What do American Idol contestants do when they’re not on the show?
They are still very busy.
Season 2 winner Ruben Studdard recalled how packed his schedule was with song selection, preparation, vocal coaching, and filming show packages and commercials.
“I got the song on Thursday,” he recalled in a 2023 interview with West Bird. “We chose the songs on Friday. We recorded the commercials Friday through Saturday, and made the final selections on Sunday. Then we went to the studio Sunday night to Monday night to make sure everything fit the track. Then on Tuesday morning, we did a dry run of the show from top to bottom. So when people are saying, ‘You should vote for X, Y, Z,’ and you look at the package, it’s already been recorded on Tuesday morning.”
After that, of course, is the actual show. “Wednesday is a loss and then we start all over again,” Ruben added. “And when the group gets smaller, it gets even harder because the job is the same.”
Jena Irene Assiut echoed similar sentiments.
“As the weeks went by and people were eliminated, those who remained were charged with filling in the episodes,” the season 13 runner-up told Business Insider. “So we were needed for more things. And I think it was around Top 8 that we started doing Ford commercials every Sunday.”
