TVSquad

The premiere of American Idol's new season is tonight; can you stand it? Last year brought us a format change with the addition of instruments; this year, we have a new judge. Controversy has been following Kara DioGuardi since she was named AI's fourth judge. Is she taking Paula's place? Are there catfights? Will she screw up the balance of the show?

To help drum up enthusiasm about the new season and ostensibly to answer some of these questions, FOX set up a conference call with Kara. Unsurprisingly, she stayed as far away from minefields as humanly possible, instead gushing about how wonderful everyone on the show is and how well they all get along, and blah blah blah, puppies and rainbows. Luckily, she also chatted about what she thinks of the newest crop of contestants as well as past Idols.

Here are seven people who used their reality TV notoriety to their advantage. They have found success in other TV genres, film, or entrepreneurial pursuits. Some just found more fame in the genre that put them on thee map.

7. Colleen Haskell (Survivor): Colleen was in the first season of Survivor (Borneo) and while she didn't outwit, outplay and outlast the other cast members, she did make a good run of her fifteen minutes. She finished sixth in her season but was such a genuine and fair player that when her torch was extinguished Richard Hatch called her a "wonderful person." Using her American-apple-pie-pretty-girl-next-door appearance and attitude, she parlayed her reality TV fame into more roles in both television and film. She did a Blistex commercial and had a guest spot on That 70's Show. Most notably, however, she starred alongside Rob Schneider in The Animal (2001). Pretty good for a Catholic school girl from a small town in Maryland.

The original American Idol, Kelly Clarkson, kicks off her summer tour on July 7, 2007, at the Live Earth Show at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Kelly will be promoting her third album, "My December," which is slated for a summer release by RCA records.

Kelly said, "I love recording in the studio, it's fun, but my favorite part by far is being out on the road, because there's no B.S. It's just me and my band. No one is in your ear about something stupid you don't care about. It's just you and your fans and having a good time. I can't wait."

Kelly will be singing songs from her new album, such as, "Never Again," and "Sober," as well as hits from her previous albums, "Thankful" and "Breakaway". The tour will take Kelly to 35 cities across the United States and Canada. For a complete list of tour dates, go to Kelly's website. Tickets go on sale May 12.

Is it wrong that, as a 30-year old woman, I am actually considering going to a Kelly Clarkson concert? Clarkson, my personal favorite American Idol contestant/winner, is hitting the road this summer. She launches a 24-city concert tour, called Addicted, on June 30th. The tour kicks off in West Palm Beach, Florida and wraps up in August in my backyard, Seattle. Clarkson will perform her songs from her Grammy-winning album, Breakaway, and will preview songs from her upcoming album, which should be released in late 2006 or early 2007. Her tour dates are listed on her official website.

What a night for Kelly Clarkson! She cried when she beat out Gwen Stefani, Sheryl Crow, Mariah Carey, and Bonnie Raitt for best female pop performance for her very awesome Since U Been Gone rock hit. Less than an hour later, she nearly broke down as she sang Because of You. Later in the night, Kelly won her second grammy for best pop vocal album for Breakaway, an album that was very close to her heart. She wrote or co-wrote half the songs on the album and divorced her management company over control of the album. Neither of her acceptance speeches mentioned her win on American Idol. That's a tough call. She obviously wouldn't be where she is if it weren't for Idol, but at the same time, she legitimized herself as a true talent this year when she distanced herself from the competition.

Other winners:

Kelly Clarkson just solidified her standing as my favorite American Idol (sorry Bo, you're #2). She has managed to escape from the strangle-hold that American Idol has on most of its contestants' careers. In an article that comes out in today's Time magazine, Kelly says she didn't want to make From Justin to Kelly with runner-up Justin Guarini but she was contractually obligated. I never saw it, because it looked like some terrible version of Beach Blanket Bingo and it only got 8% on Rotten Tomatoes. She said, "I knew when I read the script it was going to be real, real bad...I could not get out of it." Kelly eventually did get out of her contract with 19 Entertainment, the studio that manages all the American Idol winners, when folks in charge wouldn't allow her to write any songs for her new album, Breakaway. She ended up writing or co-writing six of twelve tracks and now is managed by a new company. Just call her Miss Independent.

By the way, Kelly is scheduled to perform on the Grammy Awards this Wednesday. She is nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album. Knowing that her personal stamp is on that album, I'm definitely rooting for her!