This article shows the highest selling contestants from Canadian Idol and the highest selling American Idol albums. These sales are Canadian sales only. (Requires search by artist or album, state 2010-02-12)
Canadian Idol CI Artists with CRIA certified albums This first list only includes contestants with at least one certified album. (Canadian Sales ONLY) Gold, Platinum, and/or Multi-platinum
Former contestantTotal salesDebut albumSecond albumThird albumFourth albumFifth album1.Jacob Hoggard (Season 2, 3rd Place) 620,000Hedley (September 6, 2005) Universal Records2× Platinum 200,000Peak: #3 Famous Last Words (October 30, 2007) Universal RecordsPlatinum 100,000Peak: #3 The Show Must Go (November 17, 2009) Universal Records2× Platinum 160,000Peak: #6 Storms (November 8, 2011) Universal RecordsPlatinum 80,000Peak: #2Wild Life (November 11, 2013) Universal RecordsPlatinum80,000Peak: #42.Kalan Porter (Season 2, Winner) 400,000219 Days (November 23, 2004) Sony BMG Records 2× Platinum 200,000Peak: #4 Wake Up Living (August 28, 2007) Sony BMG Records2× Platinum 200,000Peak: #4 3.Ryan Malcolm (Season 1, Winner) 178,500Home (December 23, 2003) BMG RecordsPlatinum 170,000Peak: #4 Urgency(March 27, 2007) I Heart Recordsn/a 8,500Peak: did not chart Through These Walls(May 8, 2011) Brave Rekordsn/a n/aPeak: did not chart4.Toya Alexis (Season 1, 6th Place) 159,000S.O.B. Story (August 2, 2005) Plasma RecordsPlatinum 159,000Peak: did not chart 5.Rex Goudie (Season 3, Runner-Up) 120,000Under the Lights (December 13, 2005) Sony BMG RecordsPlatinum 100,000Peak: #5 Look Closer (December 12, 2006) Sony BMG Recordsn/a 20,000Peak: #19 One Hundred Pages Later (December 7, 2010) Fontana Northn/a n/aPeak: did not chart6.Carly Rae Jepsen (Season 5, 3rd place) 117,600Tug of War (September 29, 2008) Maple Recordsn/a 12,000Peak: did not chart Curiosity (February 14, 2012) 604 RecordsGold 45,000Peak: #6 Kiss (September 18, 2012) 604 RecordsGold 58,000Peak: #5 E•MO•TION (June 24, 2015) 604 RecordsN/A 2,600Peak: #8 Dedicated (May 17, 2019) 604 Recordsn/a 13,000 Peak: #187.Gary Beals (Season 1, Runner-Up) 110,000Gary Beals (August 17, 2004) Liberated Entertainment Platinum 110,000Peak: #10 The Rebirth Of... (June 9, 2009) Liberated Entertainment n/a n/aPeak: did not chart 8.Eva Avila (Season 4, Winner) 90,000Somewhere Else (November 14, 2006) Sony BMG RecordsGold 80,000Peak: #6 Give Me the Music (October 28, 2008) Sony BMG Recordsn/a 10,000Peak: #63 9.Theresa Sokyrka (Season 2, Runner-Up) 80,000These Old Charms (April 26, 2005) Maple RecordsGold 70,000Peak: #4 Something Is Expected (September 5, 2006) Maple Recordsn/a 10,000Peak: did not chart Wrapped in Ribbon (November 5, 2007) Maple Recordsn/a n/aPeak: did not chart Theresa Sokyrka (November 30, 2010) Maple Recordsn/an/aPeak: did not chart10.Melissa O'Neil (Season 3, Winner) 70,000Melissa O'Neil (November 22, 2005) Sony Music Gold70,000Peak: #14 11.Brian Melo (Season 5, Winner) 52,000Livin' It(November 27, 2007) Sony BMGGold 52,000Peak: #14 The Truth(October 12, 2010) Rat Pack Records/Fontana Northn/a n/aPeak: did not chart 12.Rob James (Season 4, 7th Place) 50,000McMaster & James (November 21, 2000) Sony BMGGold 50,000Peak: did not chart 13.Tara Oram (Season 5, 6th Place) 50,000Chasing the Sun (October 7, 2008) Open Road RecordsGold 50,000Peak: #8 Revival (July 19, 2011) Open Road Recordsn/a n/aPeak: #7014.Laurell John (Season 1, Semi-Finalist) 40,000Into Your Love (2003) Polytel/PolyGramGold 40,000Peak: #1
CI Artists without CRIA certified albums The following is a comprehensive list of other Canadian Idol alumni album sales and reflects that commercial success can be achieved through association with Canadian Idol and with post-Idol promotion, although the degree of success varies considerably:
Former ContestantTotal SalesAlbums15.Audrey De Montigny (Season 1, 4th Place)35,000 Audrey (2004) did not chart Si L'Amour Existe (2006) did not chart Take Me As I Am (2006) did not chart "Un Seul Instant" (2012) did not chart16.Jaydee Bixby (Season 5, Runner-up)28,300 Cowboys and Cadillacs (2008) #8 Easy to Love (2010) #8 Work in Progress (2013) did not chart17.Jason Greeley (Season 2, 4th Place)12,000 Live...Love...Sing (2005) did not chart Jason Greeley (2009) did not chart18.Shane Wiebe (Season 2, 5th Place)10,000 Shane Wiebe (2005) #71 Into Your Light (2009) did not chart Christmas With You (2009) did not chart Restore the Wonder (2010) did not chart19.Katherine St-Laurent (Season 6, 9th Place)5,000 Katherine St-Laurent (2011) did not chart20.Aaron Walpole (Season 3, 3rd Place)3,000 Aaron Walpole (2006) did not chart21.Drew Wright (Season 6, 3rd Place)2,000 Fall and Divide (2008) did not chart22.Mikey Bustos (Season 1, 8th Place)2,000 Love Me Again (2004) did not chart Memoirs of a Superhero (2008) did not chart23.Suzi Rawn (Season 3, 4th Place)950, from Maclean's, September 10, 2007 Naked (2006) did not chart24.Theo Tams (Season 6, Winner)300 Unexpected (2005) did not chart Give It All Away (2009) #2925.Brandon Jones (Season 4, 8th Place)200 All for You (2007) did not chart26.Chris LaBelle (Season 4, Top 22)90 Two Weeks Tuesday (2006) did not chart Bad Influence (2010) did not chart
American Idol AI Artists with CRIA certified albums Former contestantTotal salesDebut albumSecond albumThird albumFourth albumFifth albumSixth album1.Kelly Clarkson (Season 1, Winner) 940,000 Thankful (April 15, 2003) RCA Records Platinum 100,000 Peak: #2 Breakaway (November 30, 2004) RCA Records 5× Platinum 500,000 Peak: #6 My December (June 26, 2007) RCA Records Platinum 100,000 Peak: #2 All I Ever Wanted (March 10, 2009) RCA Records Platinum 80,000 Peak: #2 Stronger (October 24, 2011) RCA Records Platinum 80,000 Peak: #4 Wrapped in Red (October 29, 2013) RCA Records Platinum 80,000 Peak: #6 2.Carrie Underwood (Season 4, Winner) 809,000 Some Hearts (November 15, 2005) Arista Nashville3× Platinum 400,000Peak: #11 Carnival Ride (October 23, 2007) Arista NashvillePlatinum200,000Peak: #1 Play On (November 3, 2009) Arista NashvillePlatinum 80,000Peak: #2 Blown Away(May 1, 2012)Arista NashvillePlatinum129,000Peak: #1 3.Chris Daughtry (Season 5, 4th Place) 320,000 Daughtry(November 21, 2006) RCA Records 2× Platinum 200,000 Peak: #8 Leave This Town (June 14, 2009) RCA Records Platinum 80,000 Peak: #2 Break the Spell (November 21, 2011) RCA Records Gold 40,000 Peak: #13 Baptized (November 19, 2013) RCA Records TBA TBA Peak: #16 4.Clay Aiken (Season 2, Runner-Up) 200,000 Measure of a Man (October 14, 2003) RCA RecordsPlatinumhttp://www.cria.ca/cert_db_search.php?page=1&wclause=WHERE+artist_name+like+%27%25Clay%Aiken%25%27+ORDER+BY+cert_date%2C+cert_award+&rcnt=20&csearch=0&nextprev=1 100,000Peak: #2 Merry Christmas With Love (November 16, 2004) RCA RecordsGold 50,000Peak: did not chart A Thousand Different Ways (September 19, 2006) RCA RecordsGold 50,000Peak: #6 On My Way Here (May 6, 2008) RCA Recordsn/a n/aPeak: #25 Tried and True (June 1, 2010) Decca/Universaln/an/aPeak: #58 Steadfast (March 27, 2012) Decca/Universaln/an/aPeak: did not chart 5.Fantasia Barrino (Season 3, Winner) 200,000 Free Yourself (November 23, 2004) J Records2× Platinum200,000Peak: did not chart Fantasia (December 12, 2006) J Recordsn/a n/aPeak: did not chart Back To Me (August 24, 2010) J Recordsn/an/aPeak: did not chart 6.Jordin Sparks (Season 6, Winner) 100,000 Jordin Sparks(November 20, 2007)JiveGold70,000Peak: #12 Battlefield(July 20, 2009)Jiven/a30,000Peak: #10 7.Adam Lambert (Season 8, Runner-Up) 87,300 For Your Entertainment(November 23, 2009)RCA RecordsPlatinum80,000Peak: #8 Trespassing(May 15, 2012)RCA Recordsn/a7,300Peak: #1 8.Phillip Phillips (Season 11, Winner) 80,000 The World from the Side of the Moon (November 19, 2012) Interscope RecordsPlatinum80,000Peak: #9 Behind the Light (May 19, 2014) Interscope Recordsn/an/aPeak: #7 9.David Cook (Season 7, Winner) 50,000 David Cook (November 18, 2008) RCA RecordsGold50,000Peak: #11 This Loud Morning (June 28, 2011) RCA Recordsn/an/aPeak: #23
AI Artists without CRIA certified albums Former ContestantTotal SalesAlbums10.Jennifer Hudson (Season 3, 7th Place)49,000 Jennifer Hudson (2008) did not chart Hope for Haiti Now (2010) #1 I Remember Me (2011) did not chart11.Scotty McCreery (Season 10, Winner)16,837 Clear as Day (2011) #4 - n/a Christmas with Scotty McCreery (2012) did not chart - 13,126 See You Tonight (2013) #25 - 3,71112.David Archuleta (Season 7, Runner-Up)n/a David Archuleta (2008) #14 Christmas from the Heart (2009) did not chart The Other Side of Down (2010) #68 Begin (2012) did not chart No Matter How Far (2013) did not chart13.Lauren Alaina (Season 10, Runner-Up)n/a Wildflower (2011) #2214.Kellie Pickler (Season 5, 6th Place)n/a Small Town Girl (2006) did not chart Kellie Pickler (2008) #67 100 Proof (2012) #36 The Woman I Am (2013) did not chart15.Ruben Studdard (Season 2, Winner)n/a Souful (2003) #37 I Need an Angel (2004) did not chart The Return (2006) did not chart Love Is (2009) did not chart Letters from Birmingham (2012) did not chart16.Taylor Hicks (Season 5, Winner)n/a Taylor Hicks (2006) #43 Early Works (2008) did not chart The Distance (2009) did not chart17.Kris Allen (Season 8, Winner)n/a Kris Allen (2009) #50 Thank You Camellia (2012) #9318.Haley Reinhart (Season 10, 3rd Place)n/a Listen Up! (2012) #5219.Bo Bice (Season 4, Runner-Up)n/a The Real Thing (2005) #60 See the Light (2007) did not chart 3 (2010) did not chart20.Lee DeWyze (Season 9, Winner)n/a Live It Up (2010) #79 Frames (2013) did not chart21.Crystal Bowersox (Season 9, Runner-up)n/a Farmer's Daughter (2010) #90 All That for This (2013) did not chart22.Danny Gokey (Season 8, 3rd Place)n/a My Best Days (2010) #95
References
External links Canadian Recording Industry Association.ca Myspace.com