Andy DehnartThe numbers are in, and Britain’s Got Talent sensation Susan Boyle has the year’s biggest debut. She sold 701,000 copies, which is “the best opening week for a female artist’s debut album since SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991” and “the best sales week for an album in the U.S. this year,” according to Billboard.
She easily beat Adam Lambert, whose first record was released on the same day, who in turn beat Kris Allen, whose debut was released the week before. Adam Lambert sold 198,000 copies of For Your Entertainment, which easily beat Kris Allen’s 80,000 copies of his self-titled debut.
Kris actually, then, has the lowest first-week sales of all the American Idol winners, significantly lower than the previous low seller, Jordin Sparks.
Here are the first-week sales numbers for all of the winners and their (season):
- Ruben Studdard (2): 416,600
- Carrie Underwood (4): 315,000
- Taylor Hicks (5): 298,000
- Kelly Clarkson (1): 297,400
- David Cook (7): 280,000
- Fantasia Barrino (3): 239,000
- Jordin Sparks (6): 119,000
- Kris Allen (8): 80,000
As Taylor Hicks’ third-place and Ruben Studdard’s first-place positions on this list prove, first-week sales are not necessarily a predictor of future success.