IDOL LIVE predix: 'All I Ever Wanted'; 'The Distance'

One of the highest weeks sales-wise for an album will be had beginning Tuesday when Kelly Clarkson's fourth album All I Ever Wanted drops to a hungry consumer base that has been eagerly anticipating the release for months. Also due out this week in the Idol arena is Taylor Hicks' latest effort, The Distance.

This is the second time two Idol winners will release albums on the same exact day (the first was on Nov. 23, 2004, when Fantasia's "Free Yourself" dropped on the same day as Ruben Studdard's I Need An Angel, as noted by poster The G). In the face of history, however, one album will fare much better than the other, making for a less exciting event.

Kelly has had a history of successful opening weeks for her previous three albums, as Thankful opened to 297k, Breakaway started with 250k and My December posted first week figures of 291,213. Although it can be said that Kelly must overcome the obstacle that is the bad taste many have in their mouths from My December, her stock seems to be back on the move and "My Life Would Suck Without You" is one of the hottest songs out there at the moment.

Taylor, however, is in a much different boat than his fellow Idol champ. Although his debut album scorched sales-wise in its premiere week with 298,199 copies back in 2006, things were not as rosy when his Early Works album only managed 4.4k total in 2008.

After taking all these elements into consideration, I am going to predict All I Ever Wanted will net 334k in its opening week and open at #1 on the Billboard 200, while The Distance will pull in 12k copies and emerge at #53 on the Billboard 200.

It would be amazing if both could debut higher on the sales end, but that might be asking a little too much in these tough times and with the continuing slide in album sales in general.