Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Hand it to the folks behind the machine that is American Idol; they’re always finding new ways to cash in on their hottest commodities.

This year, they’ve taken studio versions of the songs the finalists performed live during season eight and compiled them into albums, downloadable from iTunes.

The album of 12 Adam Lambert performances — ranging from “Ring of Fire” to “Born to Be Wild” — debuted at number 33 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart last week. This week, it checks in at number 52. It’s also number five on the most downloaded album chart.

Adam’s most highly touted Idol single, “Mad World,” slips from 19 to 44 this week on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Of course, Idol has been marketing iTunes singles from contestants for a couple of years now.

Here’s how other Idol contestants are faring on the latest Billboard charts, released Thursday.

Kris Allen: The Idol winner had studio versions of two of his songs debut in the Billboard Hot 100 last week. This week, both slipped — “No Boundaries” from 11 to 23; “Heartless” from 16 to 33.

Kelly Clarkson: The original Idol now has two singles in the top 30 on the Billboard Hot 200. “My Life Would Suck Without You” (number 24) is still more popular than the Kara DioGuardi co-written “I Do Not Hook Up (number 26).

Kelly’s fourth album, ”All I Ever Wanted,” slips another spot this week from 40 to 41 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart.

Daughtry: The band’s debut album, on the chart for more than two years, is still 78 on the Hot 200, an 11-notch jump from last week. And, to think, the band’s new single, “No Surprise,” doesn’t even come from that album. It comes from the soon-to-be-released “Leave This Town.” As for the single, it’s number 45 on the Pop 100 chart.

Carrie Underwood: After 84 weeks on the chart, Carrie’s second album, “Carnival Ride,” is still 45 on the Billboard Hot 200, down one spot from last week. It’s number 15, down from 11, on the country album chart.

Kellie Pickler: Here’s betting Kellie is seeing the benefits of touring with Taylor Swift, one of today’s hottest country stars. Her second album, self-titled, jumps eight spots this week on the Billboard Hot 200, from 91 to 83.

Both her album and her latest single, “Best Days of Your Life,” moved up one notch, from 19 to 18, on Billboard’s country charts.

Jordin Sparks: The lead-in single to her new album, “Battlefield,” moves up four spots, from 52 to 48, on the Billboard Hot 200. Of course, hits are nothing new for the season six winner. Her first album produced “Tattoo,” “No Air,” and “This Is My Now.”

Ruben Studdard: His fourth album, “Love Is,” was released last month and checks in at number 13 on the independent album chart, number 21 on the R&B album chart. It debuted at number eight on the latter chart last week.

Elliott Yamin: Another former contestant who has gone the independent route, Elliott’s “Fight For Love” is number 22 on the independent album chart, down from 19 last week.

David Cook: His self-titled debut album checks in at 46 this week on the Billboard Hot 200, down from 29 last week.

Mandisa: The first single off her “Freedom” album continues to fare well on Billboard’s top Christian songs chart. It holds steady at number nine this week.

Jennifer Hudson: Her Grammy winning debut album is still in the top 50 on the R&B chart, slipping a notch from 41 to 42 this week. The single “If This Isn’t Love” falls from number nine to number 13 on the R&B singles chart.