Forbes Top Earning American Idols 2014

Forbes Top Earning American Idol 2014

It’s time for the Forbes list of Top earning Idols! By the magazine’s calculations, nine American Idol alums broke the 1 million dollar mark in earnings for 2014.

Here’s the methodology used to arrive at the numbers:

Methodology – Our estimates are calculated with the help of data from Pollstar, the RIAA and Nielsen SoundScan as well as industry veterans, the musicians’ handlers and some of the artists themselves. These numbers reflect pretax earnings from June 2013 through June 2014.

No big surprises on this list. Fantasia continues to chug along! She’s kept together a successful career since she took the crown in 2004. Note that Forbes couldn’t scrape together a list of 10 Idols who made more than 1 million dollars in 2014…

Read the article and see the slide show at Forbes.

See the full list!

9. Kellie Pickler: $1 million – Thanks to 62 gigs during our scoring period, Pickler squeaks onto the list of Idol’s top earners once again.

8. Fantasia Barrino: $2 million – Barrino’s new album Side Effects Of You debuted in April 2013 and sold over 140,000 copies; she also does reasonably well on the road.

7. Adam Lambert: $2.5 million – Solo tour dates and record sales accounted for much of Lambert’s earnings; after touring as the frontman of Queen, he’s set for a much higher payday on next year’s list.

6. Daughtry: $3 million – The Idol alum’s eponymous band’s most recent release, Baptized, hit stores in November 2013 and sold over 100,000 copies.

4. Taylor Hicks: $3.5 million (tie) – Hicks beat some of Idol’s better-known names thanks to a Vegas residency and 114 dates in our scoring period. He also owns a restaurant and plans to release a country album in 2015.

4. Scotty McCreery: $3.5 million (tie) – The Season Ten winner sold a quarter of a million copies of his third album, See You Tonight, and padded his coffers with 77 shows.

3. Phillip Phillips: $5 million – One of Idol’s most successful graduates in recent years, Phillips’ latest release, Behind The Light, debuted at No. 7 on the charts with opening week sales of 41,000.

2. Kelly Clarkson: $8 million – Idol’s inaugural winner rakes in six figures for every concert; last year’s holiday album, Wrapped In Red, was the fifth platinum solo album of Clarkson’s career.

1. Carrie Underwood: $10 million – Idol’s highest paid alum two years in a row, Underwood earned six-figure fees per night on the road—and considerably more for her role in NBC’s The Sound of Music LIVE!

Read More:

Forbes Top Earning American Idols List 2013
Forbes Top Earning American Idols 2012
Forbes Top Earning American Idols 2011

About mj santilli 34856 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!