Blake Lewis' debut album "Audio Day Dream" dropped at No. 10 on The Billboard 200 album sales chart after selling 98,000 copies during its initial week of release, according to Nielsen Soundscan data for the week ending December 9.

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Debut album sales numbers for the American Idol sixth-season runner-up were lower than fifth-season Idol  runner-up Katharine McPhee's self-titled debut, which sold 116,000 copies and dropped at No. 2 on The Billboard 200 in its first week of release in February; as well as fourth-season Idol runner-up Bo Bice, who debuted at No. 4 on The Billboard 200 in December 2005 with "The Real Thing," which sold 227,000 copies in its first week.

However Lewis' debut numbers were higher than those of original Idol runner-up Justin Guarini -- whose self-titled debut moved only 54,000 copies in its first week of release in June 2003; as well as third-season Idol runner-up Diana DeGarmo, whose December 2004 debut "Blue Skies" moved 47,000 in its first week of sales. 

Clay Aiken's October 2003 debut "Measure of a Man" remains the highest-selling Idol runner-up debut.  It moved 613,000 copies and dropped at No. 1 on The Billboard 200.

Like Lewis, Idol 6 champ Jordin Sparks's self-titled debut, which dropped late last month, also made its debut at No. 10 on The Billboard 200, selling 119,000 copies during its first week of release.  Sparks debut album fell to No. 18 on The Billboard 200 during its second week of sales, and currently sits at No. 24 in its third week of release.

Josh Groban's holiday set "Noel" retained its No. 1 spot on the album sales chart for the third straight week -- selling 581,000 copies in its eleventh week of release -- while Alicia Keys' "As I Am" was at No. 2, moving 234,000 copies. The Eagles' "Long Road Out of Eden" sits at No. 3, followed by "Now That's What I Call Music's" 26th compilation, which placed fourth.

Miley Cyrus' Disney double-disc set "Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus" is at No. 5, followed by the soundtrack to Disney's High School Musical 2 at No. 6. Idol 4 champ Carrie Underwood's recently-released "Carnival Ride" sophomore album climbed from No. 9 to No. 7, with Garth Brooks' "The Ultimate Hits" falling from No. 5 to No. 8.

Taylor Swift's self-titled debut re-entered the Top 10 at No. 9 -- moving 99,000 albums -- only 1,000 more than Lewis at No. 10.

Album sales for the week ending December 9 were down 23.3% from the same week last year (14.45 million versus 18.86 million), according to Billboard.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio

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