By: Roshawn Watson
Sure they win a highly coveted music contract and instant fame, but do the American Idol winners actually get the paycheck to go with it? As reported yesterday on E News and Forbes, the top 10 American Idol earners (excluding the judges and people behind the scenes) are featured in the video below. Enjoy!
Forbes' Top 10 "Idol" Earners of 2009:
- Carrie Underwood - $14 million
- Jennifer Hudson - $5 million
- Kelly Clarkson- $4.2 million
- Jordin Sparks - $3.1 million
- Kellie Pickler- $2.3 million
- Clay Aiken- $2.2 million
- Chris Daughtry - $2 million
- David Cook- $2 million
- David Archuleta- $1.3 million
- Taylor Hicks - $300,000
- Ryan Seacrest earned a total of $50 million
- Simon Cowell earned a total of $80 million; income reportedly the same according to Enews (2011)
- Randy Jackson earns approximately $5 million (per Enews)
- Jennifer Lopez will earn approximately $12 million (per TMZ) in 2010; raise to $25 million (2011)
