How much do people love 'American Idol'? About 1.5 million times

Following the news this week that new "American Idol" David Cook placed a whopping 14 songs on the U.S. digital songs chart comes some staggering sales figures from Nielsen SoundScan. During the week of the finale, the 10 "Idol" finalists sold a total of 1.5 million digital downloads, led by Cook, who moved 924,000 of them.

"Idol" runner-up David Archuleta sold 323,000 downloads, and Jason Castro was a distant third with 64,000 copies. Two things to note: The sales figures represent multiple tracks from the artists, and fans were encouraged to download the songs this week, as most of them disappeared from Apple's iTunes store Wednesday night. So if you were wondering why America seemed a little brighter -- perhaps just a little happier -- on Thursday, there was your reason (sorry, boss).

The kind kids at Show Tracker noted that songs from Cook and Archuleta would still be available after the Wednesday night deadline, but an iTunes search for "Archuleta" did not reveal any songs. It appears that his soullessly professional version of John Lennon's "Imagine" can no longer (legally) infect MP3 players.

So here's the complete breakdown:

Cook: 942,000 downloads

Archuleta: 323,000 downloads

Castro: 64,000 downloads

Brooke White: 47,000 downloads

Michael Johns: 40,000 downloads

Carly Smithson: 33,000 downloads

Syesha Mercado: 18,000 downloads

Kristy Lee Cook: 10,000 downloads

Chikezie: 5,000 downloads

Ramiele Malubay: 3,000 downloads

Artists who appeared on the "Idol" finale also saw a nice benefit. Carrie Underwood's "Last Name" went from 22,000 downloads to 64,000, and OneRepublic's sappy "Apologize" rocketed from 6,000 downloads to 40,000.

So while execs at Fox ponder how to reinject some life into the competition, they can rest assured that the show still has a tight grip on the music marketplace.

Update from the A.M.: The post was changed to include sales figures from Ramiele Malubay.

Photo: Fox

Comments

[J9BT]

I'd like to see stats on total downloads throughout the season. The week before the finale there were only two performers left in the competition. Fans of other contestants primarily downloaded songs the week their favorite was voted off. Let's see the real totals. My guess is Jason Castro won't be a "distant" 3rd.

[liz]

Both Davids are a class act. What are you losers commenting on them. Yes I will buy David Cook's albums at whatever price...I also am going to American Idol in St. Louis. Get a life yourself. I love to just listen to the AI songs and Axiom songs which David C. wrote and they are wonderful.

[edna]

Archuletas songs are not available in Itunes and Zune so that there will be no sales for the kid and poeple can only download for Cook. They have to prove that those 12 million that they robbed really belongs to cook. They can only fool the dummies! Cook is saying he is going to make music that will make our hair in our neck stands up. Now why would I want to buy his album and do that to myself? I am not a freak. Only freaks do that to themselves . He is such an arrogant guy! Unbeleivable.

[lulu]

i thought ramiele's "alone" charted into itunes??? I'm kinda sad that her songs aren't that popular in the store. of all the female contestants, ramiele has the most beautiful versatile and contemporary voice. It's just her song choices sucks. and ai is being unfair to her, she always has the least exposure. i hope she does have a big future maybe in singing or acting. congrats too david cook.

[edna]

I agree with "lulu" Rameile has least exposure on the show because bad choice in songs, and she is also a filipina . I don't care what poeple will say about this comment but I am saying this that majority of poeple are so stereo type. Rameile has a good vocal also that is why she is in top 10, but she has least attention because of what she is. I am also a filipina and I have been all over the world and sad to say that poeple from different places have always only one set mind towards our race. We always have to work harder to prove what we are in order to be recognize.Rameile didnot create enough drama for the media or simply the media just one of those stereo type.I am very proud of Rameile to be in top 10, but the least exposure didnot surprise me. I expected it!

[edna]

Ramiele malubay didnot get enough attention here but if she goes back to our country she will make it there. We filipinos are always proud of our poeple no matter what kind or how little the acheivements are. We always seek each other doesn't matter what part of the world we are in.that is one thing I am very proud of my poeple . Rameile might not have enough attention but she sure will get it from all of us. Most places unite only when disasters hit or while "stuff is still hot" but after that, they are to each his own.

[Denise]

Of course the Davids stuff were much higher than other idols, they dtopped selling the other idols stuff on Wed. and the Davids stuff was on sale all week. The comparision is flawed.

[Piano Girl]

I downloaded David Archuleta's songs EACH week during the show. So I suppose my sales were not in the figures. Just for the record, I've NEVER downloaded ANY itunes to my IPOD before I heard David Archuleta. Now THAT's the "Wave of the Future"!

[Donna]

Well of course, since he is the only one from American Idol who has his songs available for dowloading. Clever marketing by AI. That is like running a one man race and let's not forget everybody loves to hear a winner and a sob story. He is definitely very talented, so we give him that. I wonder why AI does not release the the top 10 other contestants songs? What is the difference, Cook was declared the winner. Or are they afraid that some of the other contestants will outsell Cook? Hmmm. Good luck to all the top 10 we can't wait to buy some of their CDs. Rockers are not the only musicians that have talent.

[Indyfan]

I clearly saw 7 Archuletta videos and singles available in iTunes for the same days in which Cook's 7 videos and singles were available. I downloaded their duet, which was under Archuletta, so I know it worked. I have no idea where they got figures for other songs by these two or the songs of other contestants, since this was all that could be found. I also would love to see the figures on downloads during the show, as I downloaded all of Cook's as they were released, not during the week in question. I suspect most had much higher figures than this when they first came out.

[Josh]

Uh ... I went on vacation for a week and MISSED MY ONLY OPPORTUNITY to download these songs from iTunes!!! Can anyone share?

[Spring]

I honestly have to say that I cannot believe all of the harsh words towards David and David. Both are very talented singers and will do very well for themselves.

I feel that David A. will mature and find himself and will become even more popular as time goes on. He is not ready for the life style and stress that comes along with this just yet. He needs to finish school and "polish" himself a bit.

David C. is ready for this. He is mature and can handle the pressure better. I don't see how he can be called a loser. He has finished college, he is very educated and speaks well, he not only had one job, but two (bartending and performing), he can write songs, he can sing well, and he had enough knowledge and drive to produce and publish his own album. How many people can say that? His album was not released into the main stream, only locally in his home town. Now that he has the right avenue to promote his talent he will do extremely well.

Try not to hate so much. Of course not everyone will like him, just like everyone will not like Archie. Just think how boring of a World it would be if everyone liked the same thing...

[Jamie]

LEAH, you are a real winner. I disagree with your highly pessimistic attitude. People like you I feel sorry for who have a bad outlook and vibe in life. So sorry for you. David Cook is extremely talented and I look forward to his successes. Archuleta is great as well and is sure to have an amazing career.

[Becca]

I bought an IPOD JUST to download Archie's songs, but where are they?