7 News Features: Idol winners and losers

WSVN -- Ryan Seacrest: "The next American Idol is ..."

The pause, an eternity. The moment, tremendous. But fame can be fleeting.

Seven seasons, six winners, millions of adoring fans. Each idol an instant household name, though not necessarily forever.

Carrie Underwood: "I'm a very realistic person, and I know that at some point, all this has to stop. At some point, a song that I put out is not going to go to number one. At some point I'm going to put out an album that is going to be considered a flop."

Far from flopping, season four champ Carrie Underwood has won four American Music Awards, two Grammys, and is up for more this year. Season one's Kelly Clarkson has also won dozens of awards and is still putting out top-selling albums. Other Idol winners were not so lucky.

Season two Idol Ruben Studdard is busy these days putting a positive spin on getting axed by his record label.

Ruben Studdard: "The funny thing about being dropped, I guess is funny, is I wasn't dropped."

Uh, sure. Keep spinning, Ruben. Meanwhile, season five winner Taylor Hicks and runner up Katharine McPhee, along with season four runner up Bo Bice, have all been dumped by their labels, joining Ruben on stardom's sidelines.

Bo Bice: "It's the equivalent of almost being a free agent in the sports industry."

Idol judge Randy Jackson says he's not surprised by any of it. Idol gets you in the game, but he says it's up to the contestant to make the right music.

Randy Jackson: "We don't make the records, we only build the stars, and they have to make great records."

South Florida singing sensation Jon Secada agrees.

Jon Secada: "Needless to say it's a tough business. It's getting tougher, you know, the industry's changing, the technology's changing. The way that we listen to, buy and appreciate music is changing, so we'll see what happens in the future."

Record producer Emilio Estefan says producers almost have to have a sixth sense about who can sell records.

Emilio Estefan: "As a producer I can tell you, people in the music business, we know right away, right away you know when someone has the chops."

But a big voice doesn't always bring in the big bucks.

Emilio Estefan: "You can have a great voice, you can win American Idol. That doesn't mean you are going to be a superstar worldwide."

But losing idol doesn't mean you're done either. Chris Daughtry has proven that. The season five rocker is a mega-watt star, despite finishing fourth.

Elliott Yamin finished third in season five. His song "Wait for You" topped the charts last year. But, one thing about those idol hopefuls, they keep on trying. Clay Aiken, Diana Degarmo, Paris Bennett, Katherine McPhee, pick an idol, even Ruben, they're still putting out CDs.

Ruben Studdard: "It's not about having a hit single every time. It's how long can you stay in this business and sustain yourself and continue to make music people enjoy, and that's what I want to do."

Keep rockin', Ruben.