connell.
If publicity were a prize, the eighth season’s controversial runner-up is a grand-slam winner. Since his time on the reality show, he’s released several albums, headlined tours, received countless nominations (including a Grammy nod), followed in Freddie Mercury‘s footsteps touring as the frontman for Queen and has even starred in Fox’s remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Not to forget that he briefly filled in as a guest judge on Idol. The singer also helped open up the 2019 Oscars with a performance of “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions.”
After season 8 of American Idol, Gokey got married to his now-wife Leyicet Peralta in 2012, and the pair have four children together.
As a three-time Grammy nominee, he released a Christian music album titled Jesus People in 2021. He also has an eyewear brand named Danny Gokey Eyewear.
Lee DeWyze
After joining the top 10 finalists’ summer tour in 2010, the season nine winner launched his solo music career. Lee also married model-actress Jonna Walsh in 2012 after they met on the set of his first music video following Idol. Nowadays, the star is a well-established singer-songwriter, with his tracks making it onto shows like The Walking Dead.
Crystal Bowersox
Runner-up to Lee DeWyze in season nine, the Janis Joplin-esque rocker married musician Brian Walker and released her first album, Farmer’s Daughter, in December 2010. She lost her label deal when RCA disbanded Arista, J Records and Jive Records, but she made her acting debut on the second season of ABC’s Body of Proof.
In May 2013, the singer split from her husband. After her divorce she told The Boot that her second album All That For This was “the next chapter of my life.”
The mom of two has since released 2017’s Alive and 2022’s HitchHiker.
Scotty McCreery
The season 10 winner was the first Idol champ since Ruben to have his first album, Clear as Day, debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. He was named New Artist of the Year at the 2011 American Country Awards and sang the national anthem before Game 1 of the World Series that same year. In June 2018, the “This Is It” and “Five More Minutes” singer married longtime girlfriend Gabi Dugal. They welcomed son Avery in October 2022.
The country darling finished second to Scotty, but she got her record deal and released her studio debut, Wildflower, in October 2011. Following her time on Idol, the singer presented with Scotty at the 2011 CMT Music Awards, made her Grand Ole Opry debut and even performed with Martina McBride at the CMA Music Festival.
In 2017, she got her first nod from the CMAs when she was nominated for Best New Artist following her success with her album, Road Less Traveled. She even made her move to the big screen when she starred in a film of the same name.
The “Thicc As Thieves” singer revealed her engagement to Cam Arnold while performing at the Grand Ole Opry in November 2022.
The season 10 contestant only finished sixth—and that was partly because the judges used their one save of the season five weeks beforehand—but he was a cult fave. He performed on the Idols Live tour, cut a cover of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” with fellow finalist (and rumored flame) Haley Reinhart, and ultimately signed with jazz label Concord.
His self-titled debut album was released in 2012, and was followed by 2018’s I Put A Spell On You and 2019’s Jazz.
Sure, he was cut before the live voting rounds in season 10, but Allen has since released two consecutive No. 1 hits with 2018’s “Best Shot” and “Make Me Want To” and won the 2021 Country Music Association Award for New Artist of the Year.
In April 2023, he and wife Alexis Allen announced that they were expecting their third child and ending their two-year marriage. Nearly a month later, Jimmie was accused of sexual assault and abuse by his former manager in a lawsuit. Though the musician admitted to being unfaithful, publicly apologizing to Alexis “for humiliating her with my affair,” he denied the sexual misconduct allegations and said the relationship with his former manager was a “consensual” one.
Shortly after welcoming son Cohen Ace James in September, the couple revealed they were trying to repair their union.
After his season 11 win, the musician rose to the top of the charts with his hit single, “Home,” which also served as a theme song for NBC’s coverage of the 2012 Summer Olympics. He released his latest album, Drift Back this past June.
In 2015, he married his girlfriend, Hannah Blackwell, in a small ceremony while surrounded by his family and friends. Four years later, they welcomed their first child together, a son named Patch.
Maddie Poppe
“There is a lot of different sounding songs on the album,” the season 16 winner teased to E! News ahead of releasing the appropriately named Whirlwind in 2019, a year after her Idol victory. “I can’t pick just one [sound] to stick with because I really love them all so much and it’s hard to stay in one vein.”
Her latest single, 2023’s “SOS I’m In Love” has a strong POV, though. Because she is, by the way, revealing her romance with musician Gabe Burdulis after her split from season 16 runner-up Caleb Lee Hutchinson.
Caleb Lee Hutchinson
Since becoming the runner-up of season 16, the singer has focused on releasing new music and enjoying life’s opportunities that come with appearing on the ABC series.
“I’ve always loved music and I’ve always wanted to be an artist,” Caleb Lee shared with E! News. “But I learned so much about entertainment. I got to go to Luke Bryan‘s last show for his tour and I got to come out and sing a song with him.” He released his latest disc, Southern Galactic in November.
After coming in third on season 16 of Idol, the “I Hope” country singer focused on finishing her album. “I’m excited to play Stagecoach. And touring with Brad Paisley is the cherry on top to everything,” she told E! News. “It’s crazy to go on tour with him.”
Nearly two years after she and fellow alum Cade Foehner welcomed their first baby together, daughter Baylah, they added son Augustine to the mix in October 2022. This past August, she revealed she was expecting their third child.
