Ruben Studdard emerged as the winner, beating Clay Aiken by a small margin. Out of a total of 24 million votes, Studdard finished just 134,000 votes ahead of Aiken. This slim margin of victory was controversial due to the large number of calls that failed to get through. In an interview prior to season five, executive producer Nigel Lythgoe indicated that Aiken had led the fan voting from the wildcard week onward until the finale.
Who was the season two winner of American Idol? How many votes were cast during the final week? Who was the runner up on season two of American Idol? How many votes did Ruben Studdard win by? What was the name of the shows executive producer? Who won season two? Who was the runner up for season two? How many more votes did Studdard have at the finale? How many votes were cast for the finale? Who did Nigel Lythgoe say was a fan favorite for the majority of the season?