Idol Chartwatch, September 29 – Kristy Lee Hits the Charts

Season 7’s Kristy Lee Cook’s Why Wait sold approximately 10,000 copies in its first week and debuted at #49 on the Billboard 200. The album debuted at #8 on Top Country Albums.

While debuting in the top 50 is certainly noteworthy, compared to how other country-style Idols have done in their first week, Kristy Lee, who placed eighth this year, has a long way to go. To date, the best performance by a non-winner in the country category goes to Season 5’s sixth-place finisher, Kellie Pickler, whose Small Town Girl sold 79,000 copies its first week, debuting at #9 on the Billboard 200 and topping the country chart.

Bucky Covington, who like Kristy Lee placed eighth in his season (5), sold 61,000 units his first week and debuted at #4. Even Phil Stacey, who finished sixth in Season 6, sold more (13,000) and entered the Billboard 200 at #43. There’s something to be said for taking one’s time putting together a debut album, and certainly, given the timetable for this release, Kristy Lee rushed this one out.

I don’t expect to see this one on the charts for long, especially considering that it’s new release season and the competition will be fierce. And who is the competition? Kellie Pickler and Jennifer Hudson, that’s who. Both of these Idol alumni are releasing albums this week, and judging from the pre-release buzz, each should appear in the top ten on the Billboard 200 and will, no doubt, top the list in their respective genres.

Fans have been waiting a long time – nearly five years – for a Jennifer Hudson solo album, and early reviews are stellar. Jennifer’s single, “Spotlight,” has been a steady chart climber, and the Dreamgirls soundtrack was a solid hit. Jennifer’s album will vie for the top spot on the Billboard 200 with James Taylor’s Covers, which is also being released this week. I expect that one to top the charts with Jennifer coming in second or third.

As for Kellie, she has carved out a niche in the country market, and her first CD has sold nearly 790,000 copies. Her debut was well-produced and generated the requisite number of singles to ensure steady sales. Already, the first single from Kellie Pickler has maintained steady placement on the country chart, ensuring plenty of pre-release buzz for the new album.

One more “newish” release is on the horizon. Elliott Yamin is releasing a holiday album, My Kind of Holiday, on October 7. The album includes tracks from last season’s Target exclusive (Sounds of the Season), with some new tracks tossed into the mix.

Clay Aiken’s coming out party seems to have had a positive effect on his album sales. On My Way Here had been languishing in the mid 2,000s on the Amazon sales ranking list. Almost immediately after the news about the People magazine cover began to circulate on the Internet, sales began to pick up and the album rose to #314 in 24 hours. Of course, Amazon isn’t Billboard, but that kind of jump certainly has some significance. We’ll be watching to see if this boost is enough to push Clay back onto the Billboard 200 next week.

Idols on the Album Charts

After a nice spike last week Daughtry stabilized a bit, dropping to #52 from #36. The album is #17 on Top Rock Albums and #11 Top Hard Rock Albums. These numbers are a compilation of sales of the original CD and the new, deluxe version. Carrie Underwood’s Carnival Ride held at #45 on the Billboard 200 and dropped two spots to #7 on Top Country Albums. Jordin Sparks had a nice jump, moving up from #101 to #71 on the Billboard 200.

Chris Sligh’s Running Back to You is #50 on Top Christian Albums and #58 on Top Christian and Gospel Albums.

Rounding out the Idol albums on this weeks charts, Bucky Covington dropped two spots to #52 on Top Country Albums. Josh Gracin’s We Weren’t Crazy has dropped off the charts.

Idol Singles

David Archuleta’s “Crush” has been getting a fair amount of airplay, and as a result, has been moving steadily up the charts in the six weeks since its release. This week, the song had a healthy bounce on the Billboard Hot 100, moving to #15 from #32. He did well on the download charts this week as well, moving up to #10 on both Hot Digital Songs and Hot Digital Tracks. Check out all his chart placements below.

Here’s a complete listing of all the Idol-related singles from this week’s charts:

• “Just Stand Up” (Carrie Underwood and others): Hot 100 (70), Hot R&B/Hip-Hop (87), Hot Adult Contemporary (18), Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks (40), Hot Digital Songs (65)
• “Crush” (David Archuleta): Hot 100 (15), Hot 100 Airplay (51), Pop 100 (16), Pop 100 Airplay (16), Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks (19), Mainstream Top 40 (15), Hot Adult Top 40 (27), Hot Digital Tracks (10), Hot Digital Songs (10)
• “Spotlight” (Jennifer Hudson): Hot 100 (41), Hot 100 Airplay (18), Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (4), Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (4), Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop (10), Hot Adult R&B Airplay (2), Hot Dance Club Play (19)
• “The Time of My Life,” (David Cook): Hot 100 (48), Hot 100 Airplay (35), Pop 100 (55), Pop 100 Airplay (45), Hot Digital Songs (68), Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks (2), Mainstream Top 40 (33), Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks (10)
• “One Step At A Time” (Jordin Sparks): Hot 100 (19), Hot 100 Airplay (12), Pop 100 Airplay (5), Mainstream Top 40 (4), Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks (18), Hot Digital Tracks (23), Hot Digital Songs (24)
• “No Air” (Jordin Sparks with Chris Brown): Pop 100 (43), Pop 100 Airplay (38), Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks (13), Hot Digital Songs (74)
• “What About Now” (Daughtry): Hot 100 (55), Hot 100 Airplay (45), Pop 100 (32), Pop 100 Airplay (25), Hot Adult Contemporary (29), Mainstream Top 40 (20), Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks (6), Hot Digital Songs (70)
• “Feels Like Tonight” (Daughtry): Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks (6)
• “Just a Dream,” (Carrie Underwood): Hot 100 (43), Hot 100 Airplay (38), Hot Country Songs (7), Hot Digital Songs (56)
• “Unbelievable (Ann Marie)” (Josh Gracin): Hot Country Songs (54)
• “Don't You Know You're Beautiful” (Kellie Pickler): Hot Country Songs (27)
• “I'll Walk” (Bucky Covington): Hot Country Songs (17), Bubbling Under the Hot 100 (2)
• “15 Minutes of Shame,” (Kristy Lee Cook): Hot Country Songs (43)
• “Lose My Soul” (TobyMac featuring Mandisa): Hot Christian Adult Contemporary (10), Hot Christian Songs (7)

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other recent articles on Foxes On Idol:

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 new website at www.idolthoughts.net. Donna loves mail, so shoot her an email at foxydonna@earthlink.net.

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