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The groundbreaking singing competition has ended, but these diva fits are hard to forget.
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The original judges,
Randy Jackson,
Paula Abdul and
Simon Cowell, expertly critiqued the contestants while verbally sparring with one another.
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Before she became the best-selling
American Idol artist ever,
Carrie Underwood was a nervous country crooner who against all odds, won season four.
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Their sound, look and size couldn't have been more different, but they quickly became BFFs, and Reuben Studdard beat Clay Aiken and his throngs of Claymates for the season two crown.
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The acerbically honest judge, Simon, left in 2010 after season nine to jump to The X Factor. American Idol was never the same in relevance or ratings, and The X Factor was canceled after three middling seasons.
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There were two divas too many as
Mariah Carey and
Nicki Minaj had explosive screaming matches while they were on the season 12 judges' panel, culminating in Nicki storming off the set and yelling, "If I had a gun, I would shoot the b*tch!"
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In the current season, after contestant
Quentin Alexander sang, he called the competition "wack," prompting judge
Harry Connick Jr. to tell him to go home if he didn't like it and calling his comments disrespectful.
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Season one came down to the wire as
Kelly Clarkson barely beat
Justin Guarini. Despite their costarring roles in the cheesy
From Justin to Kelly movie, she became the show's biggest success story, while he plays Lil' Sweet in Dr. Pepper ads.
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Paula's odd comments were practically her signature, but she went off the rails when criticizing Jason Castro for a song he hadn't sung yet in season seven, which caused the audience to audibly snicker.
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The sniping between Simon and
Ryan Seacrest reached a head in season six when Simon called Ryan "sweetheart," clearly annoying Ryan, who tersely replied, "Don't call me sweetheart."
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In season three, future Oscar winner
Jennifer Hudson got the boot early, coming in eighth and shocking fans who thought she was a shoo-in for the finals.
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No bad audition was worse or more endearing than William Hung's tone-deaf rendition of "She Bangs" in season three, which made him an instant pop-culture phenomenon.
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Despite a weak voice, Sanjaya Malakar and his wild hairdos almost stole season six, thanks to a concerted effort to sabotage the vote by American Idol haters.
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