Tough times for some ‘Idols’

As “American Idol” gears up for the two-night, four-hour premiere of Season 7 come Jan. 15-16, new cracks are showing in the “Idol” armor.

Season 5 winner Taylor Hicks announced Tuesday that he and Arista Records are parting ways by mutual consent as he continues working on his sophomore album, which he hopes to release this year. His debut album, released at the end of 2006, has sold 699,000 copies -- far from an embarrassment, but hardly a blockbuster either.

This follows the lackluster performance in the pop marketplace by Season 6 winner Jordin Sparks. Her debut album, released in November, notched the lowest sales figure and chart entry position for an “Idol” winner when it debuted at No. 10 with first-week sales of 119,000 copies. The first “American Idol,” Kelly Clarkson, also had a tough year with a highly public tussle with her label over the content of her third album, “My December,” which has sold only 737,000 copies since its release in June

But it hasn’t all been dour news for the franchise’s alums. “Daughtry,” the debut from Season 5 fourth-place contestant Chris Daughtry’s band, finished as the fifth biggest hit of 2007, having sold 2.5 million copies. And Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood’s second album, “Carnival Ride,” landed at No. 12 for the year with sales of almost 1.7 million copies.

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-- Randy Lewis