<P> The third season of American Idol premiered on Monday , January 19 , 2004 and continued until May 26 , 2004 . The third season was won by Fantasia Barrino , who defeated Diana DeGarmo by an approximate margin of 2 % ( 1.3 million votes ) ; the vote total ( 65 million votes ) was the highest recorded vote total in the show 's history until the May 23 , 2007 , finale of the sixth season . This season also featured Jennifer Hudson , who would subsequently win the 2006 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress . This was the last season to be aired in standard definition , with the only exception being the grand finale . </P>
<P> The third season of American Idol premiered on Monday , January 19 , 2004 and continued until May 26 , 2004 . The third season was won by Fantasia Barrino , who defeated Diana DeGarmo by an approximate margin of 2 % ( 1.3 million votes ) ; the vote total ( 65 million votes ) was the highest recorded vote total in the show 's history until the May 23 , 2007 , finale of the sixth season . This season also featured Jennifer Hudson , who would subsequently win the 2006 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress . This was the last season to be aired in standard definition , with the only exception being the grand finale . </P>
who won the year jennifer hudson was on american idol
who won the year jennifer hudson was on american idol
Fantasia Barrino
Fantasia Barrino