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'Idol' Champs vs. Runners-Up: Who's the Bigger Winner?

As season 11 of American Idol kicks off, see which previous winners have been eclipsed by those who came in second (11 Photos)

Ali Gray on Jan 14, 2010 at 6:00AM

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'Idol' Champs vs. Runners-Up: Who's the Bigger Winner?

Ray Mickshaw/WireImage; Kevin Winter/Getty

Season 4: Carrie Underwood and Bo Bice

Winner: Carrie Underwood
Winning her season catapulted the Oklahoman from country girl to country music royalty, and her 2005 debut album, Some Hearts, went seven-times platinum. Since Idol, Underwood has sold more than 12 million albums worldwide and won seven Grammys. In fact, she's up for one more at this year's ceremony, and you can bet her hubby, NHL player Mike Fisher, will be among the devoted fans cheering her on.

Runner-Up: Bo Bice
Bice's first album, The Real Thing, debuted at No. 4 on the charts in 2005, but his star has been on the decline ever since. The Alabama native has been lucky in love -- marrying longtime girlfriend Caroline Fisher and becoming a two-time dad. But he's been less fortunate in the music industry since Idol first made him (and his long hair) famous: His second album sold less than 65,000 copies.

Will the real season 4 Idol please stand up?
Carrie Underwood's star power blows Bice away.