Interlude: 27 Best Selling 'Idol' Singles

So why 27? Because American Idol alumni officially has 27 million-seller singles under its belt. Impressive no?

Of the 27 million-sellers by Idol contestants, eight are by Season 1 champ. That's twice as many as her closest rivals. Carrie Underwood, the Season 4 winner; Jordin Sparks, the Season 6 champ; and the band fronted by Chris Daughtry, who finished fourth in Season 5, have each landed four million-selling downloads. David Cook, the Season 7 champ, has had two.

Clarkson has also had the most consecutive million-sellers of any Idol contestant. She had six million-sellers in a row from Breakaway through Never Again. But Clarkson doesn't have the best-selling song by an Idol contestant - or even the second best-seller.

Want to find out?

Well, here are the 27 songs by American Idol contestants to sell 1 million or more digital copies. The tally is the sales total through the week of April 30, 2010.

27. Best Days Of Your Life

Kellie Pickler

Copies Sold: 1,011,000

Hot 100 peak: 46

26. Whataya Want From Me

Adam Lambert

Copies Sold: 1,061,000

Hot 100 peak:10

25. Light On

David Cook

Copies Sold: 1,074,000

Hot 100 peak: 17

24. Walk Away

Kelly Clarkson

Copies Sold: 1,094,000

Hot 100 peak: 12

23. Never Again

Kelly Clarkson

Copies Sold: 1,106,000

Hot 100 peak: 8

22. Wait For You

Elliott Yamin

Copies Sold: 1,113,000

Hot 100 peak: 13

21. No Surprise

Daughtry

Copies Sold: 1,128,000

Hot 100 peak: 15

20. All-American Girl

Carrie Underwood

Copies Sold: 1,191,000

Hot 100 peak: 27

19. Over You

Daughtry

Copies Sold: 1,273,000

Hot 100 peak: 18

18. Behind These Hazel Eyes

Kelly Clarkson

Copies Sold: 1,310,000

Hot 100 peak: 6

17. Cowboy Casanova

Carrie Underwood

Copies Sold: 1,311,000

Hot 100 peak: 11

16. The Time Of My Life

David Cook

Copies Sold: 1,328,000

Hot 100 peak: 3

15. Already Gone

Kelly Clarkson

Copies Sold: 1,344,000

Hot 100 peak: 13

14. Live Like We're Dying

Kris Allen

Copies Sold: 1,350,000

Hot 100 peak: 18

13. One Step At A Time

Jordin Sparks

Copies Sold: 1,377,000

Hot 100 peak: 17

12. Breakaway

Kelly Clarkson

Copies Sold: 1,413,000

Hot 100 peak: 6

11. Battlefield

Jordin Sparks

Copies Sold: 1,444,000

Hot 100 peak: 10

10. Because Of You

Kelly Clarkson

Copies Sold: 1,465,000

Hot 100 peak: 7

09. Jesus, Take The Wheel

Carrie Underwood

Copies Sold: 1,672,000

Hot 100 peak: 20

08. Crush

David Archuleta

Copies Sold: 1,918,000

Hot 100 peak: 2

07. Home

Daughtry

Copies Sold: 1,966,000

Hot 100 peak: 5

06. Tattoo

Jordin Sparks

Copies Sold: 2,070,000

Hot 100 peak: 8

05. It's Not Over

Daughtry

Copies Sold: 2,103,000

Hot 100 peak: 4

04. Since U Been Gone

Kelly Clarkson

Copies Sold: 2,235,000

Hot 100 peak: 2

03. My Life Would Suck Without You

Kelly Clarkson

Copies Sold: 2,311,000

Hot 100 peak: 1

02. Before He Cheats

Carrie Underwood

Copies Sold: 2,986,000

Hot 100 peak: 8

01. No Air

Jordin Sparks

Copies Sold: 3,127,000

Hot 100 peak: 3

A few milestones:

• Daughtry's rock ballad It's Not Over, which has sold 2,103,000 copies, holds two records. It's the best-selling digital hit by a male contestant in Idol history. And it's the best-selling hit by any singer who didn't win the competition.
• David Archuleta, the Season 7 runner-up, was just 17 in November 2008 when Crush topped the million mark in paid downloads. That made him the youngest Idol contestant to top 1 million. (Jordin Sparks had already turned 18 by the time Tattoo became her first million-seller in January 2008.) 
• Jordin Sparks is the youngest contestant to top the 2 million mark. She first achieved that milestone in June 2008 with No Air.

The Fine Print: Contestants from the first few seasons of the show were at a disadvantage in making this list because there were no million-sellers in the digital world until October 2005. Songs released before then (such as Clarkson's first hits from Breakaway) have subsequently topped the 1 million mark, but it's harder for them because they peaked on the charts before digital sales really took off.Physical singles were still available in the early years of Idol, so I checked gold and platinum certifications by the Recording Industry Association of America. Clay Aiken's 2003 hit This Is The Night was certified platinum (signifying shipments of 1 million physical copies).

Five other physical singles by Idol contestants were certified gold (signifying shipments of 500,000 copies). These were Clarkson's 2002 hit A Moment Like This, Aiken's 2003 hit Invisible, Ruben Studdard's 2003 hit Flying Without Wings, and dueling 2005 recordings of Inside Your Heaven by Underwood and Bice.

SOURCE: Yahoo

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