nikko smith

Welcome back to "AI Aftermath," where we explore Idol's past. Each week, as one more American Idol hopeful is eliminated from the competition, we take a look back at contestants past who were eliminated in the same week. We'll examine how they did on the show and what they've been up to since their elimination. In honor of Ramiele Malubay's elimination last week we'll be looking at other ninth place finishers.

This week: 9th place finishers, featuring featuring Jim Verraros (Season One), Corey Clark* (Season Two), Camile Velasco (Season Three), Nikko Smith (Season Four), Mandisa (Season Five), Gina Glocksen (Season Six).

* - Corey Clark was not voted out by viewers but was disqualified.

Remember Mario Vazquez? He dropped out of season four of American Idol just as he was about to grace the Top 12 (making room for Nikko Smith). He also seemed to drop off the face of the earth for a while, but he's back with a new album. In an interview with People magazine, Mario says that he is happy he left American Idol when he did because he would've had to do a bunch of crap he didn't want to do if he had stayed on the show. Instead, he's been recording an eccentric album that he says isn't as "safe" as they play it on American Idol. He describes the new album, which comes out on September 12, as a mixture of hip hop, pop, R&B, and reggae. He's currently performing songs on a tour of American malls, which he light-heartedly refers to as "The Tiffany Tour".