Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson Top List of 100 ‘American Idol’ Hit Singles
Ever since singing competition reality shows became en vogue, radio play has been dotted with hits that came straight from shows like 'American Idol.' In fact, a lot of big-name stars -- including Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson -- came straight from the 'Idol' stage. Recently, Billboard magazine conducted a special survey of the Top 100 'American Idol' hits, and country music was well represented, to say the least.
Of the 100 tunes that Billboard added to the list, 31 of them belong to the country music genre. That's a pretty good-sized chunk! The best-selling country tune on the list is Underwood's 'Before He Cheats,' which landed at No. 9.
With 20 songs on the list, Underwood has more tunes represented than any other artist; but country crossover star Clarkson is just behind her with an impressive 18 songs. Clarkson is also responsible for the No. 1 'American Idol' hit of all time, 'Since U Been Gone.'
Record sales were taken into account when Billboard put together the list. Back in 2005, when the 'Blown Away' hitmaker blew away audiences and won the fourth season of the show, judge Simon Cowell made a prediction.
“Not only will you win this show, you will sell more records than any other previous Idol winner," he told her. And he was right. Underwood is the best-selling 'Idol' winner in the U.S., while Clarkson tops the list of other winners in worldwide sales.
Other country stars who appeared on the list include Kellie Pickler, Scotty McCreery, Bucky Covington, Lauren Alaina and Josh Gracin. With all of those names on the 100 hits list, it's pretty obvious that 'Idol' fans have loved country music from the very beginning!