American Idol
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Nearly 16 years after he shot to national fame following a runner-up finish on season 7 of American Idol, Billboard chart-topping pop singer-songwriter David Archuleta is finally telling his story on his own terms. On Thursday (Jan. 11), The Hollywood Reporter reported that the singer signed a book deal with Day Street Books, an imprint […]
Chayce Beckham was crowned the winner of ABC’s American Idol in 2021, and now, he’s officially a Billboard Hot 100-charting artist.
The country singer earns his first entry on the Jan. 13-dated chart as “23” debuts at No. 71. It opens with 13.3 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 16%), 4 million official U.S. streams (up 10%) and 1,000 downloads sold in the Dec. 29-Jan. 4 tracking week, according to Luminate.
The song, released in 2021 via 19 Recordings/BMG/Wheelhouse, also holds at its No. 20 high on the Hot Country Songs chart. Radio-wise, it stands at its No. 14 best on Country Airplay.
Beckham performed “23” live on-air during his Idol season. He had written the song a year prior, and became the first champ to win the competition performing an original song.
Beckham, from Apple Valley, Calif., joins a long line of Idol alumni to debut on the Hot 100, a list dating back to Kelly Clarkson’s first-season win in 2002 (when the show aired on Fox). Of the show’s 21 total seasons, 14 winners have charted at least one Hot 100 hit.
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Here’s a recap of every Idol winner’s first song to debut on the Hot 100. (Some artists below debuted multiple songs in their first weeks on the chart.)
American Idol Season, Winner, First Hot 100 Entry (Peak Position, Year)
Season 1, Kelly Clarkson, “A Moment Like This” (No. 1, 2002)
Season 2, Ruben Studdard, “Flying Without Wings” (No. 2, 2003)
Season 3, Fantasia, “I Believe” (No. 1, 2004)
Season 4, Carrie Underwood, “Inside Your Heaven” (No. 1, 2005)
Season 5, Taylor Hicks, “Takin’ It to the Streets” (No. 69, 2006)
Season 6, Jordin Sparks, “This Is My Now,” “A Broken Wing,” and “I Who Have Nothing” (Nos. 15, 66 and 80, 2007)
Season 7, David Cook, “The Time of My Life,” “Dream Big,” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” “The World I Know,” “I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing,” “Billie Jean,” “Always Be My Baby,” “Hello,” “The Music of the Night,” “Eleanor Rigby” and “I’m Alive” (Nos. 3, 15, 22, 28, 42, 47, 67, 73, 77 and 99, 2008)
Season 8, Kris Allen, “No Boundaries, “Heartless,” “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Apologize,” “Falling Slowly” and “Ain’t No Sunshine” (Nos. 11, 16, 37, 66 and 94, 2009)
Season 9, Lee DeWyze, “Beautiful Day,” “Hallelujah,” “Falling Slowly” with Crystal Bowersox, “The Boxer” and “Beautiful Day” (Nos. 24, 44, 66 and 88, 2010)
Season 10, Scotty McCreery, “I Love You This Big” (No. 11, 2011)Season 11, Phillip Phillips, “Home” and “We’ve Got Tonight” (Nos. 6 and 97, 2012)
Season 12, Candice Glover, “I Am Beautiful” (No. 93, 2013)
Season 14, Nick Fradiani, “Beautiful Life” (No. 93, 2015)
Season 19, Chayce Beckham, “23” (No. 71 so far, 2024)
The Idol winners who haven’t yet debuted on the Hot 100 are Caleb Johnson (season 13), Trent Harmon (15), Maddie Poppe (16), Laine Hardy (17), Just Sam (18), Noah Thompson (20) and Iam Tongi (21).
“23” became Beckham’s first overall chart entry when it debuted at No. 1 on Country Digital Song Sales in 2021 after his Idol win. He has charted one additional song on Country Airplay: “Can’t Do Without Me,” with Lindsay Ell, reached No. 46 in 2022. Also that year, his EP Doin’ It Right hit No. 21 on the Heatseekers Albums chart.
Paula Abdul is suing Nigel Lythgoe over claims that the former American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance producer sexually assaulted her while she was filming the competition television shows.
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The singer-dancer claims in the lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Friday (Dec. 29) and obtained by Billboard, that Lythgoe sexually assaulted her on two occasions. The first instance allegedly occurred during one of the early seasons of American Idol and the second took place in 2014 when she was in talks to judge So You Think You Can Dance.
Abdul, 61, alleges in the suit that Lythgoe, 74, first sexually assaulted her in an elevator of a hotel where they were both staying while traveling for one of Idol’s “initial seasons.” It does not state a specific year the alleged incident occurred.
“Lythgoe shoved Abdul against the wall, then grabbed her genitals and breasts, and began shoving his tongue down her throat,” according to court documents. “Abdul attempted to push Lythgoe away from her and let him know his behavior was not acceptable. When the doors to the elevator for her door opened, Abdul ran out of the elevator and to her hotel room. In tears, Abdul quickly called one of her representatives to inform them of the assault, but ultimately decided not to take action for fear that Lythgoe would have her fired from American Idol.”
Abdul’s complaint claims that Lythgoe sexually assaulted Abdul again in 2014 when she was approached for a judging position on So You Think You Can Dance. The alleged incident took place during a dinner at his home where the two were supposed to discuss her professional opportunities, according to the lawsuit.
“Toward the end of the evening, however, Lythgoe forced himself on top of Abdul while she was seated on his couch and attempted to kiss her while proclaiming that the two would make an excellent ‘power couple,’” the complaint states. “Abdul pushed Lythgoe off of her, explaining that she was not interested in his advances, and immediately left Lythgoe’s home.”
The suit also alleges that Abdul witnessed Lythgoe sexually assault one of her assistants while filming So You Think You Can Dance in 2015. Lythgoe allegedly “pressed himself” against the woman and “began to grope her” without consent, court document states.
The “Strait Up” hitmaker’s suit further claims that Lythgoe taunted her on the phone about his alleged assaults and states that he “clearly knew that his assaults of Abdul were not just wrong but that he held the power to keep her silent.”
In addition to Lythgoe, the lawsuit names the shows’ production companies American Idol Productions, Dance Nation Productions, 19 Entertainment and Fremantlemedia North America are also listed as defendants. Abdul is suing the defendants for sexual assault/battery, sexual harassment, gender violence and negligence.
Representatives for Abdul and Lythgoe did not immediately reply to Billboard‘s request for comment at press time.
American Idol is heading “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” In a new Wizard of Oz-themed promo, judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie, alongside host Ryan Seacrest, make their way down the Yellow Brick Road to visit cities “big and small.” Set to air during ABC’s Seacrest-hosted Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve broadcast on Dec. 31, […]
Iam Tongi, season 21 winner of American Idol, has been hard at work since being crowned the show’s champion in May. The 18-year-old Hawaii native has been releasing solo music and posting covers of his favorite songs, the latest of which includes a cover of Morgan Wallen‘s “Sand in My Boots.” The singer’s acoustic take […]
Luke Bryan wishes people would give Katy Perry a break. In a Fox News interview, the country star weighed in on some of the criticism his fellow judge got this season on American Idol and why he doesn’t think it’s fair. “Katy gets picked on for going out and trying to have fun making a […]
Newly crowned American Idol winner Iam Tongi sends a pair of songs onto Billboard’s Rock Digital Song Sales chart (dated June 3), paced by his original track “I’ll Be Seeing You,” which soars in at No. 1.
The song bows with 11,000 downloads sold May 19-25, according to Luminate.
It’s followed by his cover of ABBA’s “The Winner Takes It All,” which debuts at No. 19 with 2,000 sold. The song jumps 559% in sales; he initially made it available for download in March and performed it during the ABC competition’s top 20 episode in April.
“I’ll Be Seeing You” also debuts at No. 2 on the all-format Digital Song Sales survey.
In all, Tongi’s catalog so far moved 17,000 downloads May 19-25, a 1,899% boost from 1,000 sold May 12-18. His songs “Trust Me,” “Gone,” “Dreams” and “Efiafi,” the latter featuring Manatau Tuifua, all also accumulated 1,000 paid downloads apiece in that span.
“I’ll Be Seeing You” additionally opens on a pair of multimetric Billboard charts, at Nos. 19 and 23 on Hot Rock Songs and Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, respectively. In addition to its sales, the song earned 911,000 official U.S. streams.
Tongi, 18, won the latest season of American Idol May 21, becoming the first Pacific Islander champion in the show’s history, dating its launch on Fox in 2002. He auditioned with a cover of James Blunt’s 2019 song “Monsters” and performed it with Blunt on the finale; sparked by their duet, Blunt’s “Monsters” bounds back onto Digital Song Sales at No. 3 with 10,000 sold, up 925%. It debuted at No. 3 with 9,000 sold in March, then fueled by Tongi’s audition.
05/25/2023
See the complete list of American Idol winners.
05/25/2023
Time for some more girl power on the American Idol judges panel. Katy Perry took part in Buzzfeed Celeb‘s popular Puppy Interview segment, where she answered a bunch of questions all while playing with the cutest puppies you’ve ever seen. In response to what the most challenging part of being an American Idol judge is, […]
Lainey Wilson and Jelly Roll reprised their recent performance of the latter’s “Save Me” at the 2023 Academy of Country Music Awards, bringing their soulful duet to the stage of the season 21 American Idol finale on Sunday (May 21). Jelly Roll began the song solo, standing center stage under dim lights, before being joined […]