American Idol - Top Money Earners

[tsw2008]

Forbes has announced its latest list of Top 10 American Idol money earners for the past year and, once again, the two most successful winners remain atop the list. No real surprise there. Daughtry, the most popular non-winner, also remains toward the top.

Surprises? Perhaps Kellie Pickler ranking so high (No. 4) though she writes her songs and has toured frequently and Kris Allen making the cut at 10 and the far higher profile Adam Lambert missing out.

The reasons? Though Adam's album sold more than twice as many copies as Kris' there is little money to be made through CD sales, especially if you're just the performer. Songwriters and producers get their cut first. Once you subtract the label's grab there's little left for the artist unless the album sells in the millions and few artists manage that these days.

Adam's income would come largely from touring and merchandising and his tour just started, or is soon to get underway. Kris' income would likely be the result of those Ford commercials he's landed. One would expect Adam to make the list next year if the tour does well. The one season to fail to make the list this year: Season 3, Fantasia's year. Ruben Studdard, Season 2 winner, and Taylor Hicks, Season 5 victor, also missed.

1. Kelly Clarkson -- $8 million



2. Carrie Underwood -- $7 million



3. Chris Daughtry -- $5.4 million



4. Kellie Pickler -- $4.3 million



5. David Cook -- $2.3 million



6. Jennifer Hudson -- $2 million



7. Jordin Sparks -- $1.8 million



8. David Archuleta -- $1.4 million



9. Clay Aiken -- $800,000



10. Kris Allen -- $672,000


Death at the most over rated and over hyped contestant not making the list

miamiherald.typepad.com/idol_watch/2010/05/forbes-has-announced-itslatest-list-of-top-10-american-idol-money-earners-for-the-past-year-and-once-again-the-twomost-succ.html

www.forbes.com/2010/05/20/kelly-clarkson-carrie-underwood-chris-daughtry-business-entertainment-american-idol_slide_2.html

[Deleted]

Kellie countinues to be on of the most successful Idol contestants ever! <3
Carrie & Kelly both are doing well too!

[ƒreakshow]

This is wrong. Carrie made $13 million.

[felipe]

I don't get it. If the women make the most money, why do men keep winning the show?

[wunderkind]

Forbes said that Carrie made $14 million in 2009 and was the top-earning idol... not sure why they are releasing conflicting data.

[Jay]

It doesn't matter if Carrie made more than Kelly this year. In 2005 alone, Kelly made over $50 million which is more than Carrie will make in the next 5 years or more.

[tsharky]

Carrie made at least 13 million in 2009, so Forbes made a typo.

Forbes listed Carrie as making 13 million in 2009 on the Top country artists chart, for the same year, so I am not sure why they subtracted 6 million for this chart. lol LMAO

[$uperb@tDuDe]

Guess it pays off to have a 'c' or 'k' in your name. 9 of the 10 contestants have either or both letters in their name. Just my useless trivia for the day.

[grouper6]

I would think with all the touring that kelly did last year that she would have made more. I know her album hasn't sold 900k although her singles did well so I don't expect her to have made money there but surely touring but then again her ticket prices aren't that high and the venues aren't huge.

J-Hud probably made that from endorsements as her debut album didn't sell well due to the trajedies that surrounded her.


Who wouldhave thought that Kellie Pickler would have been so successful $ wise and Fantasia for all her ta lent needs an image makeover so she can start to get meaningful gigs and co-touring gigs that will pay her because she can sing.

Dead at the amount Kris Allen made and not sure about Jordan as her album flopped as well and she just started a small mini tour.

[wunderkind]

May 25, 2010 19:14:19 GMT -5 Jay said:

It doesn't matter if Carrie made more than Kelly this year. In 2005 alone, Kelly made over $50 million which is more than Carrie will make in the next 5 years or more.

The point of my post (and the other person who posted about Carrie's earnings) was to show that the info released from Forbes was incorrect or at least conflicting with other info they released.

I don't really care who made more, so there's no reason to get defensive of Kelly.

Edit to add: And how much Kelly made during the Breakaway days really isn't important - this list is about who made most in the last year (which is why people like David A and Kellie are on it and Fantasia and Ruben aren't). It would be silly for a Fantasia or Ruben fan to say "well Ruben made more in 2004 than these other people" - there's just no need. Somebody could just as easily argue that Carrie earned more during the "Some Hearts" era than Kelly will in the next 5 years, but that wouldn't change what this list is about either.

[TeddyR]

They fixed the list and Carrie is at #1 with 13 million.

[Nic (Britney Spears)]

May 25, 2010 19:23:17 GMT -5 $uperb@tDuDe said:

Guess it pays off to have a 'c' or 'k' in your name. 9 of the 10 contestants have either or both letters in their name. Just my useless trivia for the day.

I guess that's true that having a 'c' or 'k' in your name is good luck.. I mean, the one person who DOESN'T have a 'c' or 'k' in their name had pretty much her whole family murdered.

[chartslover]

Thanks for the list. I'm happy to see Kellie Pickler doing so great. She's a talented and very funny and charismatic girl.

[musicrocks]

May 25, 2010 19:23:17 GMT -5 $uperb@tDuDe said:

Guess it pays off to have a 'c' or 'k' in your name. 9 of the 10 contestants have either or both letters in their name. Just my useless trivia for the day.

Guess that's a good thing for Crystal Bowersox lol.

May 26, 2010 6:57:42 GMT -5 TeddyR said:

They fixed the list and Carrie is at #1 with 13 million.

Where did they do that? Not on either site that got post above.

[TeddyR]

May 26, 2010 6:57:42 GMT -5 musicrocks said:

They fixed the list and Carrie is at #1 with 13 million.

Where did they do that? Not on either site that got post above.

www.forbes.com/2010/05/25/carrie-underwood-clarkson-daughtry-business-entertainment-american-idol_slide_2.html

[tsw2008]

I'm now starting to question the credibility of this report..all the figures seem to have gone up. I also think those figures are career totals. For example, there is no way Jordin Sparks made $3.7 Million in 2009 lol.

[Jack]

11 and 13 million as career totals for Kelly and Carrie? No way.

And why was anyone expecting Fantasia to be on the list. She's hasn't released anything and has barely performed a show. Recording in the studio isn't very lucrative.

[Stephen]

Why do we even care about Forbes? They're irrelevant. They said Carrie was born in Muskogee (wrong) and that she's only sold 9.6 million albums (wrong).

[Jack]

May 26, 2010 10:00:52 GMT -5 Stephen said:

Why do we even care about Forbes? They're irrelevant. They said Carrie was born in Muskogee (wrong) and that she's only sold 9.6 million albums (wrong).

Stephen's right. Let's just call this a win for Kelly and move on.

[Love Plastic Love]

This list seems bizarre and incorrect at point. I don't get why Forbes released conflicting reports either. Is this legitimately on their website?

[maria4hitz]

Is this the same chart??? I don't understand

In Pictures: The Top-Earning 'Idols'

No. 1: Carrie Underwood
$13 million
The Muskogee, Okla.-born country pop singer has won four Grammys, 14 Billboard Music Awards and five American Music Awards. She's also sold 9.6 million albums.

No. 2: Kelly Clarkson
$11.7 million
Idol's first winner has sold 10.6 million albums (along with 16.1 million digital tracks, according to Nielsen SoundScan). Her latest single, "Already Gone," hit No. 3 on Billboard charts. Currently touring in New Zealand, she'll play the Lilith Fair music festival this month. Clarkson, 28, is now working on her fifth album.

No. 3: Chris Daughtry
$10.2 million
After playing with a series of bar bands traveling around North Carolina, Daughtry made it to Idol's final four in the fifth season. Since leaving the show he has sold 5.7 million copies of his two albums: a Grammy-nominated self-titled debut in 2006 and Leave This Town, released last year. Followers on Twitter: 159,000.

No. 4: Kellie Pickler
$7.6 million
Pickler was one of the hardest-working Idol alums this past year, with a 100-date concert schedule. The season five finalist has sold 1.3 million records, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

No. 5: Jordin Sparks
$3.7 million
Entering Idol competition at age 17, Sparks was the youngest winner in the show's history. The season six winner broke out with "No Air," a duet with R&B vocalist Chris Brown. She has toured with Alicia Keyes and the Jonas Brothers. Sparks' second album, Battlefield, debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard charts.

No. 6: Jennifer Hudson
$3.5 million
Hudson ranks lower this year due to slowing album sales and a light touring schedule, yet she remains one of the most successful Idol alums. She placed just seventh in the third season but went on to win an Oscar in 2006 for her role in Dreamgirls. Her 2008 self-titled album, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, has sold over 750,000 copies. Earlier this year she signed on as the latest spokeswoman for Weight Watchers.

No. 7: David Cook
$2.8 million
Three years ago, David Cook was tending bar in Tulsa, Okla. After winning Idol's seventh season title in 2008, his first single, "The Time of My Life," debuted at No. 3 on Billboard's Hot 100, followed by a debut album, David Cook, which went platinum. He continues a lucrative endorsement deal with Skechers shoes.

No. 8: David Archuleta
$2.2 million
Defeated in the seventh season by David Cook, Archuleta went on to release a self-titled album on Jive records that reached No. 2 on the Billboard charts. He has played more than 100 live shows since Idol. Twitter followers: 372,000.

No. 9: Clay Aiken
$2 million
The Raleigh, N.C., native maintains a loyal following six years after finishing second on Idol. He has sold 4 million albums and penned a New York Times bestselling memoir. Aiken recently finished a run in Broadway's "Spamalot."

No. 10: Kris Allen
$1.7 million
The Arkansas native gained traction with Idol fans with his acoustic version of Kanye West's "Heartless." He engineered a stunning upset over Adam Lambert last year. He signed with Jive Records and released a self-titled album that reached No. 11 on the Billboard 200. He's been performing in Las Vegas and touring nationally.

www.forbes.com/2010/05/25/carrie-underwood-clarkson-daughtry-business-entertainment-american-idol_slide_2.html

[Typo]

LMAO. They really did correct it!

[logansgrandma]

May 26, 2010 10:00:52 GMT -5 Stephen said:

Why do we even care about Forbes? They're irrelevant. They said Carrie was born in Muskogee (wrong) and that she's only sold 9.6 million albums (wrong).

Actually, they're right...Carrie was born in Muskogee. She is from Checotah, but they don't have a hospital so her mom had her in Muskogee's hospital.

[area51]

Looks to me like Forbes pulled both sets of numbers out of a hat.

Nice job, Bullwinkle.

[libri]

May 25, 2010 19:14:19 GMT -5 Jay said:

It doesn't matter if Carrie made more than Kelly this year. In 2005 alone, Kelly made over $50 million which is more than Carrie will make in the next 5 years or more.

I'm guessing you were referring to this Billboard article:
www.allbusiness.com/services/amusement-recreation-services/4713082-1.html

Kelly didn't make over $50 m in 2005. She was #18 with revenue of over $39 m. Revenue is not profit. It's the money she generated from music sales and concert receipts, not the money that she pocketed. The latter would've been a fraction of that amount since artists only make money from their music sales when/if their royalty exceeds their share of promo costs + advance, and they generally pocket "only" 25% - 33% of the tour receipts.

Anyway, I think this Forbes list is a joke. The numbers are way too high. I only read up to JHud. Hers is the only one that seems plausible since she'd had movies and endorsements. Carrie's probably isn't too far off. Kelly's and Daughtry's are way too high. And there's no way Jordin and Kellie Picker made $3.7 m and $7.6 m, respectively. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Kellie was touring as an opener, wasn't she? Opening slots don't pay much , if at all. It seems like the list-maker just looked at the idols' schedules and then made a wild guess without taking into account their respective real drawing power.

[maxypark]

May 26, 2010 15:12:38 GMT -5 libri said:

May 25, 2010 19:14:19 GMT -5 Jay said:

It doesn't matter if Carrie made more than Kelly this year. In 2005 alone, Kelly made over $50 million which is more than Carrie will make in the next 5 years or more.

I'm guessing you were referring to this Billboard article:
www.allbusiness.com/services/amusement-recreation-services/4713082-1.html

Kelly didn't make over $50 m in 2005. She was #18 with revenue of over $39 m. Revenue is not profit. It's the money she generated from music sales and concert receipts, not the money that she pocketed. The latter would've been a fraction of that amount since artists only make money from their music sales when/if their royalty exceeds their share of promo costs + advance, and they generally pocket "only" 25% - 33% of the tour receipts.

Anyway, I think this Forbes list is a joke. The numbers are way too high. I only read up to JHud. Hers is the only one that seems plausible since she'd had movies and endorsements. Carrie's probably isn't too far off. Kelly's and Daughtry's are way too high. And there's no way Jordin and Kellie Picker made $3.7 m and $7.6 m, respectively. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Kellie was touring as an opener, wasn't she? Opening slots don't pay much , if at all. It seems like the list-maker just looked at the idols' schedules and then made a wild guess without taking into account their respective real drawing power.

I read that Kellie has (had?) endorsements worth millions and that she charges around $50000 per show. She does many additional shows on her own and has sold out 7k arenas in the past. Touring with Taylor Swift will bring in more money and she may be on a small percentage take as well as they are supposed to be friends. Also she is not the type of opening act that is seeking exposure, who often tour for free or even pay the headliner, as she is well known herself. Add all that to her publishing (~400k radio spins etc ), TV appearances, and record sales take and I could imagine that she is a hefty earner of that magnitude.

[pnobelysk]

"The one season to fail to make the list this year: Season 3, Fantasia's year"

wasnt jennifer hudson from season 7?

[fridayteenage]

Billboard has an article on "most successful" Idol alums. www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100#/features/top-24-american-idols-of-all-time-1004088662.story?page=4

I found this interesting: Adam Lambert
Album Sales: 685,000
Kris Allen
Album Sales: 310,000
Not only the runner-up 2x the winner's sales, but also...combined it's less than a mil still.

Archuleta has slightly less than 1 mil.
T3: Kelly, Carrie, Daughtry. Unsurprising.

Surprisingly, the season that has 2 alum closest to the top is season 5, with Daughtry at 3 & Pickler at 7. Especially since neither won.

[vandj4ever]

May 26, 2010 15:12:38 GMT -5 libri said:

Anyway, I think this Forbes list is a joke. The numbers are way too high. I only read up to JHud. Hers is the only one that seems plausible since she'd had movies and endorsements. Carrie's probably isn't too far off. Kelly's and Daughtry's are way too high. And there's no way Jordin and Kellie Picker made $3.7 m and $7.6 m, respectively. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Kellie was touring as an opener, wasn't she? Opening slots don't pay much , if at all. It seems like the list-maker just looked at the idols' schedules and then made a wild guess without taking into account their respective real drawing power.

Okay. And based on what data would you use to determine their real drawing power? Forbes doesn't have access to their accounts so it's all estimates using published charts like Billboard.

Kellie Pickler has opened for some big arena country draws including Swift. Given the amount Taylor pulls in and the two being good friends I could easily speculate she's well compensated. Jordin I know has some endorsements. Kelly and Daughtry headline their own shows (to more then a couple thousand a night). And both had new music out this year. This list seems more accurate then the last one to be honest. 600k for an Idol winner (as the last stated) given the special endorsements they are given was a little hard to believe.

[$uperb@tDuDe]

May 26, 2010 17:27:48 GMT -5 pnobelysk said:

"The one season to fail to make the list this year: Season 3, Fantasia's year"

wasnt jennifer hudson from season 7?

Season 3, still can't believe Fantasia won over her. Debauchery!