Cook's sales in comparison

Now that the final first week sales are in for David Cook's debut album, let's take a look at how his numbers stack up against the sales and chart positions on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart of the six previous winners.

First Week Sales - Winners
1) Ruben Studdard - Soulful (416,569 - #1)
2) Carrie Underwood - Some Hearts (314,549 - #2)
3) Taylor Hicks - Taylor Hicks (298,199 - #2)
4) Kelly Clarkson - Thankful (297,000 - #1)
5) David Cook - David Cook (279,578 - #3)
6) Fantasia - Free Yourself (239,389 - #8)
7) Jordin Sparks - Jordin Sparks (119,119 - #10)

Cook's sales are extremely healthy when compared to the first week sales of other winners, but at the same time it cannot be said for certain that his album will do as well as others. Look at Ruben Studdard's figures compared to where it ended up. But on the flip side, look at Jordin Sparks' debut week take and now it is just shy of going platinum.

Total Sales - Winners
1) Carrie Underwood - Some Hearts (6.59 million)
2) Kelly Clarkson - Thankful (2.71 million)
3) Ruben Studdard - Soulful (1.79 million)
4) Fantasia - Free Yourself (1.77 million)
5) Jordin Sparks - Jordin Sparks (956k)
6) Taylor Hicks - Taylor Hicks (703k)
7) David Cook - David Cook (280k)

Although there are some very big shoes to fill, it should be easy to see that Cook's debut will easily pass Taylor Hicks' by the end of the year, though it will take a bit longer for it to pass Jordin Sparks. Regardless, it should finish just above Ruben's total unless it can't produce at least one hit single.