'American Idol' runners-up first-week sales: How does Adam Lambert stack up?

How do the first-week sales of Adam Lambert's "For Your Entertainment" stack up against past "American Idol" runners-up?

Very well. The numbers aren't solid yet, but the projection is anywhere from 225,000 to 300,000 copies. That's an excellent first week. Compared to the past runners-up of "Idol," Lambert will most likely wind up second only to Clay Aiken (which is nicely ironic). The list is as follows:

1. Clay Aiken, "Measure of a Man," 613,000
2. Bo Bice, "The Real Thing," 227,000
3. Adam Lambert, "For Your Entertainment," 225,000 to 300,000 (projected)
4. David Archuleta, "David Archuleta," 183,000
5. Katharine McPhee, "Katharine McPhee," 116,000
6. Blake Lewis, "ADD," 97,500
7. Justin Guarini, "Justin Guarini," 57,000
8. Diana DeGarmo, "Blue Skies," 47,000

Adam Lambert might end up 3rd behind Bo Bice, but if his post-American Music Awards incident bump continues, he'll probably end up second and closer to 300,000 copies sold. That number would put him at 4th out of 16 if you factor in all "American Idol" finalists, while fellow season 8 finalist Kris Allen is only 14th out of 16. Ouch.

Other notable "Idol" alums debut sales are Chris Daughtry at 304,000 and Jennifer Hudson at 217,000. With these inclusions, the list looks like this:

1. Clay Aiken, "Measure of a Man," 613,000
2. Ruben Studdard, "Souful," 400,000+
3. Carrie Underwood, "Some Hearts," 315,000
4. Chris Daughtry, "Daughtry," 304,000
5. Taylor Hicks, "Taylor Hicks," 298,000
6. Kelly Clarkson, Thankful, 297,000
7. David Cook, David Cook, 279,000
8. Fantasia Barrino, Free Yourself, 240,000
9. Bo Bice, "The Real Thing," 227,000
10. Adam Lambert, "For Your Entertainment," 225,000 to 300,000 (projected)
11. Jennifer Hudson, "Jennifer Hudson," 217,000
12. David Archuleta, "David Archuleta," 183,000
13. Jordin Sparks, Jordin Sparks, 119,000
14. Katharine McPhee, "Katharine McPhee," 116,000
15. Blake Lewis, "ADD," 97,500
16. Kris Allen, "Kris Allen," 85,000
17. Justin Guarini, "Justin Guarini," 57,000
18. Diana DeGarmo, "Blue Skies," 47,000

Lambert could very well end up at #3 on the all-time list by the time all is said and done. He's certainly done very well for himself and the AMA "scandal" certainly didn't hurt him too much.

It's still blows our mind that Clay Aiken tops that list.

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Photo credit: "For Your Entertainment"