Carrie wins Video of the Year - AGAIN!!!!!

The 2015 CMT Video Music Awards is always a very fun night of great music, and it usually includes a parade of Miss American Idol winners and finalists.

The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood went into the night as this year's top nominee with 5 total. And when the first award of the night was handed out, one of her 5 nominations turned into her first win of the night. She won Best Collaborative Video of the Year for her duet with Miranda Lambert, Somethin' Bad. 

The Season 14 Miss American Idol winner, Nick Fradiani, made his first big television appearance since winning the crown as a presenter for the Breakthrough Video of the Year. And Season 5 Miss American Idol finalist, Kellie Pickler, was also a presenter and she used this opportunity to promote her upcoming new reality show on CMT called I Love Kellie. It should be a fun show. 

About halfway through the show the award for Best Female Video of the Year was presented Carrie Underwood for her Something In The Water. So that's two wins in the evening.... SO FAR.... 

The best performance of the night was saved for last as Carrie rocked the stage to perform her latest single, Little Toy Guns. This was a very special moment because it was her first televised performance since the birth of her baby earlier this year.  

Immediately after the amazing performance of Little Toy Guns, the Supreme Miss American Idol's name was called to the stage to accept the biggest award of the night. Carrie Underwood and Something In The Water won the CMT Buckle for the 2015 VIDEO OF THE YEAR!

This is especially impressive in that she just won this same top honor last year when her video for See You Again won the CMT Buckle for the 2014 Video of the Year AND her video for Blown Away won the CMT Buckle for the 2013 Video of the Year AND her video for Good Girl won the CMT Buckle for the 2012 Video of the Year!!! 

American Idol Superstars 2013

Even though there are new singing competition shows on that are getting attention, none of them are getting close to the standard that has been set by American Idol. While people might be gossiping about X-Factor and The Voice, the reality is that, they are complete failures at finding or creating new music superstars. In the many seasons that these shows have been on, there hasn't been a single finalist or winner to even make a ripple in the real world.

The American Idol winners and finalists, on the other hand, can be found actually working and thriving in the music business. Many of them have become viable stars on their own apart from their initial American Idol exposure. They are winning awards, appearing on TV shows, starring in movies, getting radio airplay and the public is buying their music! Just look at the impact the American Idol Superstars had in 2013: 

The Season 11 Miss American Idol winner Phillip Phillips was all over the radio with his two hit songs Home and Gone Gone Gone. According to the Billboard Year End charts he had the #14 album of the year! He was even nominated as the Favorite New Artist at the American Music Awards.  

The Season 10 Miss American Idol winner Scotty McCreery released his third album and saw it come in at #1 on the Billboard Country albums chart. At the American Country Awards he actually won the award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year. 

The Season 8 Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up Adam Lambert started appearing on the hit TV show Glee where his distinctive singing, dancing and acting style is being put to use every week. 

The Season 5 Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up Katharine McPhee completed her starring role in the musical drama series Smash. 

The Season 5 Miss American Idol finalist Kellie Pickler is a consistent award nominee for her country music and this year she ended up winning the Mirror Ball trophy on Dancing With The Stars. 

The Season 5 Miss American Idol finalist Mandisa has totally dominated the Gospel world with the release of her album Overcomer. She has earned three Grammy nominations for her music this year. 

The Season 3 Miss American Idol winner Fantasia released her 4th studio album and has also received impressive critical acclaim including three Grammy nominations. 

The Oscar winner and Season 3 Miss American Idol finalist Jennifer Hudson starred in the movie Winnie Mandela that is now streaming on netflix. 

The Season 2 Miss American Idol winner Ruben Studdard was a contestant on this season of the Biggest Loser and he has already lost over 100 pounds. Even though he has been eliminated, by the end of the season he hopes to lose another 100 pounds. 

The Season 1 Miss American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson started out the year by winning her third Grammy (Best Pop Album) and she ended the year with the very successful release of her holiday collection, Wrapped in Red topping the charts and also allowing her the opportunity to have her own Christmas TV special. 

American Country Awards 2013

For the fourth year in a row the Miss American Idol finalists came out as a dominant presence at the American Country Awards.

Season 5 finalist and Dancing With The Stars winner, Kellie Pickler, delivered a wonderful performance of her latest single from her 4th album, The Woman I Am. The album made its debut last month on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart at #4 with first week sales of 16,000. 

The Season 10 Miss American Idol winner and 1st runner up, Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina, made an appearance together as presenters. Scotty, who is continuing to have successful album sales with his 3rd release, See You Tonight, ended up winning the award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year. 

The Supreme Miss American idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood, won the award for Favorite Music Video by a Female Artist for Blown Away. This win along with her 11 previous awards, make her the female artist with the most American Country Award wins in the history of the show. 

Country Music Awards

Well, Country's Biggest Night, The CMA Awards have come and gone and none of the American Idols went home winners. They may not have won any awards, but they still made the best of things.

The Season 1 Miss American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, was not only nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year, but she is now a full-fledged member of country music family. Reba is her mother-in-law!!! And there is also good news that was just announced - Kelly and her new husband are expecting their first child together.

The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood, was back hosting the CMA Awards for the 6th time with Brad Paisley. They were funnier than ever in their opening routine singing and telling jokes. The Season 5 Miss American finalist and Dancing With The Stars winner, Kellie Pickler, was even utilized during the opening segment to facilitate one of their jokes. Carrie also looked amazing in an assortment of glamorous and stylish gowns.  

The CMA Awards are now history, but there is a second chance for these Miss American Idols to win at the upcoming American Country Awards. Carrie Underwood has four nominations including Touring Artist of the Year and Single by a Female Artist. Carrie is also competing against Kellie Pickler for Video by a Female Artist and against Kelly Clarkson for Female Artist of the Year.

The Winners of the American Country Awards will air live on Tuesday Dec. 10th.

More Ruben Studdard

It has been a decade since Ruben Studdard was crowned the Season 2 Miss American Idol winner and launched a successful music career. Now he returns to television on a very different stage, Season 15 of the Biggest Loser, hoping to lose weight and learn how to live a healthy lifestyle. 

This is not the first time a Miss American Idol finalist has participated in another reality competition show. Earlier this year, Season 5 finalist Kellie Pickler danced away with the championship mirror ball on Dancing With The Stars. Last year the Season 2 Miss American Idol 1st runner up, Clay Aiken, ended up being the 1st runner up again, but this time it was on the Celebrity Apprentice.  

Born in Germany and raised in Birmingham, Alabama with an older brother, Ruben recalls being overweight since the age of 10. He received a football scholarship to Alabama A&M University, where he studied music, but continued to struggle with his weight as an adult due to a poor diet. "When I turned 34, I realized I wasn't young anymore," he says, "and that I wanted to live a long time. It was time for a change." Now 35 years old and 462 pounds, Ruben suffers from sleep apnea and high blood pressure. 

Professionally, the Velvet Teddy Bear (as nicknamed by Gladys Knight for his smoothly soothing vocal style) is a Grammy-nominated artist with a number of gold and platinum albums. His urban radio hits include "Sorry 2004," "Superstar," "Make Ya Feel Beautiful" and "Change Me," and he also scored a No. 1 gospel hit with the song "I Need an Angel." In addition, he created The Ruben Studdard Foundation for the Advancement of Children in the Music Arts, promoting the arts in education through learning initiatives for students in the Birmingham area. 

After all his accomplishments, Ruben now hopes to achieve success in the weight-loss arena, and most looks forward to shopping for clothes and going to an amusement park after he loses the weight.

The Biggest Loser premiers on Tuesday Oct. 15th. Tune in the see if Ruben can win it all. 

Carrie wins Video of the Year - AGAIN!!!!

The 2013 CMT Video Music Awards was a very fun night of great music and once again, there was a parade of Miss American Idol winners and finalists.

Things got off to a great start when the Season 10 Miss American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery was paired with Season 5 Miss American Idol finalist and the 2013 Dancing With The Stars winner, Kellie Pickler to present the Buckle for the CMT Breakthrough Video of the Year. This is an award that Scotty just won last year and Kellie also won when she made her debut.

The Season 12 Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up, Kree Harrison, got her welcome to the CMT family when she performed her single All Cried Out for the crowd.

American Idol judge, Keith Urban took the stage to perform two times through the night. The first time he sang his latest single, Little Bit of Everything. Then later in the show he returned to add his extra special guitar solo flair to a great performance with Little Big Town as they sang a cover of the Fleetwood Mac classic Chains.

The best performance of the night was saved for last as the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood graced the stage to perform her latest single, See You Again. It's an amazing heartfelt song on its own, but tonight she dedicated it to her home state of Oklahoma that has recently been devastated by tornadoes. She was joined on stage with a gospel chorus as she delivered the final verse packing a tear filled emotional punch for all of the listeners.

Shortly after the amazing performance of See You Again, the Supreme Miss American Idol's name was called to the stage to accept the biggest award of the night. Carrie Underwood and Blown Away won the CMT Buckle for the 2013 VIDEO OF THE YEAR!

This is especially impressive in that she just won this same top honor last year when her video for Good Girl won the CMT Buckle for the 2012 Video of the Year. 

Kellie Pickler!!!!

Congratulations to Season 5 Miss American Idol finalist Kellie Pickler who sailed to Mirror Ball victory this year on Dancing With The Stars!

Her effervescent personality along with her outstanding dance moves endeared her to the both the panel of judges as well as the voting public. She was a favorite from the beginning and honestly had no serious competition along the way.

We already love her for wonderful songs like Red High Heels and Best Days of Your Life so now we can love her for her high kicks and spins too! There is serious talk that she should take her talents to the next level and star in a Broadway musical for a future project. I would love to see that!

Mark Your Calendars

There's a lot of American Idol activity coming up in the coming weeks.

First and foremost is the live performances for Season 12 starting this Tuesday March 5th. The Top 20 finalists will perform and the public will vote to see who makes it into the Top 10.

Monday March 18th is the premier of the latest season of Dancing with the Stars. This year, Season 5 Miss American Idol finalist, Kellie Pickler, is joining the cast. I have a very good feeling that a mirror ball trophy is going to be in her future.

Sunday April 7th is the 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. The nominations were announced recently and some familiar names were included on the list. The Season 1 Miss American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson is in the category for Vocal Event of the Year for the track Don't Rush that she recorded with Vince Gill.

The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood has two nominations. One is for Female Vocalist of the Year and the other is for Album of the Year for her most recent release Blown Away.

The American Idols are CMA winners!

The 46th Annual CMA awards have come and gone. It was a great night of wonderful country music and, as usual for the past few years, the American Idols were very well represented. Turns out that this year none of them actually won any of the awards, though. The excitement of Season 1 Miss American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson being nominated in the same Female Vocalists of the year category with The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood turned out to be disappointing all around with the actual award going to nominee of lesser talents.

Even with this unfortunate loss, the American Idols still came out as winners as far as I am concerned.

WINNER - Season 5 Miss American Idol finalist, Kellie Pickler, made an appearance as a presenter looking fabulous and sharing her bubbly personality with the crowd. It was very noticeable that her usual long and glamorous blond hair was almost completely shaved off. This was due to her showing her support to a dear friend of hers who is dealing with cancer treatments. Kellie shaved her head and once again showed what a true star she is.

WINNER - The Season 10 Miss American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery, was also on hand as a presenter. After his platinum selling #1 debut album came out last year, he has been wholeheartedly welcomed into the Country Music community. Just last week he released his second album, Christmas With Scotty McCreery, and it made it all the way up to #4 on the Billboard Top albums chart.

WINNER - Season 1 Miss American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, enjoyed huge success a couple of years ago when she joined Jason Aldean on the CMA stage to perform their hit Don't You Wanna Stay. It looks as though she could be able to repeat that with an outstanding delivery of some pure pop pleasure with her performance of Don't Rush with Vince Gill. This is easily her most fun pop song that she has given fans in years. Don't Rush can be found on her new Greatest Hits album that will be available on November 19th.

WINNER - The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood, was once again at the front and center of the CMA's serving as the very entertaining host of the night along with Brad Paisley. She looked stunning in an assortment of beautiful ensembles and she was funny and charming all night long. She also provided the most powerful performance of the night with her latest single, the title track from her album Blown Away. Also, the video for Blown Away, a dramatic depiction of the tragic lyrics of domestic abuse, has hit the #1 position on the CMT Top 20 Video Countdown this week.

Carrie wins Video of the Year!

The 2012 CMT Video Music Awards was a very fun night of great music and it was a virtual who's who of Miss American Idol winners and finalists.

Things got off to a great start when the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood walked away with the first award of the night. She won the CMT Collaborative Video of the Year along with Brad Paisley for their outstanding duet, Remind Me.

The next award then went to another Miss American Idol winner. This time it was Season 10 winner Scotty McCreery nabbing the CMT Breakthrough Video of the Year for The Trouble With Girls. Scotty also got the chance to sing his latest single Water Tower Town.

The Season 10 Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up, Lauren Alaina, was also nominated for the CMT Breakthrough Video of the Year for her very fun hit Georgia Peaches, but it seems like she is destined to finish behind Scotty when they go up against each other. In addition to taking the stage to perform Georgia Peaches, Lauren also provided commentary throughout the show regarding the Twitter activity of the fans favorite artists. It was no surprise that Carrie Underwood was at the top of the trending artists.

Season 9 Miss American Idol finalist Casey James was also on hand to perform his latest single and then the floodgates opened of Miss American Idol finalists and winners as presenters. Season 5 Miss American Idol finalist Kellie Pickler was in the house as a nominee for Female Video of the Year for Tough and she presented a CMT Buckle. The Season 6 Miss American Idol winner Jordin Sparks also graced the stage to present a CMT Buckle.

Then a pair of Season 11 Miss American Idol finalists, Skylar Laine and Colton Dixon, got one of the most prestigious honors of the night when they had the privilege of introducing the blockbuster, showstopping performance by Carrie Underwood. She exploded on stage singing the energetic jam Good Girl. She completely electrified the cheering crowd and the rousing number came to a powerful end as the arena was filled with golden glitter falling from the rafters.

Shortly after the amazing performance of Good Girl, the Supreme Miss American Idol's name was called to the stage to accept the biggest award of the night. Carrie Underwood and Good Girl won the CMT Buckle for the 2012 VIDEO OF THE YEAR!

The Top 7 - Recent Hits

The Top 7 finalists can perform any song tonight that was recently released from 2010 to the present:

Skylar Laine stayed true to her down home country girl roots by singing Didn't You Know How Much I Loved You that the Season 5 Miss American Idol finalist Kellie Pickler had a hit with. She played guitar and belted out some very big notes very well.

Colton Dixon sat at the piano and delivered a heartfelt and dreamy rendition of I Love The Way You Lie. He showed off his impressive vocal range and unique style and personality. It was sweet and yet incredibly powerful at the same time.

Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye is currently in the Top 5 on the Billboard HOT 100. It's a very powerful song and it showcased Elise at her best, while Phillip just dragged it down with his awkward floundering. For someone who is so full of himself, Phillip didn't seem very confident on stage with this one.

Jessica Sanchez has the confidence to tackle any style of music successfully. She performed the Jazmine Sullivan song Stuttering with outstanding control and perfection. She is ready to be an award winning, top selling professional.

Bruno Mars tore the roof off the place when he performed Runaway Baby at the Grammy Awards this year. Joshua Ledet did the same thing with his electric and dynamic rendition of this uptempo jam. The vocals tonight were his best yet.

Don't You Wanna Stay by Jason Aldean and the Season 1 Miss American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, has been one of the biggest hits ever for well over a year. Colton once again showed off more of his diversity with his vocal stylings while Skylar was right in her comfort zone.

Pink hit the top 5 last year with Perfect and Hollie Cavanagh took it up 200% to even better than perfect. Hollie looked perfectly lovely and sounded perfectly amazing. She has an effortless vocal range that far surpasses anything that Pink could ever dream about doing.

Phillip Phillips just doesn't have what it takes to do justice to the Grammy Award winning, number one hit making group Maroon 5. He looked very uncomfortable on stage with his eyes leering in strange directions and sounding angry, but still very lackluster.

Stronger by the Season 1 Miss American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, recently spent three weeks on top of the Billboard HOT 100 singles chart. Hollie, Joshua and Jessica sounded wonderful as they were throwing this anthem down. It was a serious mixing together of some great voices.

Elise was back where she belongs with her version of Lady Gaga's You And I. While it was more in her element, her vocals still sounded strained and forced.

I predict that this week Elise will be joined in the bottom three with Skylar and Phillip. I think all three of them have reached their peak and have no where else to go but down. It looks like Elise will be going home.

The Results - 80's

Jessica and Joshua were the first to hear that they are both safely coming back next week.

It's been quite a few years since Boy Bands ruled the charts, but it looks like 2012 is the year that they will be making a big comeback. Leading the wave is The Wanted who caused loud screams and squeals of joy as they performed their current hit Glad You Came.

Then Colton and Skylar also got the news that they are safe while Hollie and Deandre had to take the first two seats in the bottom three.

Season 5 Miss American Idol finalist, Kellie Pickler, made a return trip to the stage to perform her latest single called Where's Tammy Wynette. She continues to show off a wonderful personality while serving up fun and entertaining songs.

Phillip is safe leaving Elise to take the final seat in the bottom three with Hollie and Deandre. Unfortunately, it was the fantastic young Deandre who had to sing for his life in the hopes that the judges would save him. Even his great performance couldn't convince them so he is going home from the competition too soon.

I only correctly predicted that Elise would be in the bottom three. She should have been the one to go home.

A night of Idols at the CMA's

The Miss American Idols were out in full force at the 45th Annual Country Music Association Awards this year.

The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood, dominated the night serving as the exceptional co-host. She was charming, professional, very funny and looked amazing for every introduction that she did. There were some great comedy moments as she shared the stage with co-host Brad Paisley including a sparring match with Miss Piggy. Through all of it, Carrie showed off her exquisite taste in 8 different ensambles ranging from pink and poofy to short and sparkly. She provided the best performance of the night in her duet with Brad when she took the stage in a lovely long gown with a slit up the side giving a glimpse of her sleek and sexy legs. Their song, Remind Me, is sure to be a nominee for the many award shows coming up for the year.

In a very misguided upset, Carrie did not win the award for Female Vocalist of the Year even though if you saw her raise the roof on "How Great Thou Art" with Vince Gill at the Academy of Country Music's "Girls' Night Out" special earlier this year, you know that there could really be no other choice.

Right after Carrie was done singing, the Season 10 Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up, Lauren Alaina, came out on stage to present an award and also to gush with glee about how fantastic Carrie sounded. And then the next performance after that was the Season 10 Miss American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery, singing another hit off of his recent #1 album Clear As Day.

Season 5 Miss American Idol contestant, Kellie Pickler, was also at the party to present an award. She was looking great as always in a glamorous long dress.

And finally, the Season 1 Miss American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, was not there to accept her very first CMA award for Musical Event of the Year for her duet with Jason Aldean, Don't You Wanna Stay.

2010 CMA Viewing Party!

As the 2010 Country Music Association Awards was approaching I was filled with anticipation. Of course, I was looking forward to seeing the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood perform live on stage, but there was even more to be excited about.

A wonderful friend decided to host a 2010 CMA's Viewing Party in the Movie Theater at his condo. How awesome is that!!!! Watching on a big screen TV, eating pizza, cookies and cupcakes with your favorite friends!!!

The night turned out to be a super fun blast even though I am sad to report that Carrie ended up not winning either of the awards she was nominated for. But even though she didn't take home an award, she was still quite the star of the evening as she hosted the show once again with Brad Paisley. Carrie looked stunning as usual pleasing the crowd with 7 different costume changes.

She opened the show with a performance of her high energy jam Songs Like This.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az4_6wHhuzE

Later in the show she came back to sing her latest single whose video just hit the #1 position on the CMT Top 20 Countdown, Mama's Song. For this lovely song she stood center stage in a beautiful long lilac gown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbbxfS2AR1I

In addition to hosting the show and having two performances, Carrie was spotted in not just one, but two commercials that were airing during the show. Carrie is the radiantly beautiful and flawless face of the new Olay ad campaign and the new commercial for the Chronicles of Narnia film features a new song written and sung by Carrie. It's called There's a Place For Us and the film opens in theaters on December 10th.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE3KeVmLl1g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ2Vzw33v6w

Season Five Miss American Idol finalist Kellie Pickler made an appearance on the show as a presenter exuding her usual bubbly personality in a fabulous gold sparkly number. The Season One Miss American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson is also getting back in touch with the Country audience after her successful duet with Reba a few years back. This time Kelly performed a duet on stage with Jason Aldean. She truly provided one of the best vocal performances of the night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyUZQodw_wY

All award shows should be viewed this way because even though none of the awards went to any of our favorite Miss American Idols, a great time was had by all and we all felt like winners! Thanks Andrew!

Clay Aiken is BACK!

FIVE Top 10 Albums on the Billboard 200 Chart:

With his latest album "Tried & True" becoming his fifth top 10 on the Billboard 200 with a debut at No. 9 this week, The Season Two Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up Clay Aiken passes The Season One Miss American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson for most top 10s on the tally by an "American Idol" graduate.

The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season Four winner Carrie Underwood ranks third among the Fox TV series' former finalists with three top 10 albums: Some Hearts, Carnival Ride and Play On.

The Season Five Miss American Idol 3rd Runner Up, Chris Daughtry, Season Five finalist, Kellie Pickler, The Season Six Miss American Idol Winner, Jordin Sparks and the Season Two Miss American Idol Winner Ruben Studdard have all had two top 10 albums on the Billboard 200.

Clay Aiken first appeared on the Billboard 200 with "Measure of a Man," which spent its first two weeks at No. 1 in November 2003. This album still holds the record for the highest one week sales for any Miss American Idol finalist. He revisited the top tier with "Merry Christmas With Love" (No. 4, 2004), "A Thousand Different Ways" (No. 2, 2006) and "On My Way Here" (No. 4, 2008).

2009 Year End Charts

The #1 album on the Billboard charts for all of 2009 is Fearless by Taylor Swift. None of the Miss American Idol finalists managed to get into the top 10 on the year end albums chart, but it's somewhat of a surprise to see who got closest...

Coming in all the way up at #13 is the debut album from Season Seven Miss American Idol winner, David Cook! Who would have thought that his album that failed to generate any hit singles would end up selling this well and staying on the chart for so many weeks?

Further down at #33 for the year is the fun and hit packed release by Season One Miss American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, All I Ever Wanted. The second album by Season Five Miss American Idol 3rd Runner Up Chris Daughtry, Leave This Town, lands at #37 while the debut from Season Seven Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up, David Archuleta, ends up at #59 for the year.

The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season Four winner, Carrie Underwood, places two albums on the year end chart with Carnival Ride still going strong at #60 and her latest release, Play On, coming in at #73 after only a few weeks on the chart during the year.

Rounding out the top 200 albums of 2009, we find Jennifer Hudson's album at #103, Chris Daughtry's first album sticking around at #130, and the album with the super fun hit single, The Best Days of Your Life, Kellie Pickler coming in at #152.

The Top 5 singles for 2009 are only by three artists! The Black Eyed Peas come in at #1 with Boom Boom Pow, Lady Gaga takes both #2 and #3 with Poker Face and Just Dance and then the Black Eyed Peas return at #4 with I Gotta Feeling. Taylor Swift manages to squeeze in at #5 with Love Story.

The American Idol finalist who makes the highest showing on the year end singles chart is Season One Miss American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson at #23 with her #1 smash My Life Would Suck Without You.

Also landing in the top 100 songs of the year is Season Six Miss American Idol winner Jordin Sparks at #57 with Battlefield, Chris Daughtry at #63 with No Surprise and then Kelly Clarkson comes back at #91 and #95 with her follow up singles, I Do Not Hook Up and Already Gone.

With all of this Miss American Idol success on the albums and singles charts, they also did very well on the Billboard 2009 Top Artists of the Year chart: #14 - Kelly Clarkson, #33 - David Cook, #35 - Carrie Underwood and #37 - Daughtry.

SOOOOOOOOO Much Idol news!!!

There's quite a bit going in the world of our Miss American Idol favorites:

We already know that Kelly Clarkson, Jordin Sparks and Paula Abdul will be performing at this year's VH1 DIVAS Concert, but there has been a new exciting addition. Turns out that Season Three finalist and Oscar winner, Jennifer Hudson will now be joining them. Looks like when VH1 can't get Legendary Divas like Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross or Mariah Carey for the concert the next best thing is our fantastic Miss American Idols. :)

The only addition left that would elevate the VH1 DIVAS Concert to an even higher stratosphere would the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season Four winner Carrie Underwood. Even if that doesn't happen, Carrie is keeping herself quite busy finishing up her tour and gearing up for the release of her third album, Play On, on November 3, 2009. The first single from the new album, Cowboy Casanova, was sent to radio this week and it is already blowing up big. She collects the highest debut by a female artist this year on Billboard Country Songs chart, as "Cowboy Casanova" ropes a debut at #26. It's a very fun up tempo toe tapper that is sure to keep her millions of fans happy.

The nominations for the CMA Awards were announced today and Carrie is once again in the running for the Female Vocalist of the Year honor. She has already received this award in 2006, 2007 and 2008 so this could become her fourth win in a row. Carrie is also nominated along with Randy Travis for the Vocal Event of the Year honor for their performance of I Told You So. The winners of the CMA's will be announced on November 11, 2009 with Brad Paisley will hosting the show along with Carrie Underwood.

The only unfortunate omission from the CMA nominations is that Season Five finalist Kellie Pickler was completely shut out even though her smash hit Best Days of Your Life is one of the best songs of the year.

DIVA Idols

The action on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart has all been downward lately. Season 5 Miss American Idol 3rd runner up Chris Daughtry is making the best showing this week as he's hanging on in the top 10 at #9 with his latest release, Leave This Town.

This aren't looking so well for the latest release from Season 6 Miss American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks. After only five weeks on the chart she has fallen all the way down to #63 with Battlefield. Season 1 Miss American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, is at #80 with her former #1 album All I Ever Wanted, but that's not so bad after 24 weeks on the chart.

Over on the Billboard HOT 100 Singles chart, Jordin is still putting in the best showing of the bunch with her single, Battlefield, logging in at #16. Turns out that her peak position with this track so far has been #10 a few weeks ago.

Chris Daughtry had to settle for peaking at #15 with his single, No Surprise, but this week it is slipping down to #23. Kelly Clarkson's 3rd single from All I Ever Wanted, Already Gone, is taking a very slow climb up the chart resting at #65 this week. Another Idol represented on the Billboard HOT 100 this week is Season 7 Miss American Idol winner, David Cook. His single, Come Back To Me only managed to peak at #63 and this week it has dropped down to #80.

My favorite Idol song still making a splash is from Season 5 finalist, Kellie Pickler, whose incredibly fun and catchy Best Days Of Your Life is just behind David Cook at #81.

I have to strongly recommend checking out the latest from Jordin Sparks and Kellie Pickler. These are both great representations of the finest in pop music!

While the action on the charts isn't the most stellar news, the VH1 Divas concert is shaping up to be quite the American Idol extravaganza. Kelly Clarkson is already announced as the headlining diva, but she will now be sharing the spotlight with both Jordin Sparks and Paula Abdul!!!

Paula may have been dropped as a judge on the next season of Idol, but VH1 Divas has asked her to be the host of this year's concert. It's turning out to be a CAN'T MISS night of Idol DIVA entertainment! Circle September 17th on your calendar and set the TiVo to record this show you will surely be watching again and again.

Idol ACTION this week

Season Six Miss American Idol winner Jordin Sparks is still at #25 on the Billboard HOT 100 with her latest single Battlefield. It's continuing to make sales and airplay gains so it should get some more upward action in the coming weeks.

Season One Miss American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson has dropped out of the top 40 with her second single, I Do Not Hook Up, and is starting to work the third single from her album, All I Ever Wanted. It's getting more recognition for sounding like Beyonce's Halo, than sales and airplay at this point, but let's keep watching for Already Gone to have some chart impact in the coming weeks.

Apart from her recent chart performance Kelly Clarkson is doing much better these days with the announcement that she will be a featured performer on the VH1 Divas concert coming up on September 17th. She'll be joining a fresh young group of Divas for the concert including Leona Lewis, Adele, and Miley Cyrus. It's not really the group of legendary Divas the concert has had in the past, but if you can't get Barbra Streisand, Mariah Carey and Diana Ross, it's a pretty good line-up. It looks like the current chart-topping female vocalists Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift weren't available. Personally, I think the Divas concert would be amazing with a set list of all Miss American Idol finalists: Kimberly Locke, Fantasia, Jennifer Hudson, The Supreme Miss American Idol - Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler, and Jordin Sparks. It would be great to throw in two of the best Divas of all, Clay Aiken and Adam Lambert!

On the Billboard Album chart it came as no surprise that Season Five Miss American Idol 3rd runner up, Chris Daughtry, made a very impressive debut at #1 with his second album called Leave This Town. His first album was the best selling album for all of 2007 and this new one started out with one week sales of 269,000. The new album by Jordin Sparks will be making it's debut on the charts very soon, so we'll see how she compares....

Idol struggling chart action

Here we are almost two months after Kris Allen was crowned the Season 8 Miss American Idol winner. He had his initial explosion on the charts, but he is now no where to be found. The Season 8 Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up, Adam Lambert is also absent from the charts. Adam may show up on the charts in the near future with the unauthorized release of a single called Want that he recorded back in 2005. He has gone on the record stating that he is not supporting the promotion of this release, so it is quite possible that his fans will also not support it. While Adam is not on the charts, he is getting plenty of press as the cover boy on magazines such as Rolling Stone.

For months now the Billboard HOT 100 has been ruled by the huge smash by the Black Eyed Peas, Boom Boom Pow, that spent 12 weeks at #1. They are so hot this summer that they successfully achieved the very rare feat of replacing themselves at #1 with the follow up single, I Gotta Feeling. With all of this Black Eyed Peas domination, the American Idols have been struggling to make a dent on the Billboard HOT 100.

This week the Season 6 Miss American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks is making the best showing of the group with her first single from her second album. It's called Battlefield and it's at #30. I expect that it will climb higher in the next few weeks as it is quite catchy and showcases her great voice. The video is in heavy rotation on VH1.

The Season 1 Miss American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson is sitting at #32 with her latest single, I Do Not Hook Up. Unfortunately, it is on the way down on the chart after peaking at #20 a few weeks ago. In an unexpected surprise, Season 5 Miss American Idol 3rd Runner Up, Chris Daughtry is floundering with the first single from his second album. The song No Surprise is all the way down at #47 this week after recently peaking at #15.

My favorite song by a Miss American Idol finalist on the Billboard HOT 100 this week comes from Season 5 finalist, Kellie Pickler. Her song The Best Days Of Your Life is at #50 this week. While it only peaked at #46 last week I encourage everyone to check this song out as it is lots of fun to sing along with and two step around the dance floor with.

Without the American Idols represented on the charts lately they should take a lesson from the following stellar pop gems that are my personal favorites and also dominating sales and radio airplay:

Sean Kingston is at #6 this week with Fire Burning
Pitbull is at #8 this week (after peaking at #2) with I Know You Want Me

These songs are just an example of the kind of material the American Idols should try to release if they want to remain competitive on the Billboard HOT 100. I have a lot of faith that Adam Lambert is going to be able to be a contender.

Finally, the legendary Mariah Carey has just released a new single called Obsessed that should be making a significant impression on the charts in the coming weeks. She is continuing to set the standard for musical success by releasing catchy material that is relevant even after 19 years in the business.