Does Adam Lambert Really Want to Win American Idol?

Simon Cowell paid a visit to The Oprah Show today, where he stated firmly that Adam Lambert will win American Idol.   That should not come as big news to anyone who has been following this year’s edition of the popular singing contest.

Predictions are all well and fine, but what about the other two contestants still in the running for the trophy?   All three are wildly talented singers with huge followings and gobs of support from American audiences. Should they just quit? Maybe…

Now if history is any indication, Lambert may be the one better off not winning.   Take a look at past contestants, winners and losers.   You may be surprised who has gone on to win awards:

Kelly Clarkson (Season 1, Winner) has won 4 AMA Awards, 12 Billboards Awards and 2 Grammys

Clay Aiken (Season 2, *Runner-Up) has won 1 AMA award, 3 Billboard Awards

Fantasia Barrino (Season 3, Winner) has won 3 Billboard Awards

Jennifer Hudson (Season 3, *7th Place) has won 1 Grammy and 1 Academy Award

Carrie Underwood (Season 4, Winner) has won 5 AMA Awards, 14 Billboards Awards, 4 Grammys

Chris Daughtry (Season 5, *4th Place) has won 4 AMA Awards and 6 Billboard Awards

Jordin Sparks (Season 6, Winner) has won 1 AMA Award

3 of 7 of these award winners did not win American Idol!

So you don’t really have to win American Idol to win the hearts of Americans.   Matter of fact, some say, it’s better if you lose!   The theory is, winning AI puts a stress test on your career going forward, where if you lose (if you could really “lose” as a finalist) then you have less expectation, thus less stress to perform going forward.

In Adam Lambert’s case, Losing may be the best thing that ever happened to him, with his edgy, bad boy persona.   Will winning AI really help his image?

What do you think?