Lee Dewyze Has Lowest Debut from Any American Idol Winner or Runner Up
Lee’s debut album “Live It Up” did not live up to expectations as its first week sales are less than half of what the previous season’s American Idol winner (Kris Allen) debut last year.
It’s also interesting to note that all the runner ups from the past 8 seasons of American Idol sold higher with Clay Aiken holding the record for the highest debut by an American Idol contestant in history with a whopping 613,000 albums sold in the first week.
Check out this compilation from USA Today:
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)
It only happened twice when the runner up bested the winner in album sales. In 2003, Clay Aiken sold 32% higher than Ruben Studdard and just last year (2009), Adam Lambert sold 60% higher than Kris Allen.
I wonder how Crystal Bowersox‘s debut album “Farmer’s Daughter” will perform on Billboard 200 when it debuts on December 14.