Ask Billboard: Katy Perry’s Career Bests, From ‘One of the Boys’ to ‘Smile,’ & Every Hot 100 ‘Idol’ Top 10

Recapping Perry’s career highs in streams, sales & airplay.

Submit questions about Billboard charts, as well as general music musings, to [email protected].

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Or, tweet @gthot20.

Hi @gthot20, Katy Perry’s new album #SMILE is coming up next month. She has established herself in the industry and has achieved many records with her latest albums.

— Could you please update her career sales and streaming totals in the U.S in your next #AskBillboard? Thank You! pic.twitter.com/f94Hr7d5Vo

— Katy Perry Charts (@kponcharts) July 28, 2020

For all KatyCats, let’s recap the U.S. sales of Katy Perry‘s albums, as well as her most-streamed and best-selling songs and her most-heard hits on radio, through the week ending Aug. 20.

All figures are per (purr?) Nielsen Music/MRC Data.

Album sales
3.1 million, Teenage Dream (2010) / 1.74 million, PRISM (2013) / 1.73 million, One of the Boys (2008) / 311,000, Witness (2017) / 63,000, MTV Unplugged EP (2009)

Most-streamed songs, on-demand
1.2 billion, “Dark Horse” (feat. Juicy J) / 904 million, “Roar” / 526 million, “Firework” / 509 million, “Con Calma” (Daddy Yankee feat. Perry & Snow) / 481 million, “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)”

401 million, “E.T.” (feat. Kanye West) / 399 million, “Feels” (Calvin Harris feat. Pharrell Williams, Perry & Big Sean) / 394 million, “Hot N Cold” / 388 million, “California Gurls” (feat. Snoop Dogg) / 323 million, “Swish Swish” (feat. Nicki Minaj)

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Best-selling songs
7.4 million downloads sold, “Firework” / 6.6 million, “Roar” / 6.4 million, “Dark Horse” / 6 million, “E.T.” / 5.9 million, “California Gurls”

5.8 million, “Hot N Cold” / 5 million, “Teenage Dream” / 4.8 million, “I Kissed a Girl” / 3.8 million, “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” / 3.5 million, “Wide Awake”

Most-heard songs on radio
6.8 billion audience impressions, “Firework” / 6.6 billion, “Dark Horse” / 6.3 million “Teenage Dream” / 6.2 billion, “Hot N Cold” / 6 billion, “Roar”

5.3 billion, “California Gurls” / 4.3 billion, “E.T.” / 3.8 billion, “Wide Awake” / 3.6 billion, “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” / 3.2 billion, “The One That Got Away”

Lead Smile single “Daisies” (whose title turned out to be a heartwarming clue) hit No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 upon its debut in May, becoming Perry’s 25th top 40 hit. On Adult Pop Songs, it became her 16th top 10.

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Now, the set’s title cut is getting early radio interest. It debuts at No. 28 on the Adult Contemporary chart (dated Aug. 29), thanks to plays on WINC Winchester, Va., in the tracking week, when it was the station’s fourth-most-played song.

“Smile” was also the third-most-played song of the week on Pop Songs chart reporter Radio Disney.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, ABC announced that Perry will return, along with Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie, to the judges panel on American Idol next season.

Speaking of …

‘HOPE’ FLOATS

Hi Gary,

As “I Hope” by Gabby Barrett rises to the top 10 of the Hot 100, she scores the latest top 10 by a one-time American Idol contestant, as she placed third in 2018.

She earns the first top 10 by an Idol singer since original champion Kelly Clarkson, with “Piece by Piece” in 2016. She’s the first Idol finalist to earn a first top 10 since Phillip Phillips, with “Home,” which hit No. 6 in 2013.

Jesper Tan
Subang Jaya, Malaysia

Hi Jesper,

Approaching 20 years after its premiere in 2002, Idol continues to make an impact on Billboard charts and, as of this week, again in the Hot 100’s top 10.

“What an amazing journey this song has taken me on,” Barrett told Billboard last month of “I Hope.” “I feel so blessed and excited that fans are still loving and listening to it. I am so grateful.”

In honor of Barrett’s ascent, here’s an updated recap of every Hot 100 top 10 by an Idol contestant.

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Kelly Clarkson, “A Moment Like This,” No. 1 (two weeks), beginning Oct. 5, 2002

American Idol Finalists, “God Bless the U.S.A.,” No. 4, May 3, 2003
Clay Aiken, “This Is the Night,” No. 1 (two weeks), June 28, 2003
Ruben Studdard, “Flying Without Wings,” No. 2, June 28, 2003
Kelly Clarkson, “Miss Independent,” No. 9, July 19, 2003

Ruben Studdard, “Sorry 2004,” No. 9, Feb. 28, 2004
Clay Aiken, “Solitaire,” No. 4, April 3, 2004
Fantasia, “I Believe,” No. 1 (one week), July 10, 2004
Kelly Clarkson, “Breakaway,” No. 6, Nov. 20, 2004

Kelly Clarkson, “Since U Been Gone,” No. 2, April 9, 2005
Kelly Clarkson, “Behind These Hazel Eyes,” No. 6, June 11, 2005

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Carrie Underwood, “Inside Your Heaven,” No. 1 (one week), July 2, 2005
Bo Bice, “Inside Your Heaven,” No. 2, July 9, 2005
Kelly Clarkson, “Because of You,” No. 7, Nov. 19, 2005

Taylor Hicks, “Do I Make You Proud,” No. 1 (one week), July 1, 2006

(Chris) Daughtry, “It’s Not Over,” No. 4, Feb. 10, 2007
Carrie Underwood, “I’ll Stand by You,” No. 6, May 12, 2007
Kelly Clarkson, “Never Again,” No. 8, May 12, 2007
(Chris) Daughtry, “Home,” No. 5, June 2, 2007
Carrie Underwood, “Before He Cheats,” No. 8, June 2, 2007
Jordin Sparks, “Tattoo,” No. 8, Dec. 29, 2007

Jordin Sparks (duet with Chris Brown), “No Air,” No. 3, April 26, 2008
David Cook, “The Time of My Life,” No. 3, June 7, 2008
David Archuleta, “Crush,” No. 2, Aug. 30, 2008

Kelly Clarkson, “My Life Would Suck Without You,” No. 1 (two weeks), Feb. 7, 2009
Carrie Underwood (feat. Randy Travis), “I Told You So,” No. 9, April 4, 2009
Jordin Sparks, “Battlefield,” No. 10, Aug. 8, 2009

Adam Lambert, “Whataya Want From Me,” No. 10, May 1, 2010

Kelly Clarkson, “Mr. Know It All,” No. 10, Nov. 12, 2011

Kelly Clarkson, “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You),” No. 1 (three weeks), Feb. 18, 2012

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Phillip Phillips, “Home,” No. 6, Jan. 19, 2013

Kelly Clarkson, “Piece by Piece,” No. 8, March 19, 2016

Gabby Barrett, “I Hope,” No. 10 (to date), Aug. 29, 2020

Clarkson leads all Idol finalists with 11 Hot 100 top 10s. Breaking down the rest of the haul of top 10s among the show’s contestants: Carrie Underwood (four); Jordin Sparks (three); Clay Aiken, Chris Daughtry (as Daughtry frontman), Ruben Studdard (two each); David Archuleta, Barrett, Bo Bice, David Cook, Taylor Hicks, Adam Lambert and Phillips (one each).

The competition’s judges haven’t done too badly on the Hot 100, either. Among all who have sat at the panel full-time, Mariah Carey leads with 28 top 10s, followed by Nicki Minaj (19), Perry (14), Lionel Richie (13), Jennifer Lopez (10) and Paula Abdul (eight), for a combined total of 92 top 10s.

Adding Aerosmith’s eight Hot 100 top 10s, sung by Steven Tyler, an Idol judge in 2011 and 2012, the sum jumps to an even 100.