Forget the American Idol title, honey, these former contestants are in the money

May 22, 11:30 AMNashville Entertainment ExaminerJonathan Pinkerton

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If winning shocked Kris Allen, wait till he makes bank/FOX

Yesterday I gave you a rundown of career highs and lows of former Idols. Today, thanks to a report published by Forbes.com, what follows is a financial play-by-play of how former contestants stack up regarding earnings over the last year; the real measure of Kris Allen and Adam Lambert's potential as newly crowned winner and runner-up.

#1 Carrie Underwood
$14 million
Season Four winner, and three-time Grammy winner wisely turned to country music , albeit with a strong pop following, and has sold nearly 10 million albums. Her nearly 300 tour dates in the past year also padded the bank account with each performance bringing in an average of $350,000, of which the star and her camp get half. Her very public relationships with Tony Romo and Gossip Girl's Chace Crawford and the odd spot touting Vitamin Water have kept her in the media.

#2 Jennifer Hudson
$5 million
Finishing Idol within the Top Ten, the Oscar winning actress and singer's debut album sold more than 750,000 copies. That coupled with endorsement deals with Gap clothing and Avon have given her the distinction of the number 2 slot.

#3 Kelly Clarkson
$4.2 million
Season One winner with 4 cd releases to her credit has sold over 10 million copies (more than any other Idol alum) and headlined major tours. Her association with Reba and the red-head's husband/manager Narvel Blackstock, who is now managing Kelly has no doubt helped maintain her popularity. The man knows what he's doing.

#4 Jordin Sparks
$3.1 million
A solid chart topper, No Air, with Chris Brown , as well as hitting the road with touring mates Alicia Keyes and the JoBros has secured her spot in the Top 5 Idol earners.

#5 Kellie Pickler
$2.3 million
Another country sweetheart, her two releases have sold a total of 1 million units and she is currently the celebrity face (and hair) behind the Sexy Hair product line.

#6 Clay Aiken
$2.2 million
The first controversial runner-up (much like the Kris/Adam split, many felt Clay should have won instead of The Velvet Teddy Bear, Ruben Studdard) in the six years since his Idol success, Clay has sold 4 million albums, written a New York Times bestseller and starred on Broadway in Spamalot.

#7 Chris Daughtry
$2 million
Final four finisher, Idol's original rocker's debut cd tallied up 4 million in sales. Expect him to jump ahead a few spots with his follow-up cd release in July.

#8 David Cook
$2 million
Last year's winner makes the list courtesy of a top-selling debut and a celebrity endorsement for Skechers shoes.

#9 David Archuleta
$1.3 million
History repeats itself as the other David, 18 year-old Archuleta follows closely behind thanks in part to selling 700,000 of his first release, and and more than 100 live dates since last year's finale.  CORRECTION: His subsequent charity tie-in with Build-A-Bear Workshops, while keeping his name and voice in the public eye, DID NOT result in any income, as monies from downloads of the song were donated to Build-A-Bear charity of choice, Save The Children Foundation.  (thanks to astute reader dorman59 for pointing out my error)

#10 Taylor Hicks
$300,000
The Season Five winner might not be counting his millions, but nonetheless, he's enjoying a run as Teen Angel in a national tour of the ever-popular Grease.

An interesting Honorable Mention goes to Season Four Sixth Place finisher, Constantine Maroulis. While no break-out album sales or major tours kept him from the Top Ten earners, he too has turned to Broadway, having starred in RENT and The Wedding Singer. Just last week, he received a Tony nomination for his role in the Broadway musical, Rock of Ages. The show has also been optioned for a movie.  If he is cast in the film and well received, or if he wins the Tony--it would be a first for any former Idol contestant--look for Maroulis to break into the Top Ten earners list for the year 2010.