(Reuters) - Simon Cowell (R) and Sanita pose at the "National Television Awards" at the Royal Albert Hall in London October 31, 2007. REUTERS/Anthony Harvey (BRITAIN)

(Reuters) - Singer Carrie Underwood arrives at the 2007 Fashion Rocks Concert at Radio City Music Hall in New York, September 6, 2007. For the first time ever, three country singers (with help from one rock star) grabbed the top three slots on the U.S. pop album charts Wednesday, with former 'American Idol' champ Carrie Underwood leading the way. (Eric Thayer/Reuters)

Carrie Underwood continues her record-breaking ways with the success of her sophomore album Carnival Ride, which debuted atop Billboards Top Country Albums and Billboard 200 charts with first-week sales totaling 527,101. This number marks the highest first-week sales for any female artist this year! With a 60% increase over Carries debut-week sales of her six-time platinum album Some Hearts (which tallied 314,549), Carnival Ride achieved the highest-debut sales for any sophomore country album in SoundScan history. Adding to the albums accolades, Carnival Ride also became the largest country debut in digital album chart history with digital sales of 44,928. In anticipation of the albums release, the Season 4 American Idol winner has been keeping busy with numerous media appearances, including her performance of the National Anthem at Game 3 of the World Series. While Carrie continues making a variety of media appearances, she has the CMA Awards to look forward to, where she is not only a performer, but a triple nominee as well (Female Vocalist of the Year, Single of the Year, and Music Video of the Year). Carnival Rides first single, So Small, is currently a Top 5 single in country airplay, following up a string of four consecutive #1 country singles from her 19 Recordings/Arista Records/Arista Nashville debut Some Hearts " the best-selling, single-disc country album by a solo female in the new millennium. With sales topping 1.3 million copies this year, two years after its release, Some Hearts remains the best-selling country album of 2007. Congratulations to Carrie from AmericanIdol.com! Check out our newest transformation gallery to witness the American Idol alumnas transformation from small town girl, to music superstar! Amidst the release of her second album and a flurry of media appearances, Carrie took some time out to answer your questions and you can check out our exclusive interview in our video section!

Carrie Underwood continues her record-breaking ways with the success of her sophomore album Carnival Ride, which debuted atop Billboard’s Top Country Albums and Billboard 200 charts with first-week sales totaling 527,101. This number marks the highest first-week sales for any female artist this year! With a 60% increase over Carrie’s debut-week sales of her six-time platinum album Some Hearts (which tallied 314,549), Carnival Ride achieved the highest-debut sales for any sophomore country album in SoundScan history. Adding to the album’s accolades, Carnival Ride also became the largest country debut in digital album chart history with digital sales of 44,928. In anticipation of the album’s release, the Season 4 American Idol winner has been keeping busy with numerous media appearances, including her performance of the National Anthem at Game 3 of the World Series. While Carrie continues making a variety of media appearances, she has the CMA Awards to look forward to, where she is not only a performer, but a triple nominee as well (Female Vocalist of the Year, Single of the Year, and Music Video of the Year). Carnival Ride’s first single, “So Small,” is currently a Top 5 single in country airplay, following up a string of four consecutive #1 country singles from her 19 Recordings/Arista Records/Arista Nashville debut Some Hearts – the best-selling, single-disc country album by a solo female in the new millennium. With sales topping 1.3 million copies this year, two years after its release, Some Hearts remains the best-selling country album of 2007. Congratulations to Carrie from AmericanIdol.com! Check out our newest transformation gallery to witness the American Idol alumna’s transformation from small town girl, to music superstar! Amidst the release of her second album and a flurry of media appearances, Carrie took some time out to answer your questions and you can check out our exclusive interview in our video section!

You've most likely seen our "Photo of the Day" segment on Americanidol.com over the last few weeks, with pics spanning every season. These photos have given us the opportunity to reminisce about our favorite Idols and AI moments. We are now offering a "Video of the Day"--make sure to check it out on a daily basis for a different look back at each season. The videos will be a mixture of exit interviews, audition clips, behind-the-scenes glimpses, thoughts from the judges, and finale interviews! Check out our first installment now!

This is your very first official glimpse of the season seven "Idol" hopefuls! Americanidol.com correspondent James Pumphrey checked in with the auditioners on their favorite places to sing...and you might be surprised by some of the answers! Watch the video now! Check back each week as James raises new topics with some good, bad, and just plain unique AI hopefuls!

Season 6 runner-up Blake Lewis just released his debut single Break Anotha off his anticipated debut album for Arista Records, entitled Audio Day Dream (A.D.D.). With a revised release date, A.D.D. will now hit stores on December 4. For a preview of Blakes album, take a look at the official trailer for Audio Day Dream that was just released earlier this week! Want to reacquaint yourself with the beatboxing Idol from Seattle? Our photo galleries can help you relive some of Blakes most memorable performances and his time at this year's finale!

Season 6 runner-up Blake Lewis just released his debut single “Break Anotha” off his anticipated debut album for Arista Records, entitled Audio Day Dream (A.D.D.). With a revised release date, A.D.D. will now hit stores on December 4. For a preview of Blake’s album, take a look at the official trailer for Audio Day Dream that was just released earlier this week! Want to reacquaint yourself with the beatboxing Idol from Seattle? Our photo galleries can help you relive some of Blake’s most memorable performances and his time at this year's finale!

Elliott Yamin isn't the only "Idol" alum ringing in this holiday season by bringing Christmas music to his fans--Mandisa is set to release Christmas Joy, a four track holiday EP, on November 20th. Mandisa will bring us her take on some classics, including "O Holy Night," "Joy to the World," and Stevie Wonder's "What Christmas Means to Me." She'll also be doing an original duet with labelmate Matthew West called "Christmas Makes Me Cry." This last one will be sent to radio as a holiday single. Not only is Mandisa releasing her own holiday album, but she is also partaking in the "WOW Gospel Christmas" CD. As Mandisa explains to CMSpin.com, "It seems to me that even the hardest hearts soften during the Christmas season. There is a prevalent joy that draws people together and Christmas music is the soundtrack to that season." Mandisa will also be spreading the holiday cheer with some live performances, including an appearance at the second largest Christmas tree lighting in the country--the NYSE Christmas tree lighting. She will also perform live at the Crystal Cathedral on Christmas Eve, which will be televised worldwide. Mandisa fans can also catch her performing live with another popular AI alum, George Huff, for six dates while in California. The exciting news of this holiday EP comes on the heels of Mandisa's very successful debut album, True Beauty. Her debut album is the first by a solo female artist to open at No. 1 on the Top Christian Albums Chart since this chart was converted to Nielsen SoundScan back in '95. It's no wonder that Mandisa's booming voice has been requested for numerous television performances. For more information on where you can catch her live, you can visit her official website. In the meantime, check out her stunning transformation gallery for a glimpse of Mandisa from the time she was a baby until she emerged as a star on "American Idol!"

With his Raisin' the Bar tour, a successful debut album, and an action-packed video, it's no wonder that Bucky Covington is all smiles these days. Check out some of the fun new features on Bucky we've recently added to our site. We went behind-the-scenes with the country star on his latest video for "It's Good To Be Us." Check it out for a glimpse into the making of his video, plus some amazingly adventurous motocross stunts! We were also there to capture pics of Bucky in action! Come back soon for our exclusive interview with Bucky, in which he took time out of his schedule to answer your burning questions!