http://www.billboard.com/articles/li...me?list_page=9
Top 100 'American Idol' Hits of All Time
10
"It's Not Over" – Daughtry
9
"Before He Cheats" - Carrie Underwood
8
"My Life Would Suck Without You" - Kelly Clarkson
Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 for two weeks (2009)
Co-producer/co-writer Dr. Luke credits Max Martin for coming up with the title of the song. "The chorus was written a long time ago," he says. "We wrote it after 'Since U Been Gone' and 'Behind These Hazel Eyes,' thinking, 'Hey, we'll write stuff for Kelly's next record.' The verse came about a long time later." Co-writer Claude Kelly was sleeping when he was awakened by a phone call from his manager. "He said, 'Dude, the song jumped from 97 to 1. It broke a record.' I had a feeling it was going to do okay, but I had no idea that it was going to jump that fast and jump that big."
7
"Because of You" - Kelly Clarkson
Hot 100 Peak: No. 7 (2005)
Clarkson wrote the song with David Hodges and Ben Moody of Evanescence. "Ben came over to my apartment in L.A. and my wisdom teeth had just been taken out and I looked horrible and we just started talking about a couple songs I wanted to do with him. He heard 'Because Of You' and fell in love with it and said, 'I so want to work with you. I love this song. It's so passionate and so very much from the heart.' I didn't think that one was going to catch him. I thought he was going to say, 'that's a little sappy.'"
6
"Home" - Phillip Phillips
5
"Breakaway" - Kelly Clarkson
Hot 100 Peak: No. 6 (2004)
"I was about to go on stage and my manager said, 'Before you go on, there was an idea that was thrown to us about "The Princess Diaries 2" movie,'" Clarkson recalls. "The first movie was really cute…so I listened to it and what I love about 'Breakaway' is it's not a big power ballad. It's not like 'Miss Independent' or Usher's 'Yeah.' It's a really simple little lullaby anthem, and it's just pretty and the lyrics fit me to a 'T.' I thought it might be a great bridge song to hold the audience over until my next album."
4
"Behind These Hazel Eyes" - Kelly Clarkson
Hot 100 Peak: No. 6 (2005)
The last song recorded for Clarkson's second album was based on real life. "I wrote a song about a relationship that I thought was going really well and then all of a sudden, it wasn't, and you find out that the person is not that into you and you're like, 'Wow, we spent so much time together.' The lyrics are perfect for what I was feeling at that moment. The song hits more personally than a lot of the other ones."
3
"No Air" - Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown
2
"Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" - Kelly Clarkson
Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 for three weeks (2012)
The second single from Clarkson's "Stronger" album set new records by going to No. 1 on 15 different Billboard charts, including the Hot 100, Hot Digital Songs, Hot Dance Club Play, Adult Contemporary, Adult Top 40 and Mainstream Top 40 and by becoming the best-selling "Idol" single of all time. As of July 2012, "Stronger" had sold 3,510,000 copies, one thousand more than the previous record holder, Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats."
1
"Since U Been Gone" - Kelly Clarkson
Hot 100 Peak: No. 2 (2005)
Clarkson went to Sweden for two days to record "Since U Been Gone." "I'd love to tell you that I knew anything about Max Martin. I didn't even know that he had written a lot for Britney or Backstreet Boys. I was so in the dark but he's a heavy hitter, really talented and such a nice guy. He and Dr. Luke, they're both great guys." Clarkson remembers the first time she heard the song. "I said, 'This is really poppy. Do you mind if we rock the track up a little?' They put in some heavier guitars and harder drums. It's just a really fun song to sing. It's very explosive and a great contrast to a lot of the other songs on the album."
