American Idol seventh-season champ David Cook's first single -- "The Time of My Life" -- made its debut at No. 3 on Billboard's Hot 100 and at No. 1 on the Hot Digital Songs single sales charts after moving 236,000 downloads in its first week of release.

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Overall, 14 songs performed by the 25-year-old Blue Spings, MO native throughout the course of his Idol seventh-season journey appeared on the Hot Digital Songs single sales chart; while 11 songs charted on the Hot 100, according to Nielsen SoundScan data. 

Both figures represent a record for debut entries on the Hot 100 and Hot Digital Songs charts.

In addition to "The Time of My Life" being No. 1 on the Hot Digital Songs chart, "Dream Big" came in at No. 7; "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" was at No. 9; "The World I Know" placed at No. 14; "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" came in a No. 21; and "Billie Jean" placed at No. 24. 

Cook's 14 debut songs on the Hot Digital Songs chart shattered the previous record of six held by both Miley Cyrus in November 2006 and Bon Jovi in May 2007.

In addition to "The Time of My Life" being No. 3 on the Hot 100 chart, "Dream Big" came in at No. 15; "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" was at No. 22; "The World I Know" placed at No. 28; "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" came in a No. 42; and "Billie Jean" placed at No. 47.

Cook's 11 debut songs on the Hot 100 chart are the most in a week by any artist in the Nielsen Music era, which began in December 1991.  It also marks the most overall placements on the Hot 100 since the Beatles charted 14 songs in April 1964.

Idol seventh-season runner-up David Archuleta landed three songs on both the Hot 100 and Hot Digital Songs single sales charts.

The 17-year-old's rendition of "Imagine" came in at No. 36 on the Hot 100 and at No. 16 on the Hot Digital Downloads after moving 71,000 downloads.

This week represented the first time that Idol seventh-season downloads counted towards Billboard's sales charts.  While songs performed on the show were available for download via iTunes throughout the season, Idol's iTunes site did not release any sales information until the week of the finale, citing fairness issues. 

Cook's "The Time of My Life" represents the best debut numbers for an Idol artist since the show's second season when runner-up Clay Aiken's single "This Is The Night" b/w "Bridge Over Troubled Water" dropped at No. 1 on the Hot 100 after moving 393,000 copies in its initial week of release in June 2003. 

Idol second-season champ Ruben Studdard's first single "Flying Without Wings" b/w "Superstar" dropped at No. 2 on the Hot 100 the same week, moving 286,000 copies.

Somewhat ironically, Cook's 236,000 units sold in its first week matches that of original Idol winner Kelly Clarkson with her September 2002 debut single "A Moment Like This."

Cook recently signed a recording contract with 19 Recordings/RCA Records and is set to start working on his debut album, which is currently scheduled to drop this fall.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio

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