Caleb Johnson - Testify

I think we all owe Candice Glover an apology. A lot was made in February when Glover’s Music Speaks sold a tepid 19K copies in its first week. That was the slimmest first-week sales tally ever for the debut album by an American Idol winner. Glover relinquishes that dubious record this week to this year’s Idol champ, Caleb Johnson, whose Testify sold just 11K copies in its first week.

Testify enters the Billboard 200 at #24, which is also the lowest chart entry position ever for anIdol champ’s first album. (The old record here was Lee DeWyze's Live It Up, which debuted and peaked at #19.)

At this point, it seems obvious that the fault lies not with any individual contestant, but with the agingIdol franchise itself. Idol may have a little more life left in it as a TV show, but it seems to have simply run its course an important album-selling force.

It was nice while it lasted.

The first post-Idol albums by the first five winners each sold 240K or more copies in their first weeks. The first to fall short of that level was Jordin Sparks's Jordin Sparks, which sold 119K in its first week in November 2007. Season 7 winner David Cook got the franchise back on track when David Cook sold 280K in its first week in November 2008.

The first winner to fall short of 100K was Season 8 champ Kris Allen, whose Kris Allen sold 80K in its first week in November 2009. He had to live with that embarrassment for exactly one year, until Season 9 winner Lee DeWyze's Live It Up sold about half as many copies (39K) in its first week in November 2010.

Season 10 champ Scotty McCreery reversed the downward trend (and not a moment too soon!) when Clear As Day sold 197K copies in its first week in October 2011. Season 11 winner Phillip Phillips did nearly as well when The World From the Side of the Moon sold 169K in its first week in November 2012.

But now we’re back in the cellar. Everything runs its course eventually. Glee isn’t the force it once was, either. But the fact that so few people are interested in buying the first album by an Idol winner is amazing. The ratings of the TV show are also down, but not to this degree. Nielsen reported that 10.53 million people watched the Idol finale in May. That’s about one-fourth of the 38.06 million that watched the Season 2 finale in May 2003 (the top-rated Idol finale ever).

A contributing factor, of course, is that album sales are down overall. This isn’t just an Idol problem. But industry-wide sales declines can’t explain a drop-off this steep.

You may be surprised to learn which Idol winner’s debut album sold the most copies in its first week.Kelly Clarkson? Carrie Underwood? Nope. It’s Season 2 winner Ruben Studdard, whose Soulfulsold 417K copies in its first week. That tally, as good as it was, fell short of the first-week sales by Season 2 runner-up Clay Aiken, whose Measure of a Man had sold 613K copies just eight weeks earlier.

The Top 13 - Results

Nine months after her crowning as the Season 12 Miss American Idol winner Candice Glover’s "Music Speaks" sold 19,000 copies in its first week. "Music Speaks" enters The Billboard 200 at No. 14. Unfortunately, That's the lowest first-week sales tally for the debut album by an "American Idol" winner in the show's 12-year history. The old record was set in 2010 when Lee DeWyze's "Live It Up" sold 39,000 copies in its first week.

Her appearance on this week's results show will hopefully give her a sales boost. She performed two songs that both showcased her outstanding vocals talents and they were catchy as well. 

The bottom three turned out to be Kristen O'Conner, Malaya Watson and MK Nobilette. My only accurate prediction was that Malaya would be in the bottom three, and it came as quite a surprise that MK, who is one of the best talents of the group, was down there. 

It turned out that Kristen was the lowest vote getter and the judges decided not to use their "save". She is a very pretty and talented young woman and it is a shame that her time in the competition has come to an end too soon. 

Idols are Top Earners!

The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood tops this year's list of the highest-paid "Idol" alums, pulling in $31 million thanks to platinum-selling "Blown Away," extensive touring and endorsement deals with the likes of Olay. All in all, Underwood has earned $83 million over the past five years, and she's one of many acts continuing to profit from her exposure on the show. 

Kelly Clarkson ranks second with $7 million, banking the bulk of her bucks on the road. She's followed by 2012 winner Phillip Phillips and 2009 runner-up Adam Lambert, who are tied for third with $5 million apiece.

"Adam used the launching pad of 'American Idol' very well to have a successful recording career," says his co-manager Martin Kirkup. "I think the main part of his career still lies ahead of him."

Phillips, meanwhile, has been quick to capitalize on his 2012 "Idol" win. His coronation song, the Mumford-esque "Home," went on to sell more than 4 million copies--the best of any in Idol's history -- and his debut album earned platinum certification. He's been adding to his coffers on the road, playing more than 90 shows in our scoring period.
The show itself, now entering its 13th season, is on a more dubious trajectory.

Ratings have dipped 30 percent each of the past two years, a trend that "Idol"'s brass is trying to stop by revamping the show. There's a new set, new lighting, new theme music and new judges: Harry Connick, Jr. and Jennifer Lopez will join Keith Urban, the lone holdover from last year's trio.

Despite the negative trends, last year's winner Candice Glover should be optimistic: Phillips and Scotty McCreery, who ranks sixth with $3 million, are reversing a trend of recent winners who've gone on to have underwhelming solo careers. Even older victors like Fantasia Barrino (2004) and Taylor Hicks (2006) cracked the list, with $1.5 and $2.5 million in income, respectively.

"The platform of 'American Idol' changed my life," says Hicks, who now owns a restaurant in his native Alabama and recently became the first Idol alum to land a Las Vegas residency. "I am very thankful. ... To have that platform has allowed me to blossom."

Earnings estimates are calculated with the help of data from Pollstar Pro, the RIAA, Nielsen SoundScan as wells industry veterans, the musicians' handlers and some of the artists themselves. These numbers reflect pretax earnings from June 2012 through June 2013.

Older graduates of the show no longer have to worry about handing back the bulk of their bucks to "Idol," but more recent winners must turn over about half of their income -- before paying any remaining agents, managers and attorneys, not to mention Uncle Sam. Last year, McCreery estimated he'd only pocket somewhere around one-fifth of his gross earnings, though he didn't seem to mind too much. "It's depressing when you look at it, but I'm still making a good amount," he said. "I'm not in any way complaining ... I'm doing a lot better than I was a few summers ago, living off the coin jar in my truck."