On Thursday, American Idol and Fox announced their plans for finale of American Idol.  The excitement of the event was picked up by every entertainment media you can think of.  The following is what Billboard wrote about the finale:

Kelly Clarkson & Carrie Underwood to Perform at ‘American Idol’ Finale

In two weeks, American Idol will dim the lights forever, but not before going out with a bang. The series’ three-night grand finale will include performances by Idol superstars Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, who will return to the stage on April 7.

The Fox singing competition will kick off the three-night event at 8 p.m. Tuesday (April 5) with the 90-minute retrospective American Idol: American Dream. The show will feature host Ryan Seacrest, current and former judges, former Idol contestants and the behind-the-scenes team sharing personal memories. The original trio of judges, Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, will share stories about how the show came to be on Tuesday’s special.

The next night, (April 6), the Idol finalists will battle it out live from the Dolby Theatre competing for America’s last-ever votes.

In addition to Underwood and Clarkson, Thursday’s show will feature live performances by: Ruben Studdard, Fantasia, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee DeWyze, Scotty McCreery, Candice Glover, Caleb Johnson, Nick Fradiani, Ace Young, Allison Iraheta, Amber Holcomb, Blake Lewis, Bo Bice, Brandon Rogers, Bucky Covington, Carly Smithson, Casey James, Chris Daughtry, Clark Beckham, Clay Aiken, Colton Dixon, Constantine Maroulis, Danny Gokey, Diana DeGarmo, Elliott Yamin, George Huff, James Durbin, Jessica Sanchez,  Josh Gracin, Joshua Ledet, Justin Guarini, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Kimberley Locke, Kree Harrison, LaToyaLondon, Lauren Alaina, Melinda Doolittle, Pia Toscano, Sanjaya, Skylar Laine, Tamyra Gray and more.

The only Idol champ not included in that list is Phillip Phillips, who is currently in a legal battle with 19 Entertainment to escape the “oppressive” contracts that came along with his season 11 win.

So a three-night finale should be fun…and seeing Clay’s name in the list of live performers will make the finale even better.  You can see the Billboard article and pictures at BILLBOARD

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Reading the American Idol announcement made me think about the success that some of the Idols have had in the field of entertainment. I made a list of album information…the total sales for 1^st album.

1. Carrie Underwood       7,450,000
2. Chris Daughtry             5,040,000
3. Clay Aiken                     2,786,000
4. Kelly Clarkson              2,776,000
5. Fantasia Barrino          1,829,000

Of course, album sales are only one way to show success. But how exciting it must have been for the 5 listed above to see such success on their very first album!!

Will you be watching the American Idol Finale?