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'American' Gladiators

Brace yourself for the ultimate American Idol elimination round. Within the next few months, seven former contestants will release albums — two of them on the same day. Before you check the sky for locusts, you might recall that a similar shower of Idols occurred in the fall of 2004, when Kelly Clarkson, Diana DeGarmo, Fantasia, Ruben Studdard, and Clay Aiken all dropped discs. The champ? Clarkson's Breakaway — with 5 million copies sold, she silenced Aiken's Christmas album (1.2 million) and Fantasia's debut (1.7 million), while annihilating releases from Studdard (437,000) and DeGarmo (164,000). Fantasia, Studdard, and Aiken return for the latest bout, facing season 5's Taylor Hicks, Katharine McPhee, Chris Daughtry, and Kellie Pickler. How will America vote? We'll find out...after the page jump.