(28 December 2005 2:00 pm)

MUMBAI: The winners of the music based reality show American Idol are seeing their albums do well on the charts.

American Idol stars Carrie Underwood, Bo Bice and Kelly Clarkson ruled the charts last week with three of the top ten spots on Billboard's Top 200 album chart the week before Christmas, historically one of the best selling weeks of the year for the music industry.

In addition, American Idol and Pop Idol artists, Clarkson and Will Young, also took two of the top 15 spots in the weekly sales chart in the UK.

Some Hearts, the debut album by American Idol 4 winner Carrie Underwood, rose from Number 5 to Number 2 on the chart with more than 271,000 units sold for the week. Some Hearts was certified platinum, with over one million albums sold, within just five weeks of its 15 November, 2005 release.

American Idol 4 finalist Bo Bice's debut album, The Real Thing entered the chart this week at Number 4, with more than 226,000 albums sold. In addition, Bice's hit single Inside Your Heaven/Vehicle was number three on the Billboard Singles Chart. American Idol 1 winner Kelly Clarkson's most recent album Breakaway moved back into the Top 10 to Number 8, with more than 180,000 units sold for the week.

Breakaway has remained in the Top 20 since its release on 30 November, 2004, for a total of for 55 consecutive weeks and has been certified 4X platinum in the United States, with over four million units sold in the US and well over seven million copies sold worldwide.

American Idol 3 winner Fantasia is approaching the double platinum mark with her debut album Free Yourself and American Idol 2 runner-up Clay Aiken's Christmas album Merry Christmas With Love recently soared past the million unit mark. Aiken is expected to release a new album next year.

The success of Idol artists is not limited to the US and the UK. Idol continues to produce best selling artists in countries around the world where a local version of the format is run.

In France, the most recent winner, Myriam, and runner-up Pierrick have both reached the top five in sales for their recent albums and previous runner up, Amele, has sold close to 500,000 units.

In Australia, the most recent Idol winner Kate DeAraugo's single reached Number 1 on the local singles chart and remains the third best selling single in the country. The first Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian's second album has been certified double Platinum.

In Canada, the latest winner Melissa O'Neil recently reached Number 1 on the local radio charts with her single Alive.