Kelly Clarkson
"Idol's" original queen is still its biggest star. Since winning the title in 2002, Kelly Clarkson has notched 10 Billboard Hot 100 top 10s -- including three No. 1s -- from five albums. Miss Independent's reach is enormous, possessing the largest tallies of radio spins, single sales and YouTube views of any former "Idol" -- and the singer first rose to prominence before the latter two distinctions even existed on a large scale. Her fifth album, "Stronger," debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 last fall, continuing Clarkson's streak in which each of her albums have debuted in the chart's top three; earlier this month, the single of the same name topped the Hot 100.
Album Sales: 11,219,000
Track Sales: 19,526,000
Radio Plays: 5,197,000
YouTube Plays: 194,160,919
Carrie Underwood
As the first country singer to win "American Idol," Carrie Underwood leads the show's graduates with U.S. album sales of 12.4 million, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Her third release, 2009's "Play On," showed off a more mature side to the 27-year-old and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. In 2011, Underwood hit No. 1 on the Country charts for the eleventh time with "Remind Me," a duet with Brad Paisley, and made her silver screen debut in the film "Soul Surfer." Just last week, Underwood released "Good Girl," the first single off her upcoming fourth album, due May 1.
Album Sales: 12,472,000
Track Sales: 18,933,000
Radio Plays: 3,331,000
YouTube Plays: 137,804,154
3) Chris Daughtry
4) Jordin Sparks
5) Clay Aiken
Source:
http://www.billboard.com/column/real...04088662.story
Note: *Sales are only US based*
I feel like Billboard writes this exact same article every year.
