Idol Chartwatch, September 23: Idols Hanging Tough

With eight new CDs debuting this week in the top twenty, Kelly Clarkson’s Breakaway took a bit of a tumble, landing at #18 on the Billboard Top 200. The album is #9 in the UK, and remains at #2 in Australia.

Oddly enough, Tommy Lee’s Tommyland: The Ride rebounded back up to #87 on the Billboard Top 200. The album moved up one spot to #7 on the Independent Albums chart.

The only other Idol-related album to chart this week is Disneymania 3: Music Stars Sing Disney... Their Way!, which includes tracks by Clay Aiken and Kimberley Locke. The CD is #2 on the Top Compilation chart.

Here’s the scoop on Idol singles this week:

Carrie Underwood’s single, “Inside Your Heaven,” moved up two spots to #14 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Both Carrie and Bo’s CDs are now available for pre-order on Amazon, but have no titles or other information listed. Carrie’s is due out November 15 and Bo’s will follow the week after. Of course, we all know how unreliable these release dates have been in the past, and I’m not holding my breath!

Kelly’s “Because of You” continues to gain strength. The single is #23 on the Billboard 100, #16 on the Pop 100 chart, and #11 on the Pop 100 Airplay. I really love this song, and it’s cool that fans will have a chance to enjoy her powerful voice on a ballad after two monster rock hits.

“Breakaway,” remains at #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

“Behind These Hazel Eyes” moved up one spot to #16 on the Billboard 100, but dropped to #14 on the Pop 100. The single dropped two spots to #7 on the Pop 100 Airplay chart, and is #8 on the Dance Radio Airplay. The single dropped to #2 on the Adult Top 40 and is #19 on the Adult Contemporary chart at #20.

“Since U Been Gone” dropped three spots to #33 on the Billboard 100, and but moved up to #23 on the Pop 100. The song also moved up on the Pop 100 Airplay chart from #27 to #28. The single is also #31 on the UK Top 75 Singles Chart.

Fantasia’s “Free Yourself” dropped one spot to #9 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart.

Kimberley Locke’s “I Could” continues to chart, moving up one spot to #11 on the Adult Contemporary chart. This week’s biggest winner, though, is Josh Gracin, whose “Stay With Me (Big Brass Bed)” took a significant leap to #7 on the Hot Country Singles and Tracks chart.

Hopefully, next week we will see LaToya London’s first CD, Love and Life, So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross (Fantasia’s “Til My Baby Comes Home”), and Ray Charles’ Genius and Friends (Ruben Studdard’s "Imagine"), on the charts. We’ll also be watching for Rock Star: A Night at the Mayan Theatre. Personally, I am counting the days until the release of George Huff’s Miracles, which will be released October 11 (see link below).

That’s it for Chartwatch this week.

Donna Reynolds is a freelance writer based in Syracuse, New York. While entertainment sustains her emotionally, she earns her daily bread by writing and editing web copy. Check out her website at www.reynoldswrites.com. Donna loves mail, so shoot her an email at foxydonna@earthlink.net.

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