'American Idol' bits: Caleb Johnson debut numbers, Kelli Glover on 'AGT,' Kris Allen

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Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho

Season 13 winner

Caleb Johnson's

debut album "Testify" dropped yesterday and HitsDailyDouble projects based on first-day sales that he will sell a mere 9,000 to 11,000 copies. That's even worse than

Candice Glover

's 19,000 last year.

It would officially be the worst-selling debut of any "Idol" winner to date. Not surprising given how the show has disappeared off the pop culture radar screen and the fact album sales continue to slip away with each subsequent year.

His album is coming out sooner than any other winner in history, less than three months after the finale. Most winner albums debut in the fall.  He wrote or co-wrote eight of the songs, which he recorded before the "Idol" tour started in June. The single will be "Only One," not "Fighting Gravity," which he has been singing on tour.

"We were really trying to push it and not have every song be a riff-rock song," he told USA Today. "Every song would incorporate those elements but show different flavors. And not just that, but show my talent as a writer, too."

Here's the past first-week sales.

Kelly Clarkson – Thankful – April 15 2003 –  #1 – 297K

Ruben Studdard – Soulful – December 3 2003 – #1 – 417K

Fantasia Barrino – Free Yourself – November 23 2004 – #8 – 240K

Carrie Underwood – Some Hearts – November 15 2005 – #2 – 315K

Taylor Hicks – Taylor Hicks – December 12 2006 – #2 – 298K

Jordin Sparks – Jordin Sparks – November 20 2007 – #10 - 119K

David Cook – David Cook – November 18 2008 – #3 – 280K

Kris Allen – Kris Allen – November 17 2009 – #11 – 80K

Lee DeWyze – Live it Up – November 16 2010 – #19 – 39K

Scotty McCreery – Clear as Day – October 4 2011 – #1 – 197K

Phillip Phillips – TWFTSOTM – November 19 2012- #4 – 169K

Candice Glover – Music Speaks – February 18 2014 – #14 – 19K

***

If you have a really good memory of season one of "American Idol," you may remember a semifinalist Kelli Glover who fell just short of making the top 10. She also fell just short of the quarterfinals of "America's Got Talent" in 2009. This year, she made it to the quarterfinals and will perform next week in the final quarterfinal round.

Here she is from 2002 during the top 20 singing "How Am I Supposed To Love You." She was pretty good but overdid the runs and sounded a little breathy at points.

A dozen years later, she has straight hair and gets praise from the "AGT" judges. They do a back story with her but conveniently omit her "Idol' time. "I feel like this is my last shot," she said.  She decides to go for a well-worn "Idol" song, Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing." She has matured. She has more control over her instrument than she did in 2002. It's a top-notch audition. "You're absolutely incredible," Mel B said. "Amazing," Howie said. "You're just a dream."

"You have a superb voice," Howard said.

***

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Credit: Rodney Ho

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Credit: Rodney Ho

Season 8 winner

Kris Allen

has his third album coming out next week: "Horizons." This time, it's an independent release, which he said naturally means more work for him but also more ownership.

"I've been playing with my fingers a lot more because of my wrist," he tells The Hollywood Reporter. "It's a different way to play and some of those songs  were written when my hand was in a cast so all I had was my fingers. I think it made me a bit more melodic than just strumming a bunch of chords."

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