Four songs by Idol alums have made the track list for the upcoming Now 32 release, which is out tomorrow, but only two are featured in the TV spot promoting the compilation disc. Watch it below and guess which two have clips from their music videos included (if you didn't already guess from the title of this post):
This is especially good news for Kat, considering her single is just beginning to make progress on the charts. Also, it almost makes sense for any Idol fan to purchase this CD considering nearly 1/5 of its tracks are composed of songs by alums.
Another Carrie Underwood single debuted on Billboard's Hot 100 chart for the chart week of Oct. 31.
Although it didn't debut on the chart this week, Carrie's "Cowboy Casanova" fought its way back into the Top 20, improving one spot to #19. This displaced the previous week's Idol leading track, Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone," which slipped one spot to #20 despite retaining its bullet.
Carrie also saw her single "Mama's Song" debut on the chart at #77. And Daughtry's "No Surprise" was down three spot to #49, hanging onto a spot in the Top 50 for one more week.
Full chart positions courtesy of bks over on Pulse are posted below:
Hot 100 19 20 Carrie Underwood, "Cowboy Casanova" 20 19 Kelly Clarkson, "Already Gone" 49 46 Daughtry, "No Surprise" 77 -- Carrie Underwood, "Mama's Song"
Amid a week of music video releases by Idol alums, it appears one of the more high profile ones was overlooked by yours truly. Daughtry's latest single, "Life After You," premiered on AOL's PopEater blog on Thursday. Watch the video below:
In describing the video, Chris Daughtry in part told PopEater:
We deal with having to connect at home and manage that while we're doing our job on the road -- at the same time. The video shows what we do on any given day... moving from place to place and having to get in touch with my wife."
The video itself is a classic Daughtry video: a little lifeless. That said, this song is not nearly the strongest offering on the band's sophomore album Leave This Town, but it will most likely surpass its previous single, "No Surprise," on the success meter.
A steadily-moving single from a winner overtook last week's top track among Idol alums on Billboard's Hot 100 chart for the chart week of Oct. 24.
Finally entering the Top 20, Kelly Clarkson's slow burner "Already Gone" advanced #23-19, marking its highest position to date. Increases in sales and airplay show no signs of giving up in the short term.
Right behind at #20 was Carrie Underwood's "Cowboy Casanova," which slipped six spots from its debut position one week ago. Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield," on the other hand, fell heftier by nine spots to #44. And Daughtry's "No Surprise" was down #41-46.
Full chart positions courtesy of bks over on Pulse are posted below:
Hot 100 19 23 Kelly Clarkson, "Already Gone" 20 14 Carrie Underwood, "Cowboy Casanova" 44 35 Jordin Sparks, "Battlefield" 46 41 Daughtry, "No Surprise"
It was an exciting week for Idol alums on Billboard's Hot 100 chart for the chart week of Oct. 10 thanks to a mammoth debut by a former winner and a smaller debut on the Bubbling Under chart from another winner.
Kicking the action off was Carrie Underwood, whose latest single "Cowboy Casanova" rocketed #96-11 this week, narrowly missing the Top 10. Carrie has had four songs enter the Top 10 to date: "Inside Your Heaven" (#1), "I'll Stand By You" (#6), "Before He Cheats" (#8) and "I Told You So" (#9). Although it does not appear Carrie will be able to add another Hot 100 Top 10 to her belt in the immediate future, there is a good chance the song might be in contention of the title later down the road.
Falling backwards four spots to #25 was Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield," while Kelly Clarkson's slow-burning hit "Already Gone" continued its steady march up the chart, this week climbing #31-27. Daughtry's "No Surprise" emulated the footsteps of "Battlefield," falling four spots to #34.
As for the Bubbling Under chart, Kris Allen's lead-off single for his upcoming debut album made a small appearance at #15 based only on three days worth of sales this past week. Look for it to make gains next week.
Full chart positions courtesy of bks over on Pulse are posted below:
Hot 100 11 96 Carrie Underwood, "Cowboy Casanova" 25 21 Jordin Sparks, "Battlefield" 27 31 Kelly Clarkson, "Already Gone" 34 30 Daughtry, "No Surprise"
Bubbling Under 15 -- Kris Allen, "Live Like We're Dying"
One new track by an Idol alum found its way onto Billboard's Hot 100 chart for the chart week of Oct. 3, bringing the total number of franchise-related singles on the chart to four.
First up was Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield," which fell five spots to #21, which signifies that it is most likely on its final journey back down the chart. Also on its way down is Daughtry's "No Surprise," which slid #24-30 on the chart.
Kelly Clarkson, on the other hand, saw continued improvement with her current single "Already Gone." The song was up #35-31 for the week. And Carrie Underwood once again is represented on the Hot 100, this time with her new single "Cowboy Casanova." After debuting on the Bubbling Under chart one week ago, "Casanova" enters the Hot 100 at #96.
Full chart positions courtesy of bks over on Pulse are posted below:
There were many signs of life for tracks by Idol alums on Billboard's Hot 100 chart for the chart week of Sept. 26, and there was even an exciting debut on the Bubbling Under chart.
First up was Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield," which held steady at #16. This song's performance has been very impressive considering the depths to which it fell following its debut on the chart. Next was Daughtry's "No Surprise," which fell two spots to #24 but maintained a healthy pace. And Kelly Clarkson rounded out the Idol representation on the Hot 100 with "Already Gone," was up eight spots to #35, marking its highest placement to date.
That was not it for Idol activity on Billboard's Bubbling Under chart, however, as Carrie Underwood's hit-in-the-making "Cowboy Casanova" made its mark coming in at #21. It will only go up from here considering it has not even been released for purchase yet.
Full chart positions courtesy of bks over on Pulse are posted below:
Hot 100 16 16 Jordin Sparks, "Battlefield" 24 22 Daughtry, "No Surprise" 35 43 Kelly Clarkson, "Already Gone"
Bubbling Under 21 -- Carrie Underwood, "Cowboy Casanova"
For the first time in many weeks, there is a new top Idol-related single on the most recent edition of Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart.
After weeks of incremental growth, Kelly Clarkson's current single "Already Gone" continued to make strong advances as it jumped five spots to #25 thanks to an 11% increase in sales to 41.8k downloads for the week. Its total now stands at 297k.
Falling to second place among Idol alums was Jordin Sparks, whose single "Battlefield" continues its slow trip back down the chart, sliding #23-28 as a result of an 8% dip in sales to 40.2k downloads. It currently has a total of 933.7k and should pass the platinum benchmark by the first week of October.
And holding onto a spot in the Top 50 was Daughtry's "No Surprise," which sold another 28.2k tracks for a total of 773.2k. It fell 10 spots to #50 and was down 9% from last week.
Full numbers and chart positions courtesy of bks on Pulse as follows:
As usual, three Idol-related tracks saw movement on Billboard's Hot 100 chart for the chart week of Sept. 19.
Kicking things off was Jordin Sparks, whose single "Battlefield" slipped two spots to #16. Holding steady was Daughtry, whose single "No Surprise" remained at #22. And Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone" surged ahead #57-43, marking an even higher peak for the single that has been much maligned by the media.
Full chart positions courtesy of daddydewdrop over on Pulse are posted below:
16 14 Jordin Sparks, "Battlefield" 22 22 Daughtry, "No Surprise" 43 57 Kelly Clarkson, "Already Gone"
A debut single from a Season 7 finalist spiced up the Idol representation on the most recent edition of Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart.
Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield" continued to inch ever closer to the platinum threshold, adding 43.5k downloads to its total for a cumulative 893.5k singles sold. The single was down 9% in sales and slipped two spots to #23.
Up next was Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone," which was up another 11% to 37.8k downloads, resulting in a current total of 255.2k. The single finally entered the Top 30, advancing #36-30. Daughtry's "No Surprise" once again fell a few spots, this week down two to #40, thanks to a 7% sales decline to 31.1k. Its total now sits at 745k.
New to this edition of the chart was Jason Castro's "Let's Just Fall In Love Again," which debuted at #59 with 22.8k downloads. These numbers are a good sign for Jason but they are not as strong as Brooke White's debut with "Hold Up My Heart," which opened to 51.2k tracks sold at #27 back in February.
Full numbers and chart positions courtesy of bks on Pulse as follows:
23 21 Jordin Sparks, "Battlefield" 43,488 -9% 48,032 893,510 30 36 Kelly Clarkson, "Already Gone" 37,789 11% 34,124 255,205 40 38 Daughtry, "No Surprise" 31,072 -7% 33,539 745,043 59 -- Jason Castro, "Let's Just Fall In Love Again" 22,750 999% 0 22,750
All Idol-related tracks on Billboard's Hot 100 chart for the chart week of Sept. 12 saw positive gains, albeit minimal increases.
Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield" was up two spots to #14, showing its continued strength as this placement is its third-highest on the chart to date. Also inching back up was Daughtry's "No Surprise," which arrived at its second-highest position on the chart, #22, up one spot from the previous week. It is an understatement to say this single has had a "see-saw" journey on the chart.
And Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone" jumped ahead eight spots to #57 this week, marking its best placement on the Hot 100 to date.
Full chart positions courtesy of bks over on Pulse are posted below:
14 16 Jordin Sparks, "Battlefield" 22 23 Daughtry, "No Surprise" 57 65 Kelly Clarkson, "Already Gone"
Two Idol-related tracks continued to slide on the most recent issue of Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart, while one track continued to see steady positive movement.
Kicking things off as usual was Jordin Sparks, whose durable single "Battlefield" fell five spots to #21 thanks to a sales decline of 14%. The track moved another 48k for a total of 850k and looks within reach of platinum status by October.
Next up was Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone," which continued to prove its worth by rising 8% in sales to 34.1k downloads sold for the week. It was up #40-36 and has sold 217.4k to date.
Pulling up the rear was Daughtry's "No Surprise," which held steady at #38 despite slipping in sales by 4% to 33.5k downloads. It has now sold a total of 714k to date.
Full numbers and chart positions courtesy of bks on Pulse as follows:
All Idol-related entries on Billboard's Hot 100 chart for the chart week of Sept. 5 saw positive movement, which is something that has not happened in a while.
Naturally, Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield" kicked things off at #16, down one spot from the previous week. The song's ability to hang inside the Top 20 shows that it deserves a good deal of credit even though it is often talked of as an underwhelming single.
Up next was Daughtry's "No Surprise," which inched ahead #25-23 on the heels of steady sales and airplay gains, while Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone" witnessed the highest jump among alums, as the single was up 14 spots to #65.
And it was David Cook's "Come Back to Me" that worked its way back into the Top 80, as the slow-moving song was up #88-80.
Full chart positions courtesy of bks over on Pulse are posted below:
16 17 Jordin Sparks, "Battlefield" 23 25 Daughtry, "No Surprise" 65 79 Kelly Clarkson, "Already Gone" 80 88 David Cook, "Come Back to Me"
Gains were made by two Idol-related singles charting on the most recent issue of Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart, while another single slipped a bit but remained level.
Falling one spot to #16 was Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield," which sold another 55.8k downloads in the face of a 7% decline in sales. The song has passed the 800k benchmark, with its total currently resting at 802k.
Next up was Daughtry, whose aging single "No Surprise" saw an unexpected sales increase, moving ahead 9% to 34.8k for a total of 680.4k with an accompanying six-spot increase on the chart to #38. But it was Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone" that saw the biggest sales jump among entries by Idol alums, with the song amassing 31.5k downloads, up 20% in sales from the previous week and 17 spots on the chart to #40. It has now sold 183.3k tracks in all.
Full numbers and chart positions courtesy of bks on Pulse as follows:
It was another blah week for Idol alums on Billboard's Hot 100 chart for the chart week of Aug. 29.
Kicking things off again was Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield," which slipped one spot to #17. On the flip side, Daughtry saw its current single "No Surprise" was up #27-25, while Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone" jumped ahead by 10 spots to #79.
Full chart positions courtesy of bks over on Pulse are posted below:
17 16 Jordin Sparks, "Battlefield" 25 27 Daughtry, "No Surprise" 79 89 Kelly Clarkson, "Already Gone"
Lazy, hazy summer days once again softened activity for tracks by Idol alums continued on the Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart.
Jordin Sparks' single "Battlefield" continued to embarrass her album's sales, as it raked in another 60.2k downloads, down 8% in sales. It fell two spots to #15 and has sold 746.2k to date.
Next up was Daughtry's "No Surprise," which depreciated by 5% to 32k downloads for the week. It has only sold 645.6k in all and was off seven spots to #44 on the chart. And Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone" rounded out available Idol-related data with a 10% increase to 26.3k. It jumped #68-57 and has now sold 151.7k tracks.
Full numbers and chart positions courtesy of bks on Pulse as follows:
Another track by an Idol alum made its debut on Billboard's Hot 100 chart for the chart week of Aug. 22, as pre-existing entries from the franchise had mixed movements.
Kicking things off was Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield," which slid three spots to #16, marking its third-straight week inside the Top 20. The next Idol-related track actually saw positive movement, as Daughtry's "No Surprise" rose five spots to #27.
Holding steady on the lower half of the chart was David Cook's "Come Back to Me," which charted at #87 for the second week in a row, and Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone" made its debut on the chart at #89.
Full chart positions courtesy of bks over on Pulse are posted below:
16 13 Jordin Sparks, "Battlefield" 27 32 Daughtry, "No Surprise" 87 87 David Cook, "Come Back to Me" 89 -- Kelly Clarkson, "Already Gone"
Sales of tracks by Idol alums were split in terms of positive and negative movement on the most recent edition of the Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart.
As usual, Jordin Sparks led all other entries from the franchise with her single "Battlefield," which took in an additional 65.1k downloads despite a two-spot slide to #13. It was down 15% sales-wise and has amassed a total of 686k to date.
Next up was Daughtry's "No Surprise," which was down in the count by two spots to #37 thanks to a 10% dip in sales to 33.7k downloads. Its total is now 613.7k. Kelly Clarkson's next single "Already Gone" followed at #68, up a whopping 32 spots from the previous week, with 23.9k tracks sold. Its sales were up by 41% and now has a total of 125.5k.
And David Cook was once again playing the familiar role as the ninth batter in the lineup, as his "Come Back to Me" lallygagged at #139, up 12 spots, thanks to a boost from his performance of the song on Good Morning America. It was up 5% in sales and has sold 308.9k to date.
Full numbers and chart positions courtesy of bks on Pulse as follows:
013 011 Jordin Sparks, "Battlefield" 65,077 -15% 76,793 686,001 037 035 Daughtry, "No Surprise" 33,692 -10% 37,508 613,664 068 100 Kelly Clarkson, "Already Gone" 23,885 41% 16,993 125,460 139 151 David Cook, "Come Back to Me" 10,942 5% 10,445 308,939
The following are Idol-related odds and ends that happened this week:
>Blake Lewis began making the rounds in support of his forthcoming album, Heartbreak On Vinyl, beginning with an appearance on New York City's FOX affiliate morning program, Good Day New York, on Mon., Aug. 3. On the show, Blake spoke with its co-hosts and performed the album's first single, "Sad Song." Watch Blake's performance below:
Blake said the album is about the death of the physical medium of music, and it will additionally be available to purchase on vinyl records. The album will be out on Tues., Oct. 6.
>David Archuleta posted his latest blog entry from his tour with Demi Lovato on his official Ning site on Tues., Aug. 4. A snippet from the entry is found below:
After the Pittsburgh show, we had the North Carolina show, and then went down to Florida! The state where I was born and lived my first 6 years of life haha. We had a day off there, and so I got to spend it with some friends who are amazing people! I also got to spend time with my Grandparents! I love them. My grandparents were actually able to come to all 3 of our shows in Florida, and it was so great. I honestly don't remember the last time I was able to spend that much time with them, so I'm really grateful for it.
Arch also talked about some second cousins he did not know existed until he did research and ended up inviting them to his show, and ended the blog entry by encouraging his fans to research up on their families to see if they had any relatives they did not know about.
>Jordin Sparks spoke with ABC News about her new album, Battlefield, in addition to her thoughts on Chris Brown and Paula Abdul. Watch the interview below:
Jordin should get points just for speaking to Darius Brown while getting her nails done. That must take some talent.
>Amid all the Paula mania that happened this week, the controversy raised by Ju'Not Joyner got two more voices to contribute to the discussion. Ayla Brown, a semifinalist on the show's fifth season, told ABCNews.com:
"A few weeks in, when I was rehearsing, Ken and Nigel came in and said, 'You know, we knew you were pretty but we really didn't know you could sing this well,'" Brown said. "It made me think that I was on the show, and some people are put on the show, just to get ratings."
Similarly, Justin Buckles, a former production coordinator for Idol, said that the way the show's contestants are treated "is slave labor and I am not afraid to say it."
>Daughtry's highly anticipated AOL Sessions were uploaded to AOL Music last week. Watch the entire set below, starting with "No Surprise."
Other songs performed during the set include "Possum Kingdom," "Every Time You Turn Around," "Home" and "Ghost of Me." In addition to the performances, the band participated in a Q&A session.
A depleted roster of Idol-related tracks was found on Billboard's Hot 100 chart for the chart week of Aug. 15.
After Jordin Sparks' current single "Battlefield" reached the landmark status of entering the Top 10, the song slipped three spots to #13. This is the second-highest position the song has charted at, but it looks to be on its way down thanks to slow growth in airplay and decreasing sales.
The only other track by an Idol alum to make the chart was Daughtry's "No Surprise," which fell #28-32.
Full chart positions courtesy of bks over on Pulse are posted below:
Hot 100 13 10 Jordin Sparks, "Battlefield" 32 28 Daughtry, "No Surprise"
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