Yesterday, we shared with you that American Idol’s first winner Kelly Clarkson earned her 80th No. 1 song on the Billboard charts and that reigning champ Phillip Phillips is rising fast. Today we’ve got a complete list of the No. 1 hits by any Idol contestant to ever top the charts. It’s fun to compare.
American Idol No. 1 hits by Contestant
- Kelly Clarkson – 80
- Carrie Underwood – 65
- Chris Daughtry (Daughtry) – 39
- Fantasia – 31
- Ruben Studdard – 16
- Jennifer Hudson – 15
- Clay Aiken – 12
- Mandisa – 15
- Kimberley Locke – 8
- Adam Lambert – 10
- Scotty McCreery -10
- Josh Gracin – 7
- Jordin Sparks – 7
- Phillip Phillips – 8
- David Cook – 8
- David Archuleta – 4
- Kellie Pickler – 4
- Elliott Yamin – 4
- Kris Allen – 4
- Taylor Hicks – 3
- American Idol Finalists – 2
- Bo Bice – 2
- Jason Castro – 2
- Bucky Covington – 2
- Colton Dixon -4
- Blake Lewis – 2
- Chris Sligh – 2
- Paris Bennett – 1
- Diana DeGarmo – 1
- Lee DeWyze – 1
- Tamyra Gray – 1
- Casey Abrams – 1
- Casey James – 1
- Jessica Sanchez – 1
- William Hung – 1
So if you really want to get technical here, this tells us that Lee DeWyze is the least successful Idol winner. Kelly is obviously the most successful. The most successful non-winner would be Chris Daughtry. Though if you throw in awards and album sales, the list would change. But just based on what people want to listen to (and that’s what matters most to me), that’s how it would play out.
Do you have a list by the number of weeks at #1?