Lee DeWyze seems like a very nice guy and certainly possess a lot of music talent. But these numbers speak for themselves:
The American Idol champion moved 39,000 copies of his debut CD in its first week of sales, making him the least successful Idol finalist in history. Not just champion, mind you. But finalist. Period.
Here's a look at the first-week sales figures, and Billboard chart ranking, for each American Idol winner and runner-up, over the show's first eight seasons. Best of luck, Crystal Bowersox, with your debut album, which drops on December 14.
Season 8
No. 11, Kris Allen, Kris Allen (80,000)
No. 3, Adam Lambert, For Your Entertainment (198,000)
Season 7
No. 3, David Cook, David Cook (280,000)
No. 2, David Archuleta, David Archuleta (183,000)
Season 6
No. 10, Jordin Sparks, Jordin Sparks (119,000)
No. 10, Blake Lewis, Audio Day Dream (98,000)
Season 5
No. 2, Taylor Hicks, Taylor Hicks (298,000)
No. 2, Katharine McPhee, Katharine McPhee (116,000)
Season 4
No. 2, Carrie Underwood, "Some Hearts" (315,000)
No. 4, Bo Bice, "The Real Thing" (227,000)
Season 3
No. 8, Fantasia, Free Yourself (240,000)
No. 52, Diana DeGarmo, Blue Skies (47,000)
Season 2
No. 1, Ruben Studdard, Soulful (417,000)
No. 1, Clay Aiken, Measure of a Man (613,000)
Season 1
No. 1, Kelly Clarkson, Thankful (297,000)
No. 20, Justin Guarini, Justin Guarini (57,000)