I don't know where to post this so I will post here
An item in yesterday's Chart Beat compared the debut positions on the Billboard 200 of each "American Idol" first- and second-place finalist's introductory albums.
Based on reader feedback, let's expand the scope to include each album's first-week sales figures, according to Nielsen SoundScan:
2009
No. 11, Kris Allen, "Kris Allen" (80,000)
No. 3, Adam Lambert, "For Your Entertainment" (198,000)
2008
No. 3, David Cook, "David Cook" (280,000)
No. 2, David Archuleta, "David Archuleta" (183,000)
2007
No. 10, Jordin Sparks, "Jordin Sparks" (119,000)
No. 10, Blake Lewis, "Audio Day Dream" (98,000)
2006
No. 2, Taylor Hicks, "Taylor Hicks" (298,000)
No. 2, Katharine McPhee, "Katharine McPhee" (116,000)
2005
No. 2, Carrie Underwood, "Some Hearts" (315,000)
No. 4, Bo Bice, "The Real Thing" (227,000)
2004
No. 8, Fantasia, "Free Yourself" (240,000)
No. 52, Diana DeGarmo, "Blue Skies" (47,000)
2003
No. 1, Ruben Studdard, "Soulful" (417,000)
No. 1, Clay Aiken, "Measure of a Man" (613,000)
2002
No. 1, Kelly Clarkson, "Thankful" (297,000)
No. 20, Justin Guarini, "Justin Guarini" (57,000)
Thus, while 2009 and 2008 have marked the first years in which the "Idol" runner-up has launched at a higher spot on the Billboard 200 with a debut album than the same season's champion, 2009 and 2003 are the only years in which the opening sales sum of the runner-up's maiden release topped the victor's.
To take the comparisons further, we can also rank the above albums by sales to-date. Here are the top 10-selling debut sets by "American Idol" winners and runners-up:
6,876,000, Carrie Underwood, "Some Hearts"
2,784,000, Clay Aiken, "Measure of a Man"
2,732,000, Kelly Clarkson, "Thankful"
1,793,000, Fantasia, "Free Yourself"
1,791,000, Ruben Studdard, "Soulful"
1,257,000, David Cook, "David Cook"
1,028,000, Jordin Sparks, "Jordin Sparks"
740,000, David Archuleta, "David Archuleta"
704,000, Taylor Hicks, "Taylor Hicks"
672,000, Bo Bice, "The Real Thing"
It's additionally worth noting that, although he finished fourth on "American Idol" in 2006, Chris Daughtry's band Daughtry has sold 4,575,000 copies to-date of its self-titled debut release.