The Pop Idol concept may not play as well in Canada as in the U.S. -- at least not on the album sales charts.
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Canadian Idol winner Ryan Malcolm's debut album, Home, opened at #4 on the Nielsen SoundScan Canadian Album Sales charts for the week ended December 14, with sales of 29,100 units. Ryan failed to surpass Sarah MacLaughlin's Afterglow (which racked up its third straight week at #1 north of the border) despite generally positive reviews, such as this one from the Toronto Sun.
Nevertheless, Ryan's Home became the best-selling Canadian debut of any of the Idols in the first week, edging out American Idol 2 runner-up Clay AIken's Measure of a Man, which sold 25,200 units in its debut in October. However, Clay managed to open at #2 -- giving him the highest-charting debut among the Idols. By contrast, American Idol 1 winner Kelly Clarkson sold 10,500 copies of Thankful to open at #7 back in mid-April -- and American Idol 2 winner Ruben Studdard had minimal sales of his album Soulful in its debut this week, placing just 37th in Canada ... almost as bad as American Idol 1 runner-up Justin Guarini's 49th place debut.
We'll know tomorrow whether the release of his CD has brought Ryan's streak of 10 straight weeks at #1 on the Nielsen SoundScan Canadian Singles Sales chart with his single "Something More" -- a streak beginning to rival Clay Aiken's 13 straight weeks at #1 in Canada with "Bridge Over Troubled Water" b/w "This Is The Night" -- to an end.