The third season of American Idol premiered on Monday, January 19, 2004, and continued until May 26, 2004. The third season was won by Fantasia Barrino, who defeated Diana DeGarmo by an approximate margin of 2% (1.3 million votes); the vote total (65 million votes) was then the highest recorded vote total in the show's history. This season also featured future EGOT winner Jennifer Hudson, who finished seventh in the competition.

Both Fantasia and Diana DeGarmo released a single after the finale. Fantasia's first single, released in June 2004 on the RCA record label, entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number one, making Fantasia the first artist in the history of Billboard to debut at number one with their first single. In addition to Fantasia and Diana DeGarmo, Jasmine Trias, LaToya London, George Huff, Jennifer Hudson, and Camile Velasco all released albums since the season ended. This is also, to date, the only season in the show's history to produce multiple Grammy Award winners, courtesy of Fantasia (in 2011) and Hudson (in 2009 and 2017), as well as produce an Academy Award and Tony Award winner, courtesy of Hudson (in 2007 and 2022, respectively).

Unlike previous seasons, the semifinalists this season performed in front of a small studio audience with orchestral accompaniment on a backing tape. This was also the first season to feature two guest judges in one week: the duo Ashford & Simpson appeared during the top 10 week.

Auditions were held in the summer of 2003 in the following cities:^[1]

In this season, over 80,000 attended the auditions in 6 cities. A prominent audition was William Hung, a University of California, Berkeley student, who became a surprise cult figure following his tuneless rendition of Ricky Martin's "She Bangs" at the San Francisco audition.^[9] He was later invited back to perform on a special edition "Uncut, Uncensored and Untalented." His appearance on the show landed him a record deal with Koch Records and he released an album soon afterwards.^[10]

There were 117 contestants in the first Hollywood round which was held at the Pasadena Civic Center in Pasadena, California. The contestants first came onto the stage in groups, but each performed solo. They were also asked to write original lyrics and melody for one of ten song titles given and perform their song the next day. After their performances, they were divided into four groups and one group was eliminated.

In the next round, the remaining 87 contestants performed in groups in three. The men and the ladies were separate and they were each given three different songs to choose: the ladies had The Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love," Vonda Shepard's "Tell Him," or Candi Staton's "Young Hearts Run Free"; the men had Billy Joel's "Tell Her About It," Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up," or The Drifters's "Up on the Roof." 30 contestants were cut and 57 then advanced to the next stage where they performed solo. The contestants were then divided into three groups and placed in separate rooms, with one group sent home. 32 contestants remained for the semifinals.

George Huff replaced Donnie Williams after the latter was disqualified, following a DUI arrest.^[11]

Unlike previous seasons, the contestants this season performed in front of a small studio audience with orchestral accompaniment on a backing tape. As with the second season, two performers from each group were selected by public vote to proceed on to the top 12, and those who failed at any of the previous stages were given a second chance in the Wild Card round.

During the Wild Card round, twelve contestants were invited back to participate. However, after being evaluated during the week in rehearsals, only eight were chosen by the judges to perform that night. One performer was chosen by public vote, and one performer was chosen by each of the three judges.

Four contestants in the wildcard round were eliminated by the judges before they had the chance to sing: Lisa Leuschner, Eric Yoder, Tiara Purifoy, and Marque Lynche.

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Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

• Fantasia Barrino (born June 30, 1984, in High Point, North Carolina; 19 years old at the time of the show) auditioned in Atlanta with Lauryn Hill's "Killing Me Softly with His Song" and Tina Turner's "Proud Mary." She performed Aretha Franklin's "Think" in Hollywood.
• Diana DeGarmo (born June 16, 1987, in Birmingham, Alabama; 16 years old at the time of the show) was from Snellville, Georgia, and auditioned in Honolulu with Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools." She performed Ike & Tina Turner's "A Fool in Love" in Hollywood.
• Jasmine Trias (born November 3, 1986, in Honolulu, Hawaii; 17 years old at the time of the show) was from Mililani, Hawaii, and auditioned in Honolulu.
• LaToya London (born December 29, 1978, in San Francisco, California; 25 years old at the time of the show) was from Oakland, California, and auditioned in San Francisco with Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools."
• George Huff (born November 4, 1980, in New Orleans, Louisiana; 23 years old at the time of the show) auditioned in Houston with Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful." He performed Luther Vandross' "Here and Now" in Hollywood.
• John Stevens (born July 28, 1987, in Buffalo, New York; 16 years old at the time of the show) was from East Amherst, New York, and auditioned in New York City with Fred Astaire's "The Way You Look Tonight." He performed Tony Bennett's "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" in Hollywood.
• Jennifer Hudson (born September 12, 1981, in Chicago, Illinois; 22 years old at the time of the show) auditioned in Atlanta with Aretha Franklin's "Share Your Love with Me."
• Jon Peter Lewis (born November 7, 1979, in Lincoln, Nebraska; 24 years old at the time of the show) was from Rexburg, Idaho, and auditioned in Honolulu with Van Morrison's "Crazy Love." He performed The Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" in Hollywood.
• Camile Velasco (born September 1, 1985, in Makati, Philippines; 18 years old at the time of the show) was from Haiku, Hawaii, and auditioned in Honolulu with Fugees' "Ready or Not."
• Amy Adams (born July 25, 1979, in Kansas City, Kansas; 24 years old at the time of the show) was from Bakersfield, California, and auditioned in Atlanta with Fontella Bass' "Rescue Me." She performed Jennifer Rush's "The Power of Love" in Hollywood.
• Matthew Rogers (born September 16, 1978, in Rancho Cucamonga, California; 25 years old at the time of the show) auditioned in Los Angeles with James Ingram's "Just Once."
• Leah LaBelle (born September 8, 1986, in Toronto, Canada; 17 years old at the time of the show) was from Seattle, Washington, and auditioned in New York with Whitney Houston's "I Believe in You and Me." She performed Diana Ross' "Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" in Hollywood.

This season, guests were introduced as celebrity judges and often also served as mentors for the week they appeared.

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Both Jennifer Hudson and LaToya London, part of final twelve, were eliminated, despite high praises from the judges. After Hudson was eliminated, Elton John, who was a mentor for that season, criticized the vote as "incredibly racist" in a press conference.^[15]

The elimination of both Hudson and London has been pointed out as a classic demonstration of vote-splitting in American Idol, in which the presence of similar choices reduces the votes for each of the similar choices. Hudson, London, and Barrino (who would eventually go on to win the competition) were all female, African-American, highly praised singers — all appealing to the same demographic bloc of voters. All three of these previously popular singers ended up in the "bottom three" the night Hudson was eliminated, having the lowest individual vote counts.^[16]

• Home for the Holidays: Kelly, Ruben, & Fantasia

Home for the Holidays: Kelly, Ruben & Fantasia aired in November 2004.

• American Idol Rewind (season 3)

Re-edited episodes of the third season were shown in syndication as American Idol Rewind.

• American Idol Season 3: Greatest Soul Classics

• American Idols Live! Tour 2004