List of American Idol alumni album sales in the United States
This article provides a list of top-selling albums recorded by alumni of the popular American televised singing competition American Idol.
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.
| Idol Contestant Total Sales |
First Album | Second Album | Third Album | Fourth Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kelly Clarkson (Season 1, Winner) 9,505,000 |
Thankful (April 15, 2003) RCA 2,710,000[1] 2x Platinum[2] Peak: #1 |
Breakaway (November 30, 2004) RCA 6,020,000[1] 6x Platinum[2] Peak: #3 |
My December (June 26, 2007) RCA Records 775,000[1] Platinum[2] Peak: #2 |
TBA (December 2, 2008) RCA Records N/A N/A Peak:N/A |
| 2. | Carrie Underwood (Season 4, Winner) 8,870,000 |
Some Hearts (November 15, 2005) Arista Nashville 6,540,000[1] 7x Platinum[3] Peak: #2 |
Carnival Ride (October 23, 2007) Arista Nashville 2,330,000[1] 2x Platinum[3] Peak: #1 |
||
| 3. | Clay Aiken (Season 2, Runner-Up) 4,859,000 |
Measure of a Man (October 13, 2003) RCA Records 2,780,000 [4]2x Platinum[5] Peak: #1 |
Merry Christmas with Love (November 16, 2004) RCA Records 1,400,000[6] Platinum[5] Peak: #4 |
A Thousand Different Ways (September 19, 2006) RCA Records 528,000[1] Gold[5] Peak: #2 |
On My Way Here (May 6, 2008) RCA Records 151,000[1][7] N/A Peak: #4 |
| 4. | Chris Daughtry/Daughtry (Season 5, 4th Place) 4,220,000 |
Daughtry (November 21, 2006) 19 Recordings/RCA 4,220,000[1] 4x Platinum[8] Peak: #1 |
|||
| 5. | Ruben Studdard (Season 2, Winner) 2,488,000 |
Soulful (December 9, 2003) J 1,800,000[6] Platinum[9] Peak: #1 |
I Need an Angel (November 23, 2004) J 451,000[6] Gold[9] Peak: #20 |
The Return (October 17, 2006) J/19 237,000[10] N/A Peak: #8 |
|
| 6. | Fantasia (Season 3, Winner) 2,287,000 |
Free Yourself (November 23, 2004) J 1,770,000[4] Platinum[11] Peak: #8 |
Fantasia (December 12, 2006) J 517,000[1] Gold[11] Peak: #19 |
||
| 7. | Kellie Pickler (Season 5, 6th Place) 786,000 |
Small Town Girl (October 31, 2006) BNA Records 786,000[1] Gold[12] Peak: #9 |
Kellie Pickler (September 30, 2008) BNA Records N/A N/A Peak:N/A |
||
| 8. | Josh Gracin (Season 2, 4th Place) 759,000 |
Josh Gracin (June 15, 2004) Lyric Street 695,000[6] Gold[13] Peak: #11 |
We Weren't Crazy (April 1, 2008) Lyric Street 64,000[1] N/A Peak: #33 |
||
| 9. | Bo Bice (Season 4, Runner-Up) 733,000 |
The Real Thing (December 13, 2005) RCA 672,000[4][6] Gold[14] Peak: #4 |
See the Light (October 23, 2007) StratArt 61,000[1] N/A Peak: #150 |
||
| 10. | Taylor Hicks (Season 5, Winner) 705,300 |
Taylor Hicks (December 12, 2006) Arista Records 702,000[15] Platinum[16] Peak: #2 |
Early Works (August 12, 2008) Modern Whomp Records 3,300[1] N/A Peak: did not chart |
||
| 11. | Elliott Yamin (Season 5, 3rd Place) 597,000 |
Elliott Yamin (March 20, 2007) Hickory Records, RED Distribution 516,000[1] Gold[17] Peak: #3 |
Sounds of the Season (October 14, 2007) Hickory Records, RED Distribution 81,000[18] N/A Peak: #32 |
Uncertified 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Jordin Sparks (Season 6, Winner) |
910,000[1][19] |
|
| 2. | Katharine McPhee (Season 5, Runner-Up) |
373,000[20] |
|
| 3. | Bucky Covington (Season 5, 8th Place) |
365,000[1] |
|
| 4. | Blake Lewis (Season 6, Runner-Up) |
303,000[1] |
|
| 5. | Kimberley Locke (Season 2, 3rd Place) |
234,000[6][15] |
|
| 6. | Diana DeGarmo (Season 3, Runner-Up) |
166,000[6] |
|
| 7. | Justin Guarini (Season 1, Runner-Up) |
143,000[6] |
|
| 8. | Tamyra Gray (Season 1, 4th Place) |
123,000[6] |
|
| 9. | Mandisa (Season 5, 9th Place) |
97,000[1] |
|
| 10. | LaToya London (Season 3, 4th Place) |
58,000[6] |
|
| 11. | Phil Stacey (Season 6, 6th Place) |
35,000[4] |
|
| 12. | Mario Vazquez (Season 4, Top 13) |
34,000[21] |
|
| 13. | George Huff (Season 3, 5th Place) |
29,000[6] |
|
| 14. | Chris Sligh (Season 6, 10th Place) |
28,000[4][1] |
|
| 15. | Constantine Maroulis (Season 4, 6th Place) |
25,000[10] |
|
| 16. | R. J. Helton (Season 1, 5th Place) |
22,000[6] |
|
| 17. | Paris Bennett (Season 5, 5th Place) |
22,000[10] |
|
| 18. | John Stevens (Season 3, 6th Place) |
21,000[6] |
|
| 19. | Jasmine Trias (Season 3, 3rd Place) |
14,000[6] |
|
| 20. | Ace Young (Season 5, 7th Place) |
8,000[1] |
|
| 21. | Jim Verraros (Season 1, 9th Place) |
4,300[6] |
|
| 22. | Carmen Rasmusen (Season 2, 6th Place) |
3,100[6] |
|
| 23. | Ayla Brown (Season 5, Top 16) |
3,000[22] |
|
| 24. | Corey Clark (Season 2, 9th Place) |
2,600[6] |
|
| 25. | Jon Peter Lewis (Season 3, 8th Place) |
1,600[6][23] |
|
| 26. | Kristy Lee Cook (Season 7, 7th Place) |
N/A |
|
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Idol Chatter 9-17-2008
- ^ a b c RIAA Search - Kelly Clarkson
- ^ a b RIAA Search - Carrie Underwood
- ^ a b c d e Idol Chatter 9-10-2008
- ^ a b c RIAA Search - Clay Aiken
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Idol Chatter 1-10-2008
- ^ Caulfield, Keith. "Neil Diamond Shines With First No. 1 Album". Billboard. May 14, 2008.
- ^ RIAA Search - Daughtry
- ^ a b RIAA Search - Ruben Studdard
- ^ a b c Idol Chatter 6-11-2008
- ^ a b RIAA Search - Fantasia
- ^ RIAA Search - Kellie Pickler
- ^ RIAA Search - Josh Gracin
- ^ RIAA Search - Bo Bice
- ^ a b Idol Chatter 7-30-2008
- ^ RIAA Search - Taylor Hicks
- ^ RIAA Search - Elliott Yamin
- ^ Idol Chatter 1-16-2008
- ^ http://www.sohh.com/articles/article.php/15341 Bun B Trill Enough For No 2 Spot, Mariah Carey Slipping Away, The Cool Kids' Debut Is Child's Play
- ^ Idol Chatter 8-20-2008
- ^ Idol Chatter 11-8-2006
- ^ Idol Chatter 6-25-2008
- ^ Idol Chatter 8-20-2008