'Idol': We Grade 10 Alums' Careers So Far

The winner of Idol's first season.
How She's Done: Solid (2003's Thankful), then massive (2004's Breakaway), then a decline (2007's very dark My December), before landing somewhere in the middle (2009's All I Ever Wanted). She's sold more singles than any other contestant.
What's Next: The Grammy winner's fifth album is expected this year.
Career Grade: A

One of the best-known former Idol contestants, despite a seventh-place finish in season 3.
How She's Done: She's the only Idol with both an Oscar (for 2006's Dreamgirls) and a Grammy. Her 2008 self-titled debut sold 700,000 copies — decent, but given her high profile that number could be larger.
What's Next: She'll star in a buzzy biopic about Winnie Mandela. Her second album, I Remember Me, hits March 22.
Career Grade: B+

Maroulis finished sixth in season 4.
How He's Done: The solo music thing didn't go so well, with a dismal 25,000 in sales for his post-Idol debut. But Maroulis has found success as the star of hit Broadway musical Rock of Ages, which scored him a Tony nod.
What's Next: Maroulis plans to tour with Ages through at least August.
Career Grade: B

The season 4 winner is Idol's only country-music champ.
How She's Done: In terms of album sales, Underwood is the most successful Idol alum ever. Her three CDs have gone platinum a total of 11 times.
What's Next: She's got a small role in the inspirational movie Soul Surfer (due out April 8). Music-wise, nothing specific is planned, but she has been doing some work in the recording studio that could eventually show up on her still-unscheduled next album.
Career Grade: A

The rocker may have finished fourth in season 5, but if you go by album sales, he's the third most successful Idol contender.
How He's Done: His band's 2006 effort, Daughtry, went four times platinum, while the follow-up, 2009's Leave This Town, has sold 1.2 million copies and remains on the charts.
What's Next: The group is working on (surprise!) another album, but Daughtry tweeted in mid-January that ''there's no timeline'' for completing it.
Career Grade: A-

The soulful season 6 standout ended up in third place.
How She's Done: Doolittle hasn't had anything like the recognition that her talent deserves. Her so-so 2009 album, Coming Back to You, moved just 53,000 copies, and a 2010 book flopped too.
What's Next: Another studio album, plus she's voicing the character of Cassie Cassava on an upcoming Veggie Tales DVD.
Career Grade: D

Sparks, who bested Blake Lewis for the season 6 crown, remains Idol's youngest winner.
How She's Done: Sparks has had triumphs (a handful of hits, including 2008 smash ''No Air''; a platinum certification for her first album; a starring role in Broadway's recently closed In the Heights) but she's never truly managed to break through.
What's Next: She's currently working with John Legend, who's producing tunes that could be released later this year.
Career Grade: B-

The ''Time of My Life'' rocker took David Archuleta down for the season 7 crown.
How He's Done: Cook's self-titled 2008 album has sold an impressive 1.3 million copies.
What's Next: The singer has almost completed a second, still-untitled CD, which is scheduled for release in either April or May.
Career Grade: B+

The earthy singer-songwriter finished fifth in season 7.
How She's Done: White's music career hasn't happened (2009's High Hopes & Heartbreak sold only 55,000 copies) so she's exploring acting, recently starring in Change of Plans, a made-for-TV movie on Fox that featured three of her songs.
What's Next: White is working on a new album and looking for more acting gigs.
Career Grade: C

Season 8's envelope-pushing runner-up.
How He's Done: Lambert recently scored a Grammy nomination for ''Whataya Want From Me,'' and his 2009 album, For Your Entertainment, has sold 787,000 copies.
What's Next: Another album, of course. He'll head back into the studio this spring, and the finished product could be out by the end of the year.
Career Grade: B