It has proven to be tough going for most American Idol alumi to generate mega sales after signing with a record label.
Carrie Underwood is certainly the except to that rule. On the flip side, Crystal Bowersox and Lee Dewyze recently got booted by RCA after lackluster sales of their debut albums. Farmers Daughter sold 210,000 and his Live It Up just 168,000 copies.
Newcomers Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina, the country singing teens who took the top two spots during the most recent AI season, are being managed by Interscope and are signed to Mercury Nashville.
His debut album Clear As Day sold 285,000 copies during its first two weeks on the charts. Her Wildflower album debuted last week with 69,000 — considered respectable and in fact the best female country debut since 2006. She is expected to reach 100,000 sales by the end of week two.
McCreery sang the National Anthem at the opening game of this year’s World Series. He had a microphone malfunction but managed to pull off a solid performance.
Other relevant former Idol contestants include Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia Barrino, Jordin Sparks, Chris Daughtry, Clay Aiken and Jennifer Hudson.
Check out how these alumi have done in the award category. Note, Hudson also won an Academy Award for her supporting role in Dreamgirls:
Also dabbling on the fringes of success have been Katharine McPhee and Kellie Pickler, who turned out not to be Smarter than a 5th Grader – check it out on video.
Photos: WENN