American Idol News: Kelly Clarkson First Alum To Reach 100 No. 1s

March 8, 2016 Branden American Idol, American Idol 2016 2

American Idol’s first winner Kelly Clarkson has officially become the first Idol alum to get 100 No. 1 songs on the Billboard charts. And it’s all thanks to American Idol 2016.

Kelly Clarkson performs "Piece by Piece" on American Idol 2016
Kelly Clarkson performs “Piece by Piece” on American Idol 2016

Clarkson’s emotional version of her autobiographical song “Piece by Piece” that she performed on the Feb. 25 episode of American Idol when she also sat on the judges’ panel. Shortly after the show interest in that version (the album version is uptempo), Clarkson decided to cut a track and fast-tracked it to iTunes. It took no time for it to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Digital Songs chart and also on the Pop Digital Songs chart. And that makes 100 No. 1 songs.

Clarkson’s first No. 1 song was her Idol-winning song “A Moment Like This,” which jumped to No. 1 so fast, it broke a record previously set by The Beatles, according to Billboard.

She might be the first Idol to reach 100 No. 1s but many others have achieved the No. 1 status; some multiple times. Here’s a look at the No. 1s by Idol alums:

Billboard No. 1s by American Idol contestants:
Kelly Clarkson, 100
Carrie Underwood, 83
Chris Daughtry [Daughtry] , 40
Fantasia, 35
Mandisa, 25
Phillip Phillips, 20
Jennifer Hudson, 17
Ruben Studdard, 16
Clay Aiken, 12
Colton Dixon, 12
Scotty McCreery, 12
Adam Lambert, 10
David Cook, 8
Kimberley Locke, 8
Josh Gracin, 7
Jordin Sparks, 7
David Archuleta, 5
Danny Gokey, 5
Kellie Pickler, 5
Kris Allen, 4
Elliott Yamin, 4
Taylor Hicks, 3
American Idol Finalists, 2
Bo Bice, 2
Jason Castro, 2
Bucky Covington, 2
Blake Lewis, 2
Chris Sligh, 2
Casey Abrams, 1
Paris Bennett, 1
Diana DeGarmo, 1
Lee DeWyze, 1
Tamyra Gray, 1
Casey James, 1
Jessica Sanchez, 1
William Hung, 1

SOURCE: BILLBOARD

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2 Comments

  1. ALL OF THE JUDGES ALWAYS GRIPE ABOUT BEING ORIGINAL TO WIN AND BEING DIFFERENT. SOME HOW SONIKA IS STILL ON THE SHOW WITH HER STRESSFUL TEETH AND EYEBROWS, SINGING LIKE A KARAOKE SINGER I.E. JUST LIKE THE ORIGINAL SONG. I HONESTLY DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY SHE HAS NOT BEEN KICKED OFF YET. YES, SHE IS TALENTED IN ALL BUT SHE HAS NO PERSONAL EXPRESSION AND NEVER EVER CHANGES THE SONG LIKE EVERYONE ELSE INSTEAD SHE SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE THE SONG.

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