win, place, or no show

being no fan of america's favorite karaoke show american idol, i'm constantly surprised by its success. however an mtv.com article reveals the show also generates winners for its winners:

sales of Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway (4,811,000), Clay Aiken's Measure of a Man (2,740,000), Carrie Underwood's Some Hearts (2,184,000), Ruben Studdard's Soulful (1,779,000) and Fantasia's Free Yourself (1,674,000)

but others do not fare so well

To make a significant impact in the music industry, making the final 12 of "American Idol" is not enough. You need to make the final two.
[creative snip, appears after following in text]
Millions of Americans watched or voted for them on "Idol," but of the 12th- through third-place finishers who have gone on to release records, only one has gone gold: second-season country singer Josh Gracin (around 646,500 copies sold), who finished fourth.
Another second-season singer, third-place finisher Kimberley Locke, has sold approximately 209,000 copies of One Love, but after her, the next-best loser is — tellingly — William Hung's Inspiration (194,00). Trailing in the dust of "She Bangs" are Tamyra Gray's The Dreamer (122,000), RJ Helton's Real Life (21,000), John Stevens' Red (18,000), George Huff's Miracles (17,000) and self-titled albums from Jasmine Trias (12,000) and Corey Clark (2,400).

found via reality blurred which notes "Good to know that Corey Clark’s little press junket didn’t really work"