HITS estimates: Kelly 254.1k, Carrie 12.5k

Bowing above expecations but below most pre-release predictions, Kelly Clarkson's All I Ever Wanted led all other Idol-related entries on HITS Daily Double's Top 50 estimates chart.

Kelly's album sold 254.1k and opened at #1, which would be her third-highest debut week (ahead of Breakaway) is estimates hold. This number is higher than HITS' latest predictions, which were 220-30k.

Next on the chart was Carrie Underwood, whose Carnival Ride benefited from the premiere of her "Home Sweet Home" cover as used on Idol's results show, launching back onto the chart at #41 with 12.5k. Look for an even greater sales surge next week following her performance on Idol tonight.

Jennifer Hudson's debut album fell #39-43 and is expected to have sold 11.5k copies, up 4% from last week. David Cook and his David Cook dropped out of the Top 50 this week.

Noticeably missing was Taylor Hicks' new album, The Distance. Unless these figures are way off, it looks like Taylor will debut with lower than 10.5k, marking the lowest first-week sales by an Idol winner for a non-exclusive album.

Finalized figures courtesy of Billboard should be out soon, so keep your eyes peeled.