Youth will be served, or so they say.  Though American Idol had always allowed hopefuls as young as 16 to audition, just four of 22 finalists in the first two seasons were teenagers, none under 18.  But Season Three turned that demographic on its head: half of AI3's Final 12 hadn't hit the ripe old age of 20 yet, including four who were still in high school.  America tuned in en masse through the winter and spring of 2004 to find out if the kids were alright....

Sixteen-year-old Diana DeGarmo kicked off the competition with a bang: her leadoff performance of I've Got The Music In Me in the first semifinal episode was the highest-rated performance of the night.  Joining her in advancing was 19-year-old Fantasia Barrino, and of course DeGarmo and Barrino were not only the first ones into the Final 12, but they turned out to be the last ones out as well.

Little can be said about the Group Two Semifinals except that the AI Rewind folks might just want to forget about re-broadcasting it: at an all-but-impossible 30.8, it's the lowest-rated episode in our database by miles.  Group Three wasn't much of an improvement to start, as only Amy Adams of the first seven contestants achieved a rating above 50.  But anchor singer LaToya London, who'd had virtually no camera time up to that point, almost singlehandedly put the season back on track: her performance of All By Myself earned a standing ovation from Randy and Paula and a 94 rating from the Idolsphere, one of the highest in the show's history.

A pair of high school juniors, John Stevens and Jasmine Trias, led the voting from Group Four despite a 5-star performance from Suzy Vulaca.  Vulaca and 11 other non-advancing semifinalists were invited back for the Wild Card Show, four of whom were rather cruelly eliminated by the judges on camera before they'd had a chance to sing.  Jon Peter Lewis earned the voters' nod thanks to a frantic, jelly-legged cover of A Little Less Conversation; Lewis joined New Orleans gospel singer GeorgeHuff (Simon's choice) and cruise ship star Jennifer Hudson (Randy's choice) in the Finals.  Rounding out the Top 12 was 17-year-old Leah Labelle of Seattle, a hugely controversial pick by Paula – Vulaca had scored the highest-rated performance for the second consecutive week but once again failed to advance.

The Finals got off to a strong start, with four contestants – London, Huff, Trias, and DeGarmo – turning in 5-star performances on Soul Week, the most of any AI episode.  LaBelle was dismissed with a near-record low approval rating of 4 for You Keep Me Hangin' On, reflecting the Idolsphere's combined opinion of her performance plus Paula's judgment.  Country Week, which saw the elimination of former college football star Matt Rogers, was highlighted by Adams's showstopping performance of Sin Wagon, which came in at 90.  Sadly for Adams, America mailed her a "Yeah-But-What-Have-You-Done-Lately?" postcard the next week, sending her home on Motown Night despite the fact that Stevens turned in a 4-rated performance of his own with My Girl.

Hudson put her Disney Cruise Lines experience to tremendous use on Elton John Week, closing the show with a (literally) professional rendition of Circle Of Life and earning a 90.  Stevens and Camile Velasco, meanwhile, struggled mightily with the theme; their Crocodile Rock and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, respectively, became the first back-to-back performances on Idol to garner single-digit approval ratings; Velasco was eliminated.  Given a breather from the challenging themes on Movie Songs Night, the Idols responded with the highest-rated episode of the season, punctuated by Barrino's breathtaking Summertime at 95, plus what might be the most-forgotten performance in the 90s ever, London's show-closing Somewhere.  Lewis was voted off, leaving seven contestants standing.

Thereupon followed the most controversial night of American Idol history.  Was it vote splitting?  Racism?  Fanbase power-dialing?  Whatever the reasons (and in fact, there were many), front-runners Barrino, London, and Hudson found themselves in the Bottom 3 after the votes were counted from Barry Manilow Night, with Hudson sent home.  Many fans and critics of the show exploded in outrage at the outcome, with Stevens's continued survival in the competition drawing the most venom.  The redheaded crooner's unlikely run came to an end during Gloria Estefan Week when Music Of My Heart saddled him with his third single-digit approval rating in eight outings.  The AI3 Final 5 would be Barrino, DeGarmo, Huff, London, and Trias.

London was the star of Big Band Week.  The Oakland wedding singer delivered a pair of 5-star performances with Too Close For Comfort and Don't Rain On My Parade, the latter's 93 earning it a spot on the all-time WNTS.com leaderboard.  Huff, who'd been battling a nasty respiratory infection for a month, was voted off.  Then, you guessed it, more controversy.  Trias, whose approval ratings had been slumping of late, hit rock bottom during Disco Week when her two performances garnered a 17 rating...combined.  The judges' comments, and not just Simon's, were unusually harsh, leaving the sweet-natured Hawaiian in tears and unable to speak.  On the next night's result show, Trias was safe, while London and Barrino were the shocking Bottom 2.  London joined Adams in the exclusive club of Idols who'd had a 90-plus performance one week and were sent home the next.

Trias appeared to be almost beaten-down during the Final 3 Show; much of the virulent media criticism that had been aimed at Stevens a month earlier was now directed at her.  Three remarkably close-rated performances in the low 20's sealed her fate.  Barrino, meanwhile, took no chances on becoming the third of the original Three Divas to check out earlier than expected.  She delivered two songs at 5-stars and one at 4-stars, while DeGarmo's Don't Cry Out Loud tied for the top-rated number of the night.

After such a long and trying season, the "Diana vs. Fantasia" Finale came both as an anticlimax and a bit of a relief.  Barrino successfully reprised Summertime, and her choir-backed, gospel-style performance of the AI Original Winners' Song I Believe was cited by most reviewers as the highlight of the show.  Voting was reported to be close, but the next night, 19-year-old Fantasia Barrino was crowned the third American Idol.  So did AI3 at least finish the year without controversy?  Of course not.  Immediately after the Finale, Simon Cowell was quoted in a USA Today interview as saying, "We had to have Fantasia win.  If she hadn't, we would have had a problem...."