Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Was it wise to delay the release of Jessica Sanchez’s debut album until a year after her Idol run?

Not judging from the new Billboard 200 album chart.

Jessica Sanchez’s debut album landed at number 26 on the Billboard 200. (AP Photo)

According to Billboard, about 14,000 copies of Jessica’s album sold in the first week following its release.

Six debut albums did better on the chart, including releases from Rittz, the Randy Rogers Band, HIM and the new Iron Man soundtrack.

From Season 6 through Season 11, 19 Entertainment released albums from the finalists by the Christmas holiday season of the same year.

That meant rushing the finalists to get new music ready at the same time they were headlining a summer tour. But, from a sales standpoint, it was tough to argue with the results.

Seven of the 10 albums from finalists over that time span debuted in the top 10 on the Billboard 200, and Kris Allen just missed when his debut landed at number 11.

Season 12 winner Phillip Phillips continued that trend when his debut landed at number 4 on the Billboard 200 late last November.

His first week album sales: About 169,000 … or more than 10 times as many as Jessica.

Jessica’s April 30 release date was timed to coincide with her guest starring role on “Glee.” And it followed the release of a catchy lead single named “Tonight,” featuring Ne-Yo.

Neither seem to have helped a whole lot.

So whose debut album did worse than Jessica’s in terms of opening position on Billboard?

Crystal Bowersox’s debuted at number 28 after Season 9; Diana DeGarmo’s debuted at number 52 following Season 3.

But, remember, Crystal’s album was released in the midst of the highly competitive holiday season and sold 59,000 first-week copies, according to Billboard estimates. Diana’s first-week sales were reportedly in the 47,000-album range.