American Idol $$$$$

Apparently even if you don’t win on American Idol, you are still going to make bank just by making the top five. Now this isn’t even including tour revenue and record sales… Hmmm I think we may try out this summer……..



Check out this story from MTV.com:

Kris Allen, has earned at least $650,000 from his "Idol" contract, despite releasing a debut album that has struggled on the charts and sold the lowest total (265,000 so far) for an "Idol" champ to date. That's the minimum a winner could earn. Unnamed sources close to the show told the paper that between performance fees, merchandising royalties from the "Idol" tour and other opportunities, top finishers have never failed to earn less than $1 million in the year after winning on the show.
In addition to a generous $350,000 advance for his first album (not including recording costs), half of which he got after the show ended and the rest when he finished his self-titled debut, Allen was paid $100,000 to help promote "The American Idol Experience" attraction at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and another $100,000 for spending a day filming dialogue for the attraction and taping vocals for the Walt Disney World Christmas Parade TV show. He also reportedly earned another $100,000 advance on royalties from a three-year merchandising contract, which allows 19 Entertainment to use his image to promote the show and related products.
Runner-up Adam Lambert also made out well, earning $300,000 in advance royalties for his debut, For Your Entertainment, $75,000 through his merchandising contract and another $50,000 for the Disney World "Idol Experience" deal.
The Times — which based its story on a copy of last year's contract that was filed in state court in Los Angeles under laws requiring court approval for entertainment industry deals with minors — reported that finalists who make it to the top five this year will earn close to $100,000 from the show, and at least three times that amount if they get signed to a record deal by the show's producers. And, as Joy told MTV, the top 10 finishers stand to make several thousand dollars for the show in addition to the summer tour money.
While a decent recording contract for a new artist today could include a $100,000-$150,000 advance, an anonymous agent told the paper that the "Idol" deals sound very lucrative, though they likely tie the singers to the show's producers for up to seven years, which is almost twice as long as a typical first contract.
The top 12 finishers also each get a one-time $1,000 payment and $1,000 advance on royalties for the iTunes recordings they make of each week's performances, as well as $1,011 for each one-hour show and $1,540 for each two-hour episode, which adds up to almost $10,000 just in performance fees over a season for a top five finisher.

Damn.. Check out Kris Allen and Adam Lamberts videosss down below... we are kinda feeling Adams: WHAT DO YA WANT FROM ME?