I don't recall seeing these figures on d-c.org before. Could be buried in a thread from last month. Either way, it's always nice to see DC chart busting numbers again. Nearly 1 million downloads in one week, just for DC! This is from an LA Times "The Envelope" article a week after the finale, when itunes released download numbers:

How much do people love 'American Idol'? About 1.5 million times


Following the news this week that new "American Idol" David Cook placed a whopping 14 songs on the U.S. digital songs chart comes some staggering sales figures from Nielsen SoundScan. During the week of the finale, the 10 "Idol" finalists sold a total of 1.5 million digital downloads, led by Cook, who moved 924,000 of them.

"Idol" runner-up David Archuleta sold 323,000 downloads, and Jason Castro was a distant third with 64,000 copies. Two things to note: The sales figures represent multiple tracks from the artists, and fans were encouraged to download the songs this week, as most of them disappeared from Apple's iTunes store Wednesday night. So if you were wondering why America seemed a little brighter -- perhaps just a little happier -- on Thursday, there was your reason (sorry, boss).

The kind kids at Show Tracker noted that songs from Cook and Archuleta would still be available after the Wednesday night deadline, but an iTunes search for "Archuleta" did not reveal any songs. It appears that his soullessly professional version of John Lennon's "Imagine" can no longer (legally) infect MP3 players.

So here's the complete breakdown:

Cook: 942,000 downloads

Archuleta: 323,000 downloads

Castro: 64,000 downloads

Brooke White: 47,000 downloads

Michael Johns: 40,000 downloads

Carly Smithson: 33,000 downloads

Syesha Mercado: 18,000 downloads

Kristy Lee Cook: 10,000 downloads

Chikezie: 5,000 downloads

Ramiele Malubay: 3,000 downloads

Artists who appeared on the "Idol" finale also saw a nice benefit. Carrie Underwood's "Last Name" went from 22,000 downloads to 64,000, and OneRepublic's sappy "Apologize" rocketed from 6,000 downloads to 40,000.

So while execs at Fox ponder how to reinject some life into the competition, they can rest assured that the show still has a tight grip on the music marketplace.

WTG, DC!

What a star!!!!

Guilty! *raises hand* I contributed to about a dozen or so of the DC iTunes downloads - said she who doesn't even own an iPod!

I came across this when I was still obsessively googling Cookie (I don't do that anymore for various reasons) and looking at those figures I can't figure out how the hell Syesha got to third place.

I have to admit that I had DL'ed a few tunes the week before the finale (I didn't have access to ITunes before then) but after that Tuesday I pretty much got my hands on Cookie's whole catalog, even the songs I wasn't crazy about.
I snatched up a few songs from Brooke and Jason and one from Chikezie.

I did Google these figures after reading this. These are the total figures from last year for S6 finalists. Interesting that Cook sold more in a week than anybody else did *combined* last season. The future depends on a lot of things (Blake tops Jordin narrowly here and we all know she did better than him in the end, for instance) but given that the figures are so staggering I wonder what all is involved here: it's a lot for Cookie and Archie to live up to. (Both of them probably sold in the millions: Cookie was unofficially trouncing Archie since ABMB according to what some people have been able to find out but Archie did very well at the beginning).

http://mjsbigblog.com/idol-sales-news-week-ending-071507.htm

That's almost a million! Imagine how the figures would be if his album out already. It's amazing!

I love how the person that was in 3rd place didn't even really make it that high on the list, but JASON - who should've been 3rd on the show, was 3rd on the list.

I too wish they would release the total sales numbers for the entire season per artist but I doubt it. I think any anecdotal evidence would come from people by the likes of Simon Fuller, etc. I don't think releasing the numbers would be disadvantageous to DC in any way and would only serve as another example of his incredible popularity throughout the season. But that's over now! Now on to bigger & better things with the album!!!

I think the problem with Syesha is that - though she is a very good all around performer - she is forgettable. She sounded like Beyonce and Rihanna combined many times. If I hear her song over the radio, I wouldn't easily recognized that it was her singing. Unlike the voices of David Cook and other finalists. There's a distinct quality in their voices.

I helped contribute to that--although I don't have an ipod --burned them on CD which I listen to in my car constantly

Admit that "Billie Jean" (Cookie's version, of course) was the first song I ever downloaded from Itunes...and after that all his remaining songs.

Way to go, David Cook...Just think if all his AI songs had been put on album, they would have reached at least PLatinum status by now!!!!

He deserves all of it, and this is just the beggining of his carreer.He is going to break all the redords.

Same here. I also used converter software to make mp3's out of the m4p's so I could transfer to my phone, which doubles as my mp3 player. Also could make my own ringtones that way.

I've often wondered why AI was so anxious to remove the Idol performances from ITunes immediately after the show ended? Did it have something to do with contractual obligations, especially after Cook and Archuletta signed record deals? To my way of thinking, sales for both of them would have continued to climb for at least a week or so after the finale, so why not leave them online for sale?

I also do not own an Ipod, but I downloaded all of Cookie's performances from ITunes - the Idol performances, the studio versions, and the videos. The videos are really nicely done and so much better than watching on YouTube. I can't tell you how many times I've rewatched the coronation song, reliving that joyous moment!