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List of American Idol alumni album sales in the United States

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Writerauthor (talk | contribs) at 14:58, 25 November 2009 (→‎Artists with RIAA certified albums: updated Carrie's total sales). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article provides a list of top-selling albums recorded by alumni of the popular American televised singing competition American Idol.

Artists with RIAA certified albums

This first list only includes contestants with at least one certified album, and the totals do not include EPs, digital-only albums or pre-Idol recordings.:(US Sales ONLY) Gold, Platinum, and/or Multi-platinum

Idol Contestant
Total Sales 		First Album Second Album Third Album Fourth Album Fifth Album
1. Kelly Clarkson
(Season 1, Winner)
10,384,000 		Thankful
(April 15, 2003)
RCA
2,730,000[1]
2x Platinum[2]
Peak: #1 		Breakaway
(November 30, 2004)
RCA
6,104,000[1]
6x Platinum[2]
Peak: #3 		My December
(June 26, 2007)
RCA Records
800,000[1]
Platinum[2]
Peak: #2 		All I Ever Wanted
(March 10, 2009)
RCA Records
750,000[3]
N/A
Peak: #1
2. Carrie Underwood
(Season 4, Winner)
10,379,000 		Some Hearts
(November 15, 2005)
Arista Nashville
6,859,000[4]
7x Platinum[5]
Peak: #2 		Carnival Ride
(October 23, 2007)
Arista Nashville
2,988,000[4]
2x Platinum[5]
Peak: #1 		Play On
(November 3, 2009)
Arista Nashville
532,000[3]
N/A
Peak: #1
3. Chris Daughtry
(Season 5, 4th Place)
5,266,000 		Daughtry
(November 21, 2006)
19 Recordings/RCA Records
4,529,000[6]
4x Platinum[7]
Peak: #1 		Leave This Town
(July 14, 2009)
19 Recordings/RCA Records
737,000[3]
N/A
Peak: #1
4. Clay Aiken
(Season 2, Runner-Up)
4,850,000 		Measure of a Man
(October 14, 2003)
RCA Records
2,780,000[8]
2x Platinum[9]
Peak: #1 		Merry Christmas with Love
(November 16, 2004)
RCA Records
1,370,000[8]
Platinum[9]
Peak: #4 		A Thousand Different Ways
(September 19, 2006)
RCA Records
530,000[8]
Gold[9]
Peak: #2 		On My Way Here
(May 6, 2008)
RCA Records
163,000[8]
N/A
Peak: #4 		Playlist: The Very
Best of Clay Aiken
(March 31, 2009)
Sony Legacy
7,000[8]
N/A
Peak: #173
5. Ruben Studdard
(Season 2, Winner)
2,543,000 		Soulful
(December 9, 2003)
J Records
1,790,000[10]
Platinum[11]
Peak: #1 		I Need an Angel
(November 23, 2004)
J Records
483,000[12]
Gold[11]
Peak: #20 		The Return
(October 17, 2006)
J Records/19
238,000[10]
N/A
Peak: #8 		Love Is
(May 19, 2009)
19 Entertainment/
Hickory Records
32,000[13]
N/A
Peak: #36
6. Fantasia Barrino
(Season 3, Winner)
2,289,000 		Free Yourself
(November 23, 2004)
J Records
1,770,000[10]
Platinum[14]
Peak: #8 		Fantasia
(December 12, 2006)
J Records
519,000[15]
Gold[14]
Peak: #19
7. David Cook
(Season 7, Winner)
1,250,000 		David Cook
(November 18, 2008)
RCA Records
1,250,000[1]
Platinum[16]
Peak: #3
8. Jordin Sparks
(Season 6, Winner)
1,154,000 		Jordin Sparks
(November 20, 2007)
Jive
1,026,000[1]
Platinum[17]
Peak: #10 		Battlefield
(July 21, 2009)
Jive
128,000[1]
N/A
Peak: #7
9. Kellie Pickler
(Season 5, 6th Place)
1,152,000 		Small Town Girl
(October 31, 2006)
BNA Records
817,000[18]
Gold[19]
Peak: #9 		Kellie Pickler
(September 30, 2008)
BNA Records
335,000[3]
N/A
Peak: #9
10. David Archuleta
(Season 7, Runner Up)
784,000 		David Archuleta
(November 11, 2008)
Jive Records
735,000[1]
Gold[20]
Peak: #2 		Christmas from the Heart
(October 13, 2009)
Jive Records
49,000[3]
N/A
Peak: #30
11. Josh Gracin
(Season 2, 4th Place)
779,000 		Josh Gracin
(June 15, 2004)
Lyric Street
701,000[21]
Gold[22]
Peak: #11 		We Weren't Crazy
(April 1, 2008)
Lyric Street
78,000[23]
N/A
Peak: #33
12. Jennifer Hudson
(Season 3, 7th Place)
776,000 		Jennifer Hudson
(September 30, 2008)
Arista Records
776,000[24]
Gold[25]
Peak: #2
13. Taylor Hicks
(Season 5, Winner)
745,400 		Taylor Hicks
(December 12, 2006)
Arista Records
704,000[13]
Platinum[26]
Peak: #2 		Early Works
(August 12, 2008)
Modern Whomp Records
4,400[15]
N/A
Peak: did not chart 		The Distance
(March 10, 2009)
Modern Whomp Records
37,000[13]
N/A
Peak: #58
14. Bo Bice
(Season 4, Runner-Up)
734,000 		The Real Thing
(December 13, 2005)
RCA Records
672,000[27]
Gold[28]
Peak: #4 		See the Light
(October 23, 2007)
StratArt
62,000[15]
N/A
Peak: #150
15. Elliott Yamin
(Season 5, 3rd Place)
672,000 		Elliott Yamin
(March 20, 2007)
Hickory Records,
RED Distribution
525,000[18]
Gold[29]
Peak: #3 		Sounds of the Season
(October 14, 2007)
Hickory Records
81,000[30]
N/A
Peak: #32 		My Kind of Holiday
(October 7, 2008)
TRP Records,
Fontana Distribution
27,000[31]
N/A
Peak: #162 		Fight For Love
(May 5, 2009)
Hickory Records
39,000[18]
N/A
Peak: #26

Artists without RIAA certified albums

The following is a comprehensive list of other American Idol alumni album sales and reflects that commercial success can be achieved through association with American Idol and with post-Idol promotion, although the degree of success varies considerably (this list only includes contestants who have numbers available, and again does not include EPs, digital albums, or pre-Idol recordings):

Former Contestant Total Sales Albums
16. Bucky Covington
(Season 5, 8th Place)
 403,000[21]
17. Katharine McPhee
(Season 5, Runner-Up)
 378,000[13]
18. Blake Lewis
(Season 6, Runner-Up)
 		309,000[15][32]
19. Kimberley Locke
(Season 2, 3rd Place)
 238,000[33][34][35]
20. Mandisa
(Season 5, 9th Place)
 231,200[15][36][32]
21. Diana DeGarmo
(Season 3, Runner-Up)
 167,000[10]
22. Justin Guarini
(Season 1, Runner-Up)
 143,000[10]
23. Tamyra Gray
(Season 1, 4th Place)
 		123,000[37]
24. LaToya London
(Season 3, 4th Place)
 58,000[37]
25. Chris Sligh
(Season 6, 10th Place)
 		54,000[32]
  • Running Back to You (2008) #190
26. Phil Stacey
(Season 6, 6th Place)
 		48,000[31][32]
27. Melinda Doolittle
(Season 6, 3rd Place)
 47,813
28. Mario Vazquez
(Season 4, Top 13)
 		34,000[38]
29. Kristy Lee Cook
(Season 7, 7th Place)
 		32,000[39]
30. George Huff
(Season 3, 5th Place)
 29,000[37]
  • Miracles (2005) did not chart
  • George Huff (2009) did not chart
31. Constantine Maroulis
(Season 4, 6th Place)
 25,000[40]
32. Paris Bennett
(Season 5, 5th Place)
 22,300[15][40]
  • Princess P (2007) #133
  • A Royal Christmas (2008) did not chart
33. R. J. Helton
(Season 1, 5th Place)
 22,000[37]
34. John Stevens
(Season 3, 6th Place)
 21,000[37]
  • Red (2005) did not chart
35. Jasmine Trias
(Season 3, 3rd Place)
 14,000[37]
36. Brooke White
(Season 7, 5th Place)
 14,000[41]
37. Ace Young
(Season 5, 7th Place)
 10,000[15]
38. Michael Johns
(Season 7, 8th Place)
 7,000[42]
39. Jim Verraros
(Season 1, 9th Place)
 4,300[37]
  • Rollercoaster (2005) did not chart
40. LaKisha Jones
(Season 6, 4th Place)
 4,000[13]
41. Carmen Rasmusen
(Season 2, 6th Place)
 		3,100[37]
42. Ayla Brown
(Season 5, Top 16)
 		3,000[43]
43. Corey Clark
(Season 2, 9th Place)
 2,600[37]
44. Jon Peter Lewis
(Season 3, 8th Place)
 		1,600[37][44]
  • Stories from Hollywood (2006) did not chart
  • Break the Silence (2008) did not chart

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Idol Chatter 10-30-2009
  2. ^ a b c RIAA Search - Kelly Clarkson
  3. ^ a b c d e Idol Chatter 11-18-2009
  4. ^ a b Idol Chatter 11-11-2009
  5. ^ a b RIAA Search - Carrie Underwood
  6. ^ Idol Chatter 09-17-2009
  7. ^ RIAA Search - Daughtry
  8. ^ a b c d e Idol Chatter 07-23-2009
  9. ^ a b c RIAA Search - Clay Aiken
  10. ^ a b c d e Idol Chatter 10-01-2008
  11. ^ a b RIAA Search - Ruben Studdard
  12. ^ Ruben Studdard Reconnects With 'Love Is'
  13. ^ a b c d e Idol Chatter 07-15-2009
  14. ^ a b RIAA Search - Fantasia
  15. ^ a b c d e f g Idol Chatter 12-31-08
  16. ^ RIAA Search - David Cook
  17. ^ RIAA Search — Jordin Sparks
  18. ^ a b c Idol Chatter 06-25-2009
  19. ^ RIAA Search - Kellie Pickler
  20. ^ RIAA Search - David Archuleta
  21. ^ a b Idol Chatter 02-25-2009
  22. ^ RIAA Search - Josh Gracin
  23. ^ Idol Chatter 03-07-2009
  24. ^ Reuters 11-12-2009
  25. ^ RIAA Search - Jennifer Hudson
  26. ^ RIAA Search - Taylor Hicks
  27. ^ Idol Chatter 9-10-2008
  28. ^ RIAA Search - Bo Bice
  29. ^ RIAA Search - Elliott Yamin
  30. ^ Idol Chatter 1-16-2008
  31. ^ a b Idol Chatter 03-12-2009
  32. ^ a b c d Idol Chatter 10-14-2009
  33. ^ Foxes on Idol 05-12-2008
  34. ^ Idol Chatter 7-30-2008
  35. ^ Idol Chatter 12-10-2008
  36. ^ CNN 03-11-2009
  37. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Idol Chatter 1-10-2008
  38. ^ Idol Chatter 11-8-2006
  39. ^ Idol Chatter 01-07-2009
  40. ^ a b Idol Chatter 6-11-2008
  41. ^ Idol Chatter 07-29-2009
  42. ^ Idol Chatter 07-08-2009
  43. ^ Idol Chatter 6-25-2008
  44. ^ Idol Chatter 8-20-2008
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