12. David Archuleta
Runner-up, Season 7
Number of albums sold: 1,606,000
Net worth: $5 million
We are starting off our list of most successful American Idol contestants with David Archuleta, who was just sixteen when he auditioned for American Idol and everyone immediately fell for his beautiful voice. Who can forget his audition when he did his cover of John Mayer’s Waiting on the World to Change with Randy joining in to sing in the background? That was just the beginning. His first studio album, titled David Archuleta, was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). With the success of the first, he continued to release more albums with a total of six as of now.
