Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Sure appearing on American Idol can boost album sales.

So, apparently, can being named country music’s Entertainer of the Year.

Carrie Underwood had the good fortune to experience both in a week’s span.

The result: An improvement in her standing on the Billboard music charts.

Her current single, “Temporary Home” had dropped 28 spots on the Hot 100 last week. This week it rebounds 12 spots from number 73 to number 61. It already spent a week at number one on the country singles chart.

And, after 25 weeks on the charts, Carrie’s “Play On” album rebounds from number seven to number five among the top country CDs and jumps from 38 to 21 on the Billboard 200.

Heck, “Some Hearts,” her debut album, also re-entered the Billboard 200, at number 197.

If you missed the news, Carrie has now gone platinum with each of her first three albums. As of April 24, “Play On” had sold nearly 1.5 mllion copies in these days of declining CD sales.

Here’s how the other Idols faced this week on the music charts:

* Kris Allen: “Live Like We’re Dying” might not have become a smash hit for the season eight winner, but it’s shown resilience on the Hot 100. It’s still number 30 after 26 weeks, down three spots from a week ago. It’s number 11 among adult contemporary singles.

* Jason Castro: The fourth-place finisher in season seven saw his first album debut at number 18 on the Billboard 200 last week. This week, it plummets to 73.

* Kelly Clarkson: “All I Ever Wanted,” the fourth single off Kelly’s album by the same name, is off to a slow start on the Hot 100. Three weeks in, it holds steady at number 96.

* Daughtry: The band’s “Life After You” single has fallen out of the Hot 100. But the second album, “Leave This Town,” is still 92 on the Billboard 200, down from 74 last week.

* Danny Gokey: “My Best Days Are Ahead of Me,” Danny’s first single, moves up a notch, from 26 to 25 on the county singles chart. His debut album, released eight weeks ago, slips from 19 to 26 on the county chart and from 98 to 132 on the Billboard 200.

* Adam Lambert: Is number 10 as high as “Whataya Want From Me” will go on the Hot 100. It got a big boost last week from Adam’s appearance on Idol; this week the song slips back to number 13.

“For Your Entertainment,” Adam’s debut album, is 53 on the Billboard 200, down from 35.

* Blake Lewis: Number one on the dance club charts just two weeks ago, Blake’s “Heartbreak on Vinyl” single has now slipped to number 12.