'American Idol' on the Charts: Kelly Clarkson, Phillip Phillips This Close to Their Next No. 1 Hits

Mark Sincavage

POISED FOR NO. 1: Kelly Clarkson and Phillip Phillips almost earned their next No. 1 singles this week, but not quite. Both have songs moving into the No. 2 position on two different charts, so they will have to wait until next week to find out if their chart-topping totals are on the rise.

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Clarkson makes a 3-2 advance with “Catch My Breath” on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. If “Breath” keeps inflating, it will become the Season One winner’s 80th Billboard No. 1 next week, and Clarkson would be the first Idol to achieve 80 number ones.

If “Catch My Breath” does catch the brass (or gold) ring on the Club Play chart, it will be the third Clarkson single to do so. “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” landed in first place in March 2012 and “Dark Side” did the same five months later.

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Just when you thought Phillips’s “Home” couldn’t top one more Billboard chart, it looks like the debut single is about to move into another penthouse. “Home” has already led six Billboard charts and has surpassed Clarkson’s “A Moment Like This” as the most successful coronation song in Idol history. This week, “Home” moves 4-2 on the Adult Contemporary tally, reaching a new peak position on this list. Tune in next week to find out if “Home” lands its seventh No. 1 and Phillips his eighth.

TOGETHER AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME: If you think Season 12 of American Idol is the first time Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj have worked together, think again. These two women have history on the Billboard charts, and it’s not just that they have both had their own chart careers.

Three years ago, Carey scored her 42nd Hot 100 entry with “Up Out My Face.” The song appeared as a solo effort on her album Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel but was remixed for single release – as a duet with Minaj. If you want to see how much fun they had working together, check out the video:    

Despite garnering 29 million hits on YouTube, the song was not a hit. It entered the Hot 100 the week of March 6, 2010 at No. 100 and fell off the next week, never to return. That was probably due to lack of promotion, as it was scheduled to appear on a Carey remix album that was eventually canceled.

Would “Up Out My Face” be a hit if re-released today? You can add your comment below.

BITS AND PIECES: In its second week on the Adult R&B chart, Fantasia’s “Lose to Win” rockets 35-20 with a bullet. That’s the kind of momentum that could produce another No. 1 for Season Three’s winner…Clarkson’s Greatest Hits: Chapter One has renewed energy on The Billboard 200 album chart, where it leaps 35-23 with a bullet. Her previous release, Stronger, re-enters at No. 198…Phillips’ “Home” achieves a new peak position on the Canadian Hot 100, where it is up 7-6, equaling its highest mark on the Hot 100 in the U.S…Carrie Underwood’s two singles meet on the Hot Country Songs chart. “Blown Away” descends 9-14 and “Two Black Cadillacs” motors 16-15…Are you enjoying the Season 12 auditions? Then ponder this: which contestants will we be writing about in this column one year from now?