American Idols Dominate Holiday Album Chart  12/23/05

RCA Music Group's American Idols Dominate Holiday Album Chart; Carrie Underwood, Bo Bice, Kelly Clarkson All Top Ten This Week Fantasia, Sees Sales Boosted by Four Grammy Nominations, Clay Aiken Christmas Album Soars Past Platinum

NEW YORK, Dec. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Three "American Idols" -- exclusive recording artists of the RCA Music Group -- dominate the Billboard Top 200 this week, taking three places in the Top Ten on the last chart before Christmas.

Some Hearts, the 19 Recordings/Arista Records debut album by 2005 "American Idol" winner Carrie Underwood, moves from Number 5 to Number 2 on the chart with more than 271,000 units sold. Some Hearts was certified platinum within just five weeks of its November 15, 2005 release -- beginning with a record-setting 314,000 units in its first week -- and is expected to reach 1.5 Million copies by January 1, 2006. Carrie's smash single "Inside Your Heaven/Independence Day" won the Billboard Award for Top-Selling Hot 100 Song of the Year.

"American Idol" Season 4 finalist Bo Bice enters the chart this week with his 19 Recordings/ RCA Records debut album The Real Thing at Number 4, with more than 226,000 albums sold.

In 2002, Kelly Clarkson emerged as the winner of the very first "American Idol" competition. Now more than a year after its initial release, Kelly's 19 Recordings/RCA Records album Breakaway moves back into the Top 10 to Number 8, with more than 180,000 units sold. Breakaway has remained in the Top 20 since its release on November 30, 2004, for a total of for 55 consecutive weeks, a feat that hasn't been replicated in more than 5 years. Certified 4X platinum in the US, with 4 million units sold over the counter and well over 7 million copies sold worldwide, Breakaway is poised to become the year's third best- selling album. It contains four No. 1 singles including "Since U Been Gone," which has sold over one million digital downloads and is nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in the 48th annual Grammy Awards -- just as Breakaway is nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album.

2004 "American Idol" winner Fantasia continues to win fans and gain the respect of her peers with her best-selling 19 Recordings/J Records debut album Free Yourself. Released November 23, 2004, Free Yourself is approaching the double platinum mark thanks to its multiple hit tracks, including the record-breaking No. 1 single "I Believe." Fantasia's recordings have earned four Grammy Award nominations including Best R&B Album (Free Yourself) Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance ("Summertime"), Best Female R&B Performance ("Free Yourself"), and Best R&B Song ("Free Yourself").

As Idol Clay Aiken works on a brand new album expected this spring, his Christmas album Merry Christmas With Love recently soared past the million unit mark. Clay recently completed a very successful holiday tour. 

SOURCE RCA Music Group

-0- 12/21/2005