American Idol Has Massive Impact on Radio Airplay

- Clarkson and Underwood Lead, While Daughtry, McPhee and Many Others

Emerge -

    LOS ANGELES, March 13 /PRNewswire/ -- American Idol, has had a massive
 impact on radio airplay since its debut six years ago, according to
 Mediabase, which monitors more than 1,800 radio stations 24 hours-a-day, 7
 days-a-week, in more than 180 U.S. and Canadian markets. The blockbuster
 hit television show is now responsible for generating more than six million
 radio spins. This week alone, 12 former American Idol contestants are on
 the charts or close to making it on.
     The airplay derby has been led by Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood,
 who have dominated the radio airplay charts in recent years, among American
 Idol alumni. The winners of season one and four respectively, have racked
 up an impressive four million plus radio spins between them. Others who
 have become household names include Fantasia, Josh Gracin, Ruben Studdard,
 Clay Aiken, Chris Daughtry and 2007 Oscar and Soul Train Award Winner,
 Jennifer Hudson.
     According to Mediabase, Clarkson has received a staggering 3.3 million
 spins since winning the American Idol title in its inaugural season.
 American Idol, hosted by Ryan Seacrest, is now midway into its sixth year
 of competition, translating to an average of more than 730,000 spins
 annually for Clarkson, since winning the coveted crown. Underwood has
 amassed 725,000 spins, and is firmly entrenched in the number two position,
 averaging more than 450,000 spins per year according to the radio
 monitoring firm.
     "American Idol has become a dominant force in radio, particularly in
 the current driven formats," commented Mediabase President Rich Meyer. "The
 vast majority of radio programmers obviously feel that Clarkson and
 Underwood possess major star power and feel the same about a number of
 emerging Idol talent following in their footsteps. Finalists like Chris
 Daughtry, Katharine McPhee, Josh Gracin and Kimberley Locke are bursting on
 to the scene in a big way with their new releases, and other contestants
 like Mario Vazquez and Clay Aiken have certainly been formidable forces in
 radio as well."
     Here are the airplay leaders, September 1, 2002, through March 11, 2007.
 
     1)    Kelly Clarkson      Season One Winner             3,301,282 spins
     2)    Carrie Underwood    Season Four Winner              725,441 spins
     3)    Josh Gracin         Season Three Finalist           582,285 spins
     4)    Fantasia Barrino    Season Three Winner             374,081 spins
     5)    Ruben Studdard      Season Two Winner               293,588 spins
     6)    Clay Aiken          Season Two Runner-Up            224,960 spins
     7)    Kimberley Locke     Season Two Finalist             210,428 spins
     8)    Chris Daughtry      Season Five Finalist            146,714 spins
     9)    Mario Vazquez       Season Five Contestant          123,432 spins
     10)   Bo Bice             Season Four Runner-Up           115,702 spins
 
     Here are the song leaders, September 1, 2002, through March 11, 2007.
 
     1)    Kelly Clarkson      Breakaway                       628,094 spins
     2)    Kelly Clarkson      Because Of You                  545,971 spins
     3)    Kelly Clarkson      Since U Been Gone               543,913 spins
     4)    Kelly Clarkson      Behind These Hazel Eyes         496,951 spins
     5)    Kelly Clarkson      Walk Away                       361,161 spins
     6)    Kelly Clarkson      Miss Independent                356,682 spins
     7)    Josh Gracin         Nothin' To Lose                 270,478 spins
     8)    Carrie Underwood    Jesus, Take The Wheel           252,276 spins
     9)    Kelly Clarkson      A Moment Like This              250,716 spins
     10)   Carrie Underwood    Before He Cheats                198,446 spins
 
     ABOUT MEDIABASE
     Mediabase monitors more than 1,800 radio stations in 180 U.S. and
 Canadian markets, 24 hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week. In addition to
 providing vital airplay and programming information to more than 1,700
 affiliate radio stations and every major broadcast group, Mediabase 24/7, a
 division of Premiere Radio Networks, is the data source for popular
 countdown and syndicated shows like American Top 40 with Ryan Seacrest,
 American Top 20 with Casey Kasem, After MidNite with Blair Garner, Ben &
 Brian's Big Top 20 Country Countdown, Country Countdown USA with Lon
 Helton, Jeff Foxworthy Countdown, Country Top 40 Countdown with Bob
 Kingsley, and others. Mediabase also provides its airplay research to every
 major record label in North America. Mediabase pioneered the concept of
 monitored airplay in 1987. Its charts can be found weekly in numerous trade
 and consumer publications and websites.
 
 

SOURCE Premiere Radio Networks