Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Christmas music is turning into a hit for Scotty McCreery.

On Oct. 16, the Season 10 Idol winner released “Christmas with Scotty,” complete with two original songs and nine covers of Christmas classics.

Well, the album sold 41,000 copies in its first week.

That was good for number one on Billboard’s holiday chart, number two on the country albums chart and number four on the Billboard 200.

The only country album to do better was Jason Aldean’s new “Night Train,” which was number one on the Billboard 200 as well.

The strong debut of his holiday album continues an impressive streak for Scotty, who’s debut album went platinum and reversed a two-year trend of declining sales for the Idol winner.

Elsewhere on the Billboard chart this week:

* Carrie Underwood’s “Blown Away” is still stuck at number two on the country singles chart behind Taylor Swift’s “We’re Never Ever Getting Back Together Again.” But it’s at number one on the country airplay chart for a second straight week.

* Kelly Clarkson’s new single, “Catch My Breath,” debuts at number 52 on the Hot 100.

* “Home,” the Phillip Phillips’ hit that has now been certified double platinum, reached a new peak of number four among adult pop songs and moved up two spots to number 17 on the Hot 100.

* Melanie Amaro’s debut single “Don’t Fail Me Now” has reached a new peak of 16 on the dance / club play chart. Out for six weeks, the song advanced five spots on the chart in the last week.

The complete chart rundown for former American Idol contestants follows: