Welcome to a new feature of Idol Chatter, a look back at all the albums released by Idol finalists since the show started.
Follow the links and you’ll find Idol Chatter mini reviews of each album, along with a grade, my picks for download worthy tracks, a look at each album’s chart performance and links to other rated reviews in cases where they are still available. And, yes, I grade on a curve. More is expected from Idol finalists than, say, someone who finishes 10th.
Putting this together required listening to quite a bit of Idol music in the last couple of months. Along the way, I discovered some gems (Tamyra Gray’s 2004 “The Dreamer”), some curiosities (Corey Clark’s 2005 album) and some missteps (I’ll let you find those on your own).
Now, the collection still isn’t completely complete. There are still a handful of Idol albums I haven’t tracked down yet. And, for now, I’ve only included the most recent Christmas albums. But I’ll be adding more as soon as time permits.
Meanwhile, enjoy. And, as always, feel free to comment if you disagree.
The discography is arranged by year as follows:
2010
Jason Castro: “Who I Am”
Tim Urban: “Heart of Mine” EP
Katherine McPhee: “Christmas is the Time to Say I Love You”
David Archuleta: “The Other Side of Down”
Fantasia: “Back to Me”
Michael Sarver: “Michael Sarver:
Clay Aiken: “Tried and True”
Bo Bice: “3”
We Are the Fallen: “Tear the World Apart”
Anoop Desai: “All Is Fair”
Jason Castro: “Jason Castro”
Scott MacIntyre: “Heartstrings”
Danny Gokey: “My Best Days”
Katherine McPhee: “Unbroken”
2009
Allison Iraheta: “Just Like You”
Adam Lambert: “For Your Entertainment”
Kris Allen: “Kris Allen”
Carrie Underwood: “Play On”
David Archuleta: “Christmas from the Heart”
Blake Lewis: “Heartbreak on Vinyl”
Phil stacey: “Into the Light”
Brooke White: “High Hopes & Heartbreak”
Jordin Sparks: “Battlefield”
Daughtry: “Leave This Town”
Michael Johns: “Hold Back My Heart”
LaKisha Jones: “So Glad I’m Me”
Ruben Studdard: “Love Is”
Elliott Yamin: “Fight for Love”
George Huff: “George Huff”
Mandisa: “Freedom”
Kelly Clarkson: “All I Ever Wanted”
Taylor Hicks: “The Distance”
Melinda Doolittle: “Coming Back to You”
Michael Johns: “Don’t Look Down”
Sanjaya Malakar: “Dancing to the Music in My Head”
2008
Amanda Overmyer: “Solidify”
David Cook, “David Cook”
David Archuleta, “David Archuleta”
Kellie Pickler, “Kellie Pickler”
Kristy Lee Cook, “Why Wait”
Jennifer Hudson, “Jennifer Hudson”
Ace Young, “Ace Young”
Clay Aiken, “On My Way Here”
Chris Sligh, “Running Back to You”
Phil Stacey, “Phil Stacey”
Josh Gracin, “We Weren’t Crazy”
Nikko Smith, “Revolution”
2007
Blake Lewis, “Audio Day Dream”
Jordin Sparks, “Jordin Sparks”
Carrie Underwood, “Carnival Ride”
Bo Bice, “See the Light”
Carmen Rasmusen, “Nothin’ Like Summer”
Constantine Maroulis, “Constantine”
Mandisa, “True Beauty”
Kelly Clarkson, “My December”
Nikki McKibbin, “Unleashed”
Paris Bennett, Princess P
Bucky Covington, Bucky Covington
Elliott Yamin, “Elliott Yamin”
LaToya London, “Love and Life”
Katharine McPhee, “Katharine McPhee”
2006
Fantasia, “Fantasia”
Taylor Hicks, “Taylor Hicks”
Daughtry, “Daughtry”
Ruben Studdard, “The Return”
Kellie Pickler, “Small Town Girl”
Clay Aiken, “A Thousand Different Ways”
Joanna Pacitti, “This Crazy Life”
2005
Bo Bice, “The Real Thing”
Carrie Underwood, “Some Hearts”
Brooke White, “Songs from the Attic”
George Huff, “Miracles”
Jasmine Trias, “Jasmine Trias”
Corey Clark, “Corey Clark”
John Stevens, “Red”
Jim Verraros, “Rollercoaster”
2003-04
Diana DeGarmo, “Blue Skies”
Kelly Clarkson, “Breakaway”
Ruben Studdard, “I Need an Angel”
Fantasia, “Free Yourself”
Josh Gracin, “Josh Gracin”
Kimberley Locke, “One Love”
Ruben Studdard, “Soulful”
Clay Aiken, “Measure of a Man”
Kelly Clarkson, “Thankful”
Justin Guarini, “Justin Guarini”
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