"American Idol" Season 11 (yes, ELEVEN) starts this Wednesday, and you know what that means: The next few weeks will be filled with some really good auditions...and some not-so-good ones, and some so-good-they're-bad ones. For many "Idol" viewers, it is this early stage of the competition, when various unknown singers with wildly varying talent levels walk into that audition room for the very first time, that's the best part of the season. Many of these auditioners don't end up going the distance--unless that distance is the short post-rejection walk of shame back to their cars in the parking lot--but they make lasting impressions nonetheless. And some of them even manage to stretch their fame beyond the expected 15 minutes.

Which bring us to the question: What have some of the most memorable "Idol" rejects been up to since leaving the show? Let's find out...

WILLIAM HUNG

Of course, this article must begin with this patron saint of all rejected "Idol" auditioners. Back in 2004, even in the days before YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, William's wacky Season 3 "She Bangs" audition went instantly viral, and he incredibly ended up with a major record deal. He even ended up selling more records than some legitimate singers from "Idol," as his first album, Inspiration, actually shifted almost 200,000 units (please note that's 50,000 more copies than Season 9 winner Lee DeWyze's post-"Idol" album sold). William has since released two more albums, starred in commercials, and acted in two Hong Kong films, but what's most interesting is the fact that he is now working for the L.A. County Sheriff's Department as a technical crime analyst. ("My passion has always been math. It just took a while to end up as my career," he told the L.A. Weekly.) But while William may be giving up his musical crimes to focus on actual ones, his "Idol" legacy remains intact. In fact, the L.A. Weekly just put him at number one on its top 20 list of all-time musicians. ("He is the greatest musician of all time because he epitomizes our highs, our lows, and our struggles to make ourselves heard," wrote journalist Ben Westhoff, insanely.) Hung apparently still bangs after all these years.

LARRY PLATT

That's General Larry Platt, to you and me. This former Civil Rights activist became the second-most-infamous "Idol" castoff when, at the ineligible age of 62, he tried out for Season 9 with the hilarious anti-saggy-trousers-anthem, "Pants On The Ground." The catchy tune was co-opted by everyone from Jimmy Fallon to Tyler Perry to Brett Favre, and Larry's performance of the novelty song was pretty much THE highlight of the Season 9 finale (even if surprise guest William Hung stole Larry's thunder when he bumrushed the proceedings). However, the General's showbiz career stalled when a label called American King Music claimed that it gave him the money to record "Pants On The Ground" and filed a lawsuit over the song. Additionally, a hip-hop duo called the Green Brothers claimed that "Pants On The Ground" was a ripoff of their 1996 song, "Back Pockets On The Floor." So Larry hasn't done much musically as of late. But he did recently conduct a radio interview about his past Civil Rights activism, which you can listen to here. And if you're still interested in his musical side, here's a fun "Pants" performance he did at a 2011 Christmas party for Georgia politician "Able" Mable Thomas:

JOSIAH LEMING

Josiah is one of only two true musical talents on this list--and what a talent he is! Though he is still best known as Season 7's "crying kid" who lived in his car and petulantly refused to sing a traditional version of "Stand By Me" during Hollywood Week, he really should be known as one of the best "Idol" contestants ever. Viewers were shocked at the time when--after receiving a huge amount of screentime early on--Josiah was passed over for the live semifinals, but a record executive who'd worked with the likes of Muse and Radiohead took notice of Josiah and signed him to Warner Bros., which resulted in Josiah's wonderful (if under-promoted) Angels Undercover EP and Come On Kid album. Corporate shakeups at Warner resulted in Josiah getting dropped, sadly, but he's still making great music: In late 2011, he self-released his second album Another Life, and he continues to tour the U.S., playing for diehard fans who still believe that he was robbed in Season 7.