With Season 12 of American Idol in the books, I thought I would try to rank all the current Idol winners (including S12 winner Candice Glover). Now a warning, I'm not basing this on record sales, just on my own preferred choices. So lets get this started, starting from #12 all the way to #1.
12) Taylor Hicks
In a season that saw Katharine McPhee and Chris Daughtry, somehow Taylor Hicks came through as S5's winner. Hicks has seen the least success thus far of nearly any other winner. The soulful stylings of Hicks haven't carried over to the mainstream market. His latest album is "The Distance" (2009). He's now with Modern Whomp records.
"The Distance" (2009): 52,000 (sold), Billboard 200: #58 (peak), Billboard Independent: #5 (peak)
11) Fantasia Barrino
S3's Fantasia lands in at #11. She may have seen more success than some of the "WGWG" winners, but drama away from the mic has led to unwanted drama for Fantasia (drug overdose in 2010). Fantasia will be working/collaborating with Kelly Rowland and Missy Elliot on her upcoming project, so maybe Fantasia can pick things back up. Her latest album "Side Effects Of You" (2013) has seen some success, so the future is still bright for Fantasia to move up this list in the future. Fantasia has been with J, RCA and 19 records.
"Side Effects Of You" (2013): 1st week sales of 91,000 copies, Billboard 200: #2 (peak), Billboard R&B/Hip Hop: #1
10) Lee Dewyze
S9 winner Lee Dewyze finds himself at #10. Lee's post-idol career hasn't gone to plan, with his debut album being one of the lowest selling debuts of an Idol winner. Lee has since left RCA, and is now with WuLi/Vanguard records, but still associated with 19 records. Lee's problem has been management and styling, as his pre-idol independent albums are what Lee should be doing more of. His latest album is "What Once Was" (2012). Data for "What Once Was" isn't available, but his debut album "Live It Up" only peaked at #19 on the Billboard 200 with a total of 151,000 copies.
9) Ruben Studdard
S2 winner Ruben lands in at #9. Ruben has seen mixed success since taking the 2nd season of Idol. Ruben saw his debut album go platinum with 1.8M copies. Since Idol, Ruben has lost over 80lbs and has been an advocate for spreading the arts, as well as awareness of sickle-cell disease. While Ruben has seen success in the R&B market, he hasn't seen the same success on the mainstream market. Ruben is currently with Shanachie records. His latest album is "Letters From Birmingham" (2012).
"Letters From Birmingham" (2012): 9,000 copies, Billboard 200: #73 (peak), Billboard R&B: #12 (peak)
8) Scotty McCreery
S10 winner Scotty lands at #8. Scotty was the first male country artist to win American Idol. Scotty has seen success on the country market, however I don't really feel like he separates himself from the rest of the male country landscape. Scotty saw his debut album go platinum, so the future is bright for Scotty. His latest album is a Christmas album "Christmas With Scotty McCreery" (2012). Scotty is with 19/Interscope/Mercury Nashville.
"Christmas With Scotty McCreery" (2012): 348,000 copies (as of January 2013), Billboard 200: #4 (peak), Billboard Country: #2 (peak), Billboard Holiday: #1.
7) Kris Allen
S8 winner Kris finds himself at #7. Kris really came out of nowhere in S8 to overtake Adam Lambert. He really broke out when he performed Kanye West's "Heartless" on the Idol stage in the Top 3. His debut album saw only mild success compared to other winners' debut albums, selling only 346,000 copies. Kris recently split with RCA records during the last year. His latest album is "Thank You Camellia" (2012). Kris was recently in a car accident requiring surgery for a broken wrist that wasn't healing properly, so hopefully Kris can get back out there and record music that he really wants to make.
"Thank You Camellia" (2012): 35,000 copies, Billboard 200: #26 (peak), Canadian Albums: #93 (peak)
6) Phillip Phillips
"The World From The Side Of The Moon" (2012): 871,000 copies, Billboard 200: #4 (peak), Canadian Albums: #6 (peak)
5) *Candice Glover*
The latest winner, S12's Candice finds herself debuting at #5. Week after week, Candice's soulful yet jazzy stylings always seemed to impress. One could see her being molded after someone like Adele and Mary J Blige. Her first single "I Am Beautiful" has peaked at #10 on the Itunes Singles Chart. Her debut album "Music Speaks" will come out in July. Candice is signed with 19/Interscope. There is great promise for Candice, so lets hope she gets to record the music she is meant for.
4) Jordin Sparks
S6 winner Jordin finds herself at #4. While Jordin hasn't seen the success of female winners Carrie Underwood or Kelly Clarkson (who are to come later), she has still been successful. Her debut album went platinum. While her sophomore album didn't see that same success, she recently announced that she had come to an agreement with RCA, and that her 3rd album will be coming out sometime this Fall. Jordin has recently been in the press for her relationship with fellow artist Jason Derulo, and they both seem to be incredibly happy. Here's hoping for her new album to indeed drop in the Fall.
"Battlefield" (2009): 177,000 copies, Billboard 200: #7 (peak), Canadian Albums: #12 (peak)
3) David Cook
He may not have seen the success Phillip Phillips has seen recently, but I still think S7's David Cook is the top male Idol winner. Week to week, David always brought a fresh or unique arrangement to his song choices. Unlike some of the other "WGWG" winners, David's debut album went platinum, however his sophomore effort didn't see the same effect, and he split with RCA. He is currently with XIX Entertainment, and has recently been recording new material in Nashville, so lets hope for another album soon from David Cook, more like his recently released single "Laying Me Low".
"This Loud Morning" (2011): 130,000 copies, Billboard 200: #7 (peak), Canadian Albums: #23 (peak)
2) Carrie Underwood
What can be said about S4's Carrie Underwood? She's been one of, if not the, most successful idol winner. She won at a time where Idol hadn't really produced a country artist, but Carrie proved that Country music could work on idol. She has become not just a country star, but a worldwide music star. Album after album, Carrie has yet to disappoint, with every one of her albums going platinum. Carrie has shown a newer side to her self with her latest album "Blown Away" (2012). Carrie is with 19/Arista Nashville. Idol may never produce anyone as successful as Carrie, or as my #1 Idol (still to come), again.
"Blown Away" (2012): 1.438M copies, Billboard Country: #1, Billboard 200: #1, Canadian Albums: #1
1) Kelly Clarkson
Of course, the original, S1's Kelly Clarkson takes my top spot. Kelly showed that someone from a show like American Idol can experience not just success on the music scene, but become a worldwide star. Kelly has certainly grown since S1, going from a light pop side, to a country feel, even to a dark side. You can never top the original. While Carrie may have had more records sold, being from close where I grew up, I'll always hold a spot for Kelly. Kelly is still with 19/RCA, where her latest album "Stronger" (2011) has gone platinum. Kelly has also released a Greatest Hits album, with new singles such as "Catch My Breath" and "People Like Us".
"Stronger" (2011): 1.043M copies, Billboard 200: #2 (peak), Canadian Albums: #4 (peak)
And there you have it. Some may disagree with this ranking, but as I said, this was my preference. So who ranks where in your top 12? Leave your rankings and other idol opinions in the comments.
