Whatever happened to 'American Idol' contestant Justin Guarini?

You may have remembered him as the curly-haired cutie on the first season of "American Idol" ...

Justin Guarini, now 38, rose to fame in 2002 when he became the first runner-up on the hit singing competition show. The Georgia-native singer ended up losing to pop songstress Kelly Clarkson, who now has several Grammy Awards to her name!

The heartthrob was all smiles as he hit several major red carpets after getting famous on the show. We can't help but cringe at his patriotic outfit made up of bright red wide-legged pants and a muscle tee at the 2002 Teen Choice Awards.

Despite not winning on "Idol," Guarini scored a record deal with RCA. He even appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," where the TV host gave him the compliment of all compliments: "Justin you have it." However, everything didn't go as planned soon after.

His self-titled album, "Justin Guaraini," debuted in June 2003 and it sold a dismal 146,000 copies. He was eventually dropped by his record label. The release coincided with the premiere of his new movie with former "American Idol" foe Kelly Clarkson, a romantic musical titled "From Justin To Kelly."

The film was torn apart by critics, with some of even calling it one of the worst movies ever made ... ouch!

Clearly Justin didn't let the haters get to him. After a few failed albums and his 2009 marriage to longtime love Reina Capodici, he made his Broadway debut in the musical adaptation of Pedro Almodovar's film -- "A Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown." He's been doing his thing on the Broadway stage ever since, starring in a slew of productions, including "Romeo and Juliet " and " Wicked."

And we gotta say, Justin looks like a total hunk fifteen years later! He still rocks his curly hair on his Instagram feed, but he also likes to show off adorable photos of his 4-year-old son. And when he's not busy being a dad, he plays Trent in the Broadway musical "In Transit."