Lee Dewyze has set a new American Idol record, but it's a dubious feat he presumably didn't want.
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Dewyze's "Live It Up" album debuted at No. 19 on The Billboard 200 album sales chart after selling only 39,000 copies during its initial week of release according to Nielsen Soundscan data, USA Today reported.
The American Idol ninth-season champ's first-week debut album sales are the lowest of any Idol champ -- a distinction that was previously held by eighth-season winner Kris Allen, whose self-titled debut sold 80,000 copies and dropped at No. 11 on The Billboard 200 in its first week of release in November 2009.
Prior to Allen, sixth-season American Idol winner Jordin Sparks' self-titled debut had the lowest first-week debut album sales when it debuted at No. 10 and sold 119,000 copies in November 2007.
In addition, DeWyze's first-week debut album sales were reportedly even below those of the runner-up finishers of American Idol's eight prior seasons, as Justin Guarini (57,000), Clay Aiken (613,000), Diana Degarmo (47,000), Bo Bice (227,000), Katharine McPhee (116,000), Blake Lewis (98,000), David Archuleta (183,000), and Adam Lambert (198,000) all posted higher debut sales figures than DeWyze.
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Former Britain's Got Talent contestant Susan Boyle's "The Gift" topped The Billboard 200 again this week by selling 335,000 copies in its second week -- a five percent increase from the 318,000 copies sold in its first week of release -- and was followed by 10-year-old America's Got Talent's fifth-season runner-up Jackie Evancho, who sold 239,000 copies of her debut album "O Holy Night," according to Billboard.
Evancho was followed by Rhianna's "Loud" (207,000), Josh Groban's "Illuminations" (191,000), Kid Rock's "Born Free" (189,000), and Rascal Flatts "Nothing Like This" (165,000).
Rounding out the Top 10 were Keith Urban's "Get Closer" (162,000), the Glee cast's "Christmas Album" (161,000), Taylor Swift's "Speak Now" (146,000), and Nelly's "5.0" (63,000).
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski