Encore Index · Shows · October 15, 2026
Adam Lambert and 19 more early Idol finalists went gold. The Voice has six in 29 seasons
Adam Lambert finished second in 2009 and went gold with For Your Entertainment. About one in five Idol finalists from 2002 to 2010 did too.
Adam Lambert · May 8, 2009
Photo: Christopher O'Quin, U.S. Marine Corps · Public domain · Photo source.
Adam Lambert was one of 20 Idol finalists from 2002 to 2010 who went gold within ten years of the finale. Most did it fast: 16 of the 20 had the record out within a year.
Kelly Clarkson went first. Before Your Love / A Moment Like This came out 13 days after Clarkson won in 2002 and went Gold.
As an artist, American Idol gave me something that was incredible, an audience and a platform before even releasing music.
Kelly Clarkson, in the Atlantic signing announcement, June 24, 2016
Idol’s first nine seasons light up
Who went gold, season by season
One dot for each researched finalist. Gold: a record released within ten years after the finale that the RIAA certified Gold or higher.
American Idol: 2002–2010, 20 of 107 (went gold: Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken, Josh Gracin, Fantasia Barrino, Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood, Bo Bice, Taylor Hicks, Katharine McPhee, Elliott Yamin, Chris Daughtry, Kellie Pickler, Mandisa, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, David Archuleta, Kris Allen, Adam Lambert, Danny Gokey); 2011–2015, 6 of 61 (went gold: Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, Haley Reinhart, Phillip Phillips, Colton Dixon, JAX); 2016–2026, 1 so far (went gold: Gabby Barrett). The Voice: 2011–2015, 6 of 104 (went gold: Cassadee Pope, Melanie Martinez, Danielle Bradbery, Vedo, Koryn Hawthorne, Corey Kent White); 2016–2026, 0 so far. The X Factor: 2011–2015, 3 of 38 (went gold: Fifth Harmony, Beatrice Miller, Alex & Sierra).
American Idol
2002–2010 Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken, Josh Gracin, Fantasia Barrino, Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood, Bo Bice, Taylor Hicks, Katharine McPhee, Elliott Yamin, Chris Daughtry, Kellie Pickler, Mandisa, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, David Archuleta, Kris Allen, Adam Lambert, Danny Gokey2011–2015 Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, Haley Reinhart, Phillip Phillips, Colton Dixon, JAX2016–2026 Gabby Barrett
The Voice
2011–2015 Cassadee Pope, Melanie Martinez, Danielle Bradbery, Vedo, Koryn Hawthorne, Corey Kent White
The X Factor
2011–2015 Fifth Harmony, Beatrice Miller, Alex & Sierra
Point at or tap a dot to see who it is.
One Idol season matched The Voice
Photo: Staff Sgt. Shane Ellis · Public domain · Photo source.
American Idol’s fifth season, in 2006, had six finalists who went gold: Taylor Hicks, Katharine McPhee, Elliott Yamin, Chris Daughtry, Kellie Pickler and Mandisa. Only one of them won: Taylor Hicks.
The Voice has six in all 29 seasons: Cassadee Pope, Melanie Martinez, Danielle Bradbery, Vedo, Koryn Hawthorne and Corey Kent White.
Morgan Wallen, whose albums are certified for 26.5 million units, is not on that list. Wallen left The Voice in the playoffs of season 6, before the finals.
From 2011 to 2015, gold was rare on all three shows
Photo: orangesporanges · CC BY 2.0 · Photo source.
The Voice and The X Factor both began in 2011. From 2011 to 2015, Idol and The Voice each had six finalists who went gold, out of 61 on Idol and 104 on The Voice. The X Factor had three from 38.
Across the three shows, that is about one in 14 finalists. They include Melanie Martinez, Fifth Harmony, Lauren Alaina, Phillip Phillips and Scotty McCreery.
Since 2016, one finalist has gone gold
Photo: HoityToity13 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo source.
Of 332 finalists from the seasons since 2016, one has gone gold so far: Gabby Barrett, who finished third on Idol in 2018. Barrett’s single I Hope came out in 2019 and is certified 9× Platinum.
Chayce Beckham’s 23 also went Platinum. It came out during the season, nine days before the finale, so the count leaves it out.
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Melanie Martinez went out in The Voice’s Top 6. Her Cry Baby went double platinum.
Melanie Martinez left The Voice in the Top 6 in 2012. Her 6.5 million certified single units are the most of any Voice finalist.
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Clay Aiken lost and went double platinum. Winners went gold six times as often.
Clay Aiken’s debut went double platinum in 2003. Of 28 winners crowned at least ten years ago, 13 released a gold record within ten years.
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Jennifer Hudson and Clay Aiken are still releasing albums, 20 years after Idol
Jennifer Hudson released The Gift of Love in 2024, 20 years after Idol. Clay Aiken’s Rewind came out in September 2026, 23 years on.
Read the storyPhoto credits (3 photos)
- Historic recording console: Thank You (22 Millions+) views from Los Angeles, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Photo source · cropped.
- Clay Aiken: Judy Butler (mystuff1) · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Photo source.
- Jennifer Hudson singing at the Concert for Valor: DoD News · Public domain · Photo source · cropped.
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