On the verge of another American Idol competition (Season 13 begins tonight), it doesn't hurt to go back and see how the previous contestants are holding up. Forbes has done all of the legwork already, ranking the Top 10 (11, when you consider ties) highest earning Idol alumni of 2013. Carrie Underwood is out front, and out front by a lot.
The country star raked in $31 million during the last year, nearly four times that of the runner-up for highest paid Idol product. That number comes from a variety of sources.
A) Playing live shows: Everyone knows by now that professional musicians make the bulk of their income by playing live gigs and touring. Underwood took this to the max during 2013 by playing around 100 live shows last year.
B) Get sponsorships: Underwood inked a deal with Olay last year, as well as taking over for Faith Hill on the traditional Sunday Night Football theme song.
C) Separate yourself from American Idol: There's no shame in coming to prominence via a reality competition, but your lasting success depends on how well you separate yourself from that. Three of the performers on this year's list-Underwood, Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson-can be brought up in conversation with Idol as an afterthought (Adam Lambert is close to reaching this plateau as well). All of Underwood's albums are still selling strong.
Clarkson was the no. 2 placer on the list, thanks more so to album sales than touring. She released her first greatest hits package, and her Christmas album Wrapped In Red spent ten weeks on the Billboard Top 10. Hudson came in at the bottom of the list, but she did so without releasing any music and little touring. The full list is below:
01) Carrie Underwood: $31 million
02) Kelly Clarkson: $7 million
03) Phillip Phillips / Adam Lambert: $5 million (tie)
05) Chris Daughtry: $4 million
06) Scott McCreery: $3 million
07) Taylor Hicks: $2.5 million
08) Fantasia Barrino / Kellie Pickler: $1.5 million
10) Katherine McPhee / Jennifer Hudson: $1 million
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