Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Let’s start this week’s look at Idols on the music charts with a little bit of Billboard trivia.

When Britney Spears’ new hit, “3,” debuted at number one on the Hot 100 last week, it marked the first time that had happened in three years.

An Idol did it last? Who was that Idol? I’ll provide the answer at the bottom of this blog.

Meanwhile, two new Idol releases hit the charts this week. One is a bit of a surprise; the other isn’t.

David Archuleta’s Christmas CD, “Christmas From the Heart,” debuts at number 30 on the Billboard 200 this week.

That’s not quite as good as Bob Dylan’s album of Christmas music (number 23), but it’s far better than Neil Diamond’s (126).

And, of course, “Christmas From the Heart,” was the second best selling holiday album in its first week on the charts.

More surprising, Carrie Underwood’s “Mama’s Song,” which isn’t really even a single, debuted at number 77 on the Hot 100.

The song is available as a special promotion for Carrie’s Nov. 3 release of the album, “Play On.” Each week, iTunes is making a different song from the album available for download. The cost counts toward the later purchase of the full album.

Guess it just shows how anxious fans are to hear that third album from Carrie. The song “Temporary Home” is now available on iTunes; come next Tuesday, listeners can snag a tune called “Undo It.”

Now, here’s the complete rundown of Idols on the Billboard charts.

Kelly Clarkson: “Already Gone,” the third single off her latest album, moves up to number 12 on the pop songs chart, though it drops from 19 to 20 among the Hot 100. The album, “All I Ever Wanted,” holds steady on the Billboard 200 at number 94.

Daughtry: “No Surprise” just cracked the top 10 on the adult contemporary chart, at number 10. The single dropped from 46 to 49 on the Hot 100. The album the single comes from, “Leave This Town,” moves up from 51 to 50 on the Billboard 200.

Blake Lewis: His new CD, “Heartbreak on Vinyl,” debuted at number 135 on the Billboard 200 last week and disappeared from that chart this week. Not a good sign. But it is number 13 among electronic / dance albums and the single “Sad Song” moves up from 21 to 17 on the club play chart.

Kellie Pickler: No idea why, but Kellie’s second album bolted 25 spots on the Billboard 200 this week, from 182 to 157. It’s been on the charts 44 weeks and is also number 30 among country albums.

Jordin Sparks: The season six winner has two singles on the chart. “Battlefield” is number 18 among pop songs; “S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)” is number eight on the club play chart, up from 13 last week. But “Battlefield” the album has slumped, dropping out of the top 200.

Phil Stacey: Not much movement on the Christian singles chart this week. Phil’s “You’re Not Shaken” clings to the number 21 spot; it has hovered between 18 and 21 for two months now.

Carrie Underwood: “Cowboy Casanova” continues its climb on the country singles chart, nudging up another spot this week, from six to five. It’s number 19 on the Hot 100.Oh, as for the answer to the trivia question above, the last artist to have a single debut at number one was … drum roll, Taylor Hicks with his Idol coronation song, “Do I Make You Proud,” back in 2006.

Of course, that was the only number one Taylor has enjoyed. Britney’s “3,” quite fittingly, is her third.